This is a good question. William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in England. He followed in his father’s footsteps and became a teacher at a school called Salisbury. When World War II broke out, he joined the Royal Navy. Golding saw many naval battles. Eventually, he became a Lieutenant and commanded a rocket-launching craft. These two parts of his life came together in his book, The Lord of the Flies.

Golding, as a teacher at Salisbury, learned about the life of boys. More specifically, the school was attached to a church, so it had choristers. Golding could reflect as an adult observing children. Connected to this point, he also grew up in a private school, and later on he would say that he was a brat who even enjoyed hurting others. He had ready material.

As a soldier, Golding saw first-hand the tragedies of war. He experienced evil. He went on to say, “I have always understood the Nazis because I am of that sort by nature.” The war refined his thoughts more and helped him to write the novel.

William Golding had two life experiences that probably influenced Lord of the Flies. He was a schoolmaster, which certainly gave him a good understanding of how a group of boys, left to their own devices, might not be particularly "civilized."  Second, Golding joined the British Royal Navy and served during World War II, a time during which many reasonable people had good reason to feel that the civilized world was collapsing.  While we look back now and say, "Of course we won the war," there were periods during which it was not so clear which side would win. What would have happened if Hitler and his allies had prevailed?  We don't really know for sure, but it is obvious that the people who were the biggest bullies and who had the best weapons would call the shots. Certainly, many of us would have felt that we were in an uncivilized world.