Lord of the Flies Group

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beb
beb
Student
High School - 9th Grade

Why did Golding write Lord of the Flies? Why does he want to show that violence is innate in all of us?

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Posted by beb on Thursday September 13, 2007 at 9:45 PM and tagged with author, lord of the flies, themes, violence.

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  1. sagetrieb Teacher
    Doctorate

    Golding's Lord of the Flies provides an interesting companion to Orwell's 1984.  Both arise from the aftermath of the war, and both are concerned with issues of power and tyranny as well. The symbol of the Lord might find its counterpart in Big Brother, for if the latter represents an omnipotent authority that human nature fears yet is willing to accept (at times Orwell suggests even "needs"), the former represents something deep and innate also--the fear of the unknown that we convert into something "real" in order to act out or at least acknowledge the violence with in us. Both works can be understood in terms of Freud's ideas on unconscious fears and desire for and resentment of the father figure in society (and the family), and human impulse toward the "death principle."

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/1984
    http://www.enotes.com/flies

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    Posted by sagetrieb on Friday September 14, 2007 at 4:44 AM