The Cold War started developing between Russia and the United States as both countries engaged in a nuclear arms race. The Lord of the Flies was written post-WWII during what is known as the “atomic age.” During this time, Western society lived in fear of nuclear attacks, which came to an initial rise at the end of WWII. His writing work, after his time in the war, reflected this idea. He was intensely impacted by his experiences and became convinced that within all humans exists the possibility of evil. The author of The Lord of the Flies, William Golding, was a British soldier in World War II. Literary Significance of Lord of the Flies When Simon tries to convey this revelation to the other boys, they attack and kill him. Major Symbols: The conch shell Piggy’s glasses the signal fire the Lord of the Flies the groups of boysĬlimax: Simon discovers the Lord of the Flies in the forest and realizes that it is less a beast and more a natural instinct, one which exists within each of the boys.

Plot: Chronological, told from a third-person omniscient point of view

Motifs: Nature’s beauty Biblical references bullying symbols of savageryĮxposition: As a war wages in England, a plane carrying a group of evacuated British schoolboys is shot down and lands on a deserted island somewhere in the tropics.Ĭonflict: The group of deserted boys struggle between their desire to maintain the rules and structure they know of civilization and the instinct to turn wild like the island they inhabit. savages the innate evil of humanity loss of innocence through struggle

Major Thematic Elements: Civilization vs.

Lord of the flies stephen king