W. Golding was born at St. Columbus Minor, Cornwall, in 1911, and educated at Malborough Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford. He joined the Navy in 1940 and served cruisers, destroyers, mine-sweepers, and a rocket ship which he commanded at the end of the war. In 1945 he became a school-master at Bishop Wordsworth’s School
Golding wrote a number of essays that are alternately witty and profound, radio plays, short stories. He published a good deal of poetry, but his name first became known to the general public when his novel Lord of the flies was published in 1945. The meaning of the title, like all of Golding’s symbolism, is linked with the events of the novel. The theme of the story is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society depends on the ethical nature of the individual and not on political system.
The story under analysis presents an extract from the book “Lord of the flies” which is written by W. Golding. Golding does not immediately symbolize his philosophy of evil but in his usual way allows it to flow from a series of events. The extract given under analysis presents the scene of murder of one of the boys (Simon) who is erroneously taken for the “beast” by his madly frightened and excited companions. Ralph is elected as the leader of the group and Jack decides to be the hunter and provide food for the group. The boys explore the island. They find that it is hard to believe that they’re really on their own but their adventuring proves their suspicion.
The most obvious of the themes is man’s need for civilization. Contrary to the belief that man is innocent and society is evil, the story shows that laws and rules are necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in line. When these institutions and concepts slip away or are ignored, human beings revert to a more primitive part of their nature. The other obvious theme in the story is the battle between good...