LOTF

=//Lord of the Flies//, by William Golding =

"Maybe there is a beast....maybe it's only us." -//Lord of the Flies//, Ch. 5
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 * LOTF as a [|response]to WWII

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**Style/Form** The Lord of the Flies contains twelve titled chapters. The plot is simple and rarely splits into more than one plot line, although it does sometimes. Occasionally, the story separates from the general group and follows one child. For example, the story followed the first of Jack’s hunts into the jungle, and also Simon’s wanderings to be alone. One of the techniques he uses in organizing plot is foreshadow. Through the use and manipulation of many symbols, he gives the reader and idea of what is to come foreshadowing future events.

Most of the sentences in The Lord of the Flies are simple. There are sentences that are complex and the occasional compound sentence. Most characters speak simply and clearly. Often, they speak fragments and string together fragments and ramble,

The second part contains both simple and complex sentences. In this passage, the speech is somewhat rambling and contains several fragments. The third part contains mostly simple and complex sentences. The writing style here gives the feeling of desperation and loss of hope. The reader feels how Ralph feels and understands what he understands about the “loss of innocence.” One example of a compound-complex sentence is, “When they had done laughing, Simon stroked Ralph’s arm shyly; and they had to laugh again.”

**Point of View** Golding wrote the novel in the third person omniscient perspective. Although the book generally follows Ralph, it occasionally breaks off and follows another character for a time. This entire book is autobiographical in that it tells us something the author wants to show us. Golding tries to teach us and warn us of the evil nature of mankind. He says through the book that we are evil and that it is only society that keeps us from committing crimes.

**Setting** The //Lord of the Flies// takes place on an island during World War II. This is significant since the isolation forms a sort of civilization and community, a sort of microcosm to the real world. At the same time, the island lacks a society and the societal laws and rules allowing for the boys to run wild and show their true, ugly, inner selves. Since the island is a microcosm, Golding uses it to reflect our world and give comments on our world and his view of human nature. In this book, the setting is used less to create a mood than to put the characters in a particular situation

** Figurative Language ** __Personification__ - Golding uses little personification in this book. He does use it, however, during the conversation between the dead pig head and Simon. The head is personified and given able to speak to Simon. Although it is dead, it is proud and defiant in its speech. __Simile__ - Golding occasionally uses simile. One occasion occurs in the first passage when Golding compares the sand with a road saying, “there was a strip of weed-strewn beach that was almost as firm as a road.” __Metaphor__ - Golding often uses metaphor in this book. In fact, all symbolism is a type of metaphor since they compare two unlike things. Another metaphor in the book is when the choir boy at the beginning of the book is described as a dark creature crawling along the sand. __Allusion__ - Golding has several allusions in the book. The title itself is an allusion to the Bible since “The Lord of the Flies” was a title given to Beelzebub. Simon’s name in the book is also an allusion to the disciple Simon Peter.

**Tone** Golding’s tone is that of a lecturer. Through his book he tries to teach us and warn us about our own evil. This tone is carried through the novel. The tone is maintained more through the events and the characters in the story than by syntax or writing style. An example is the discovery of the parachutist. The writing style at this part remained just as neutral as the rest of the book, but the event of finding the parachutist as the beast teaches us that it is not some mystical monster we have to be worried about but ourselves.


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