The Aspect of Ignorance in Golding's Lord of the Flies

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book The Aspect of Ignorance in Golding's Lord of the Flies by Gesa Giesing, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gesa Giesing ISBN: 9783638303521
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: August 30, 2004
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Gesa Giesing
ISBN: 9783638303521
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: August 30, 2004
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 1998 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Leipzig (Institute for Anglistics), course: Literature from a Child's Perspective, language: English, abstract: The Author's Life and Work Born in 1911 in St. Columb Minor, Cornwall, William Gerald Golding spent his childhood in an area of historical wealth. In all his life, he would never leave South England for a longer period of time. Golding attended the Marlborough Grammar School in Wiltshire, where his father was teaching. For his son, Alec Golding embodied rationality and knowledge. Even as a child William Golding did a lot of reading. Some of his favourites were Tarzan of the Apes (E. R. Burroughs), Coral Island (R. M. Ballantyne) and adventure stories by Jules Verne. These books portray man as basically good and fighting the evils brought upon by society. At the age of twelve, Golding decided to become a writer. He made early, ambitious attempts at writing. So he planned a twelve-volume work on trade unions of which not more than the first sentence ever was completed. Initially, his studies at college weren't promising, either. As his parents had intended him to make a career as a microscopist, he began reading sciences at the Brasenose College in Oxford in 1930. But soon he felt that these rational subjects were not what he desired for and that 'a career as a writer was inevitable' (Contemporary Writers 1). Hence he changed to literature and graduated from Oxford as a Bachelor of Arts. Neither did his Poems, published in 1934, nor the four years he spent acting and writing in London bring him satisfaction and success. After getting married in 1939, he took up teaching at a boys' school in order to earn enough money for a living. Yet, again, he didn't feel satisfied, but considered teaching a chore. In 1940 he joined the Royal Navy and took part in antisubmarine and antiaircraft operations. As a naval officer he was involved in D-Day. This six years of military service changed Golding's concept of man's nature. The atrocities of war he had witnessed contradicted his belief in man's perfectibility and in man's basic innocence. In his essay 'Fable' he states that 'anyone who moved through these years without understanding that man produces evil as a bee produces honey, must have been blind or sick in the head', a sentence which has been cited by all his critics (e.g. McCarron 1-2) and which has branded Golding a pessimist. Accepting this term first, Golding had a hard time getting rid of it again.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 1998 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Leipzig (Institute for Anglistics), course: Literature from a Child's Perspective, language: English, abstract: The Author's Life and Work Born in 1911 in St. Columb Minor, Cornwall, William Gerald Golding spent his childhood in an area of historical wealth. In all his life, he would never leave South England for a longer period of time. Golding attended the Marlborough Grammar School in Wiltshire, where his father was teaching. For his son, Alec Golding embodied rationality and knowledge. Even as a child William Golding did a lot of reading. Some of his favourites were Tarzan of the Apes (E. R. Burroughs), Coral Island (R. M. Ballantyne) and adventure stories by Jules Verne. These books portray man as basically good and fighting the evils brought upon by society. At the age of twelve, Golding decided to become a writer. He made early, ambitious attempts at writing. So he planned a twelve-volume work on trade unions of which not more than the first sentence ever was completed. Initially, his studies at college weren't promising, either. As his parents had intended him to make a career as a microscopist, he began reading sciences at the Brasenose College in Oxford in 1930. But soon he felt that these rational subjects were not what he desired for and that 'a career as a writer was inevitable' (Contemporary Writers 1). Hence he changed to literature and graduated from Oxford as a Bachelor of Arts. Neither did his Poems, published in 1934, nor the four years he spent acting and writing in London bring him satisfaction and success. After getting married in 1939, he took up teaching at a boys' school in order to earn enough money for a living. Yet, again, he didn't feel satisfied, but considered teaching a chore. In 1940 he joined the Royal Navy and took part in antisubmarine and antiaircraft operations. As a naval officer he was involved in D-Day. This six years of military service changed Golding's concept of man's nature. The atrocities of war he had witnessed contradicted his belief in man's perfectibility and in man's basic innocence. In his essay 'Fable' he states that 'anyone who moved through these years without understanding that man produces evil as a bee produces honey, must have been blind or sick in the head', a sentence which has been cited by all his critics (e.g. McCarron 1-2) and which has branded Golding a pessimist. Accepting this term first, Golding had a hard time getting rid of it again.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Iran, the United States and the CIA by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Lexical Relations by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Hegemonic Stability Theory: The Rise and Fall of the US-Leadership in World Economic Relations by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Religious Symbolism in William Blake's 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience' by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Conditions for an airport operator to make use of an advanced surface movement guidance and control system (A-SMGCS) for the provision of apron management service by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the Gothic - exploring the individual psyche and operating as a form of social critique by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book The Dynamics, Magnitude and Scope of MRSA Health Care Associated Infection Concomitant with the Politics in the NHS on the Health Act 2006 by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Is the anthrax scare of 2001 real or constructed? by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Die Balanced Scorecard in Dienstleistungsunternehmen by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book The women's suffrage movement in New Zealand by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Risk Management and the Rate of Project Success within Multi-Projects Environment by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Roles of the Organs and Officers of an Incorporated Company by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Proposed strategies (focusing on public policy) for increased broadband penetration in the rural areas in Ghana by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book The Family Markowitz by Gesa Giesing
Cover of the book Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative - Applied Puritan ideology? by Gesa Giesing
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy