What does Lord of the Flies mean literally? – In fact, the name “Lord of the Flies” is a literal translation of the name of the biblical name Beelzebub, a powerful demon in hell sometimes thought to be the devil himself. Featured on Sparknotes.
What was Lord of the Flies originally called? – Golding’s original title for this novel was Strangers from Within. After it was accepted by Faber & Faber, the book was named Lord of the Flies.
Why is Lord of the Flies offensive? – Parents, school administrators and other critics have decried the language and violence in the novel. Bullying is rampant throughout the book—indeed, it is one of the main plot lines. Many people also think that the book promotes a pro-slavery ideology, which they note is the wrong message to teach children.
Who do the flies represent? – Flies can sometimes represent malice, blame, or hate. This is due, in part, to the ways that flies make us feel. They hover around us buzzing obnoxiously until, no longer able to ignore the annoyance, we slap or kill the offending insect. So, flies may represent negative feelings or a loss of self control.
Is Lord of the Flies disturbing? – In this novel there are many disturbing and violent events, one of which is when tribe of boys are killing the mother pig. The descriptive images of the pig being killed are very violent, ‘Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife’.
What does Lord of the Flies teach us? – William Golding, 1983. “The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable.”
What is Golding’s message in Lord of the Flies? – Golding contends that human nature, when free from the constraints of society, draws people away from common sense to savagery. His fundamental arguments are that human beings are savage by nature, and are moved by urges toward brutality and dominance over others.
