Why should you read “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding? - Jill Dash
-
0:07 - 0:10William Golding was losing
his faith in humanity. -
0:10 - 0:14Serving aboard a British destroyer
in World War II, -
0:14 - 0:18the philosophy teacher turned Royal Navy
lieutenant was constantly confronted -
0:18 - 0:21by the atrocities of his fellow man.
-
0:21 - 0:25And when he returned to England
to find Cold War superpowers -
0:25 - 0:28threatening one another
with nuclear annihilation, -
0:28 - 0:32he was forced to interrogate
the very roots of human nature. -
0:32 - 0:35These musings on the inevitability
of violence -
0:35 - 0:40would inspire his first and most famous
novel: "Lord of the Flies." -
0:40 - 0:43After being rejected by 21 publishers,
-
0:43 - 0:47the novel was finally published in 1954.
-
0:47 - 0:52It takes its title from Beelzebub,
a demon associated with pride and war— -
0:52 - 0:56two themes very much
at the heart of Golding’s book. -
0:56 - 1:00The novel was a bleak satire
of a classic island adventure story, -
1:00 - 1:05a popular genre where young boys
get shipwrecked in exotic locations. -
1:05 - 1:08The protagonists in these stories
are able to master nature -
1:08 - 1:12while evading the dangers
posed by their new environments. -
1:12 - 1:15The genre also endorsed
the problematic colonialist narrative -
1:15 - 1:18found in many British works at the time,
-
1:18 - 1:21in which the boys teach the island’s
native inhabitants -
1:21 - 1:24their allegedly superior British values.
-
1:24 - 1:29Golding’s satire even goes so far
as to explicitly use the setting -
1:29 - 1:33and character names from R.M. Ballantyne’s
"Coral Island"— -
1:33 - 1:36one of the most beloved
island adventure novels. -
1:36 - 1:39But while Ballantyne’s book
promised readers -
1:39 - 1:42"pleasure... profit... and unbounded
amusement,” -
1:42 - 1:46Golding’s had darker things in store.
-
1:46 - 1:49"Lord of the Flies" opens
with the boys already on the island, -
1:49 - 1:53but snippets of conversation hint
at their terrifying journey— -
1:53 - 1:58their plane had been shot down in
the midst of an unspecified nuclear war. -
1:58 - 2:03The boys, ranging in age from 6 to 13,
are strangers to each other. -
2:03 - 2:09All except for a choir, clad in black
uniforms and led by a boy named Jack. -
2:09 - 2:12Just as in Ballantyne’s "Coral Island,"
-
2:12 - 2:15the boy’s new home appears
to be a paradise— -
2:15 - 2:19with fresh water, shelter,
and abundant food sources. -
2:19 - 2:21But even from the novel’s opening pages,
-
2:21 - 2:26a macabre darkness hangs over
this seemingly tranquil situation. -
2:26 - 2:30The boys’ shadows are compared
to “black, bat-like creatures” -
2:30 - 2:32while the choir itself first appears as
-
2:32 - 2:36“something dark... fumbling along”
the beach. -
2:36 - 2:38Within hours of their arrival,
-
2:38 - 2:42the boys are already trading terrifying
rumors of a vicious “beastie” -
2:42 - 2:44lurking in the woods.
-
2:44 - 2:46From these ominous beginnings,
-
2:46 - 2:50Golding’s narrative reveals
how quickly cooperation unravels -
2:50 - 2:53without the presence
of an adult authority. -
2:53 - 2:57Initially, the survivors try
to establish some sense of order. -
2:57 - 3:01A boy named Ralph blows into a conch shell
to assemble the group, -
3:01 - 3:02and delegate tasks.
-
3:02 - 3:05But as Jack vies
for leadership with Ralph, -
3:05 - 3:09the group splinters
and the boys submit to their darker urges. -
3:09 - 3:13The mob of children soon forgets
their plans for rescue, -
3:13 - 3:15silences the few voices of reason,
-
3:15 - 3:21and blindly follows Jack to the edge
of the island, and the edge of sanity. -
3:21 - 3:25The novel’s universal themes
of morality, civility, and society -
3:25 - 3:27have made it a literary classic,
-
3:27 - 3:33satirizing both conventions of its time
and long held beliefs about humanity. -
3:33 - 3:37While island adventure stories
often support colonialism, -
3:37 - 3:39"Lord of the Flies"
turns this trope on its head. -
3:39 - 3:44Rather than cruelly casting native
populations as stereotypical savages, -
3:44 - 3:50Golding transforms his angelic British
schoolboys into savage caricatures. -
3:50 - 3:53And as the boys fight
their own battle on the island, -
3:53 - 3:56the far more destructive war
that brought them there -
3:56 - 3:58continues off the page.
-
3:58 - 4:01Even if the boys were to be rescued
from themselves, -
4:01 - 4:04what kind of world would
they be returning to? -
4:04 - 4:07With so few references
to anchor the characters -
4:07 - 4:12in a specific place or period,
the novel feels truly timeless— -
4:12 - 4:15an examination of human nature
at its most bare. -
4:15 - 4:19And though not all readers
may agree with Golding’s grim view, -
4:19 - 4:22"Lord of the Flies" is unsettling enough
-
4:22 - 4:25to challenge even the most
determined optimist.
- Title:
- Why should you read “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding? - Jill Dash
- Speaker:
- Jill Dash
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-should-you-read-lord-of-the-flies-by-william-golding-jill-dash
After witnessing the atrocities of his fellow man in World War II, William Golding was losing his faith in humanity. Later, during the Cold War, as superpowers began threatening one another with nuclear annihilation, he was forced to interrogate the very roots of human nature and violence. These musings would inspire his first novel: “Lord of the Flies.” Jill Dash dives into the timeless satire.
Lesson by Jill Dash, directed by Lucy Animation Studio.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:25
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for Why should you read "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding? | ||
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Elise Haadsma accepted English subtitles for Why should you read "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding? | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for Why should you read "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding? |