Author
William Golding
William Golding was born September 19, 1911 in Cornwall, England. Not long after he was born, The Great War (World War I) began, and continued throughout the majority of his early childhood. His mother, Mildred, was an advocate for women’s rights, while his father, Alec, was a schoolteacher. Golding attended Marlborough Grammar School where his father taught. His father had a tremendous influence upon him, and when he entered Brasenose College at Oxford in 1930, he studied science in deference to his father. In his third year of college, Golding made the decision to pursue his true desire, and began his study of English literature and philosophy. His first book, a collection of poems, was published the year before he received his degree. In 1935 he graduated from Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
After graduation, Golding began working as a writer, actor, and producer in a small theatre in London. In 1939, the same year he married Ann Brookfield with whom he had two children, he began teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. As World War II broke out, he joined the Royal Navy, where he served for six years. He was involved in the sinking of the famous German battleship, the Bismarck, and in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. His experiences in the Royal Navy gave Golding first-hand knowledge of the atrocities of war and the cruelties of combat, and had a major influence on his writing. At the close of the War, he returned to his teaching position at Wordsworth’s, where he remained a teacher until the early 1960s. Most of his novels, plays, and essays were written during this post-war period.
Golding’s first major novel, Lord of the Flies, was published in 1954. Although it was initially rejected by twenty-one different publishers, it went on to surprising success. In 1962, eight years after its first publication, Lord of the Flies became a best selling novel. His subsequent novels include The Inheritors, which was published in 1955, Pincher Martin (1956), Free Fall (1959), The Spire (1964), The Pyramid (1967), Darkness Visible (1979), Rites of Passage (1980), The Paper Men (1984), An Egyptian Journal (1985), Close Quarters (1987), and Fire Down Below (1989).
In 1980, Golding won the “Booker Prize” for his novel, Rites of Passage. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983, and in 1988, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. His novel, Lord of the Flies, was twice made into a film—once in 1963 and again in 1990.
At the time of his death, he was working on The Double Tongue, which was published posthumously in 1995. William Golding died on June 19, 1993 in Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England.
(4secondarysolutions.com)
Background
“…finally getting the idea for Lord of the Flies after reading a bedtime boys adventure story [The Coral Island (1857) by R.M. Ballantyne] to his small children. Golding wondered out loud to his wife whether it would be a good idea to write such a story but to let the characters ‘behave as they really would.’ His wife thought that would be a ‘first class idea.’ With that encouragement, Golding found that writing the story, the ideas for which had been germinating in his mind for some time, was simply a matter of getting it down on paper.” (http://www.monmouth.com/~literature/LOTF/student/Bio.htm/)
Setting
Lord of the Flies takes place on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, at an unknown year—but probably 1950ish -- during a fictional atomic war. And what an island it is.
Synopsis
Stranded on an island, a group of schoolboys degenerate into savagery.
William Golding
William Golding was born September 19, 1911 in Cornwall, England. Not long after he was born, The Great War (World War I) began, and continued throughout the majority of his early childhood. His mother, Mildred, was an advocate for women’s rights, while his father, Alec, was a schoolteacher. Golding attended Marlborough Grammar School where his father taught. His father had a tremendous influence upon him, and when he entered Brasenose College at Oxford in 1930, he studied science in deference to his father. In his third year of college, Golding made the decision to pursue his true desire, and began his study of English literature and philosophy. His first book, a collection of poems, was published the year before he received his degree. In 1935 he graduated from Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
After graduation, Golding began working as a writer, actor, and producer in a small theatre in London. In 1939, the same year he married Ann Brookfield with whom he had two children, he began teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. As World War II broke out, he joined the Royal Navy, where he served for six years. He was involved in the sinking of the famous German battleship, the Bismarck, and in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. His experiences in the Royal Navy gave Golding first-hand knowledge of the atrocities of war and the cruelties of combat, and had a major influence on his writing. At the close of the War, he returned to his teaching position at Wordsworth’s, where he remained a teacher until the early 1960s. Most of his novels, plays, and essays were written during this post-war period.
Golding’s first major novel, Lord of the Flies, was published in 1954. Although it was initially rejected by twenty-one different publishers, it went on to surprising success. In 1962, eight years after its first publication, Lord of the Flies became a best selling novel. His subsequent novels include The Inheritors, which was published in 1955, Pincher Martin (1956), Free Fall (1959), The Spire (1964), The Pyramid (1967), Darkness Visible (1979), Rites of Passage (1980), The Paper Men (1984), An Egyptian Journal (1985), Close Quarters (1987), and Fire Down Below (1989).
In 1980, Golding won the “Booker Prize” for his novel, Rites of Passage. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983, and in 1988, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. His novel, Lord of the Flies, was twice made into a film—once in 1963 and again in 1990.
At the time of his death, he was working on The Double Tongue, which was published posthumously in 1995. William Golding died on June 19, 1993 in Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England.
(4secondarysolutions.com)
Background
“…finally getting the idea for Lord of the Flies after reading a bedtime boys adventure story [The Coral Island (1857) by R.M. Ballantyne] to his small children. Golding wondered out loud to his wife whether it would be a good idea to write such a story but to let the characters ‘behave as they really would.’ His wife thought that would be a ‘first class idea.’ With that encouragement, Golding found that writing the story, the ideas for which had been germinating in his mind for some time, was simply a matter of getting it down on paper.” (http://www.monmouth.com/~literature/LOTF/student/Bio.htm/)
Setting
Lord of the Flies takes place on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, at an unknown year—but probably 1950ish -- during a fictional atomic war. And what an island it is.
Synopsis
Stranded on an island, a group of schoolboys degenerate into savagery.
