Context for LOTF Flashcards
(7 cards)
Post-World War II**
William Golding fought in WWII, witnessing human brutality firsthand.
The war shattered faith in the idea that humans were naturally good or that civilization would always protect morality.
Golding saw how ordinary people became capable of evil under the right (or wrong) conditions — a key idea in the novel.
The Island – Biblical & Allegorical
The island initially seems like Eden, a paradise.
But as sin (fear, violence, pride) enters, paradise is lost.
Simon = Christ-like figure (mystical, kind, murdered by the masses).
The Lord of the Flies = Beelzebub, another name for the devil.
“The Coral Island”c
The Coral Island is a Victorian adventure novel about three British boys who are stranded on a tropical island. But instead of chaos, they civilise it — using Christian values, courage, and British superiority.
Golding deliberately references it in Lord of the Flies to criticise its unrealistic optimism.
Dionysian/Dionysus References
The pig’s head mirrors the Dionysian idea of surrendering to chaos and instinct. Like Dionysus, the Lord of the Flies seduces the boys into a world without rules, where pleasure, fear, and violence dominate.
Golding may be suggesting that civilisation is fragile, and when it breaks down, humans return to their most ancient, ritualistic selves — just like in a Dionysian cult.
In Greek mythology, Dionysus is the god of:
Wine and pleasure
Ritual madness and ecstatic violence
Theatre and illusion
The Beast = Jung’s “Shadow Self”
Carl Jung believed everyone has a “shadow” — the dark, repressed side of the personality.
The beast is a symbol of that shadow — it’s not real, but represents the evil within.
Simon’s insight (“maybe it’s only us”) reflects Jungian psychology: the darkness is internal.
Nietzsche – “If you gaze into the abyss…
Philosopher Nietzsche warned:
“If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”
Simon looks into the heart of the “beast” and sees the truth — it’s inside them.
The boys become the abyss — proof that when humans stare into fear and violence, they eventually become it.
Thanatos & Eros – Freudian Death Drive
Freud didn’t just talk about sex (Eros). He also believed in Thanatos – the death drive.
Humans, Freud said, are drawn not only to pleasure, but to destruction, violence, and self-sabotage.
The boys aren’t just trying to survive — they’re drawn to killing, to ruining paradise, to burning it all down.
