Lord of the Flies and the Cay Wikipedia pages in bold and italicized print

 


Page semi-protected

Lord of the Flies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For the 1963 film, see Lord of the Flies (1963 film). For the 1990 film, see Lord of the Flies (1990 film). For other uses, see Lord of the Flies (disambiguation).


 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2015)
Lord of the Flies
LordOfTheFliesBookCover.jpg
The original UK Lord of the Flies book cover
 
Author
William Golding
Cover artist
Anthony Gross[1]
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Genre
Allegorical novel
Publisher
Faber and Faber

Publication date
 17 September 1954
ISBN
ISBN 0-571-05686-5 (first edition, paperback)
OCLC
47677622
Lord of the Flies is a 1954 dystopian novel by Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on an uninhabited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. Its stances on the already controversial subjects of human nature and individual welfare versus the common good earned it position 68 on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–1999.[2] The novel is a reaction to the youth novel The Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne.
Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first novel. Although it was not a great success at the time—selling fewer than 3,000 copies in the United States during 1955 before going out of print—it soon went on to become a best-seller. It has been adapted to film twice in English, in 1963 by Peter Brook and 1990 by Harry Hook, and once in Filipino (1976).
In 2005 the novel was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.[3] It was awarded a place on both lists of Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 41 on the editor's list, and 25 on the reader's list. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 70 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.[4]


Contents  [hide]
1 Background
2 Plot
3 Allegorical relationships 3.1 Ralph
3.2 Piggy
3.3 The Conch
3.4 Jack Merridew
3.5 Roger
3.6 Simon
3.7 Naval Officer
3.8 The Beast
3.9 The Lord of the Flies
4 Adaptations
5 Influence 5.1 Film
5.2 Literature
5.3 Music
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Background
The book indicates that it takes place in the midst of an unspecified nuclear war. Some of the marooned characters are ordinary students, while others arrive as a musical choir under an established leader. Most (with the exception of the choirboys) appear never to have encountered one another before. The book portrays their descent into savagery; left to themselves in a paradisiacal country, far from modern civilisation, the well-educated children regress to a primitive state.
At an allegorical level, the central theme is the conflicting human impulses toward civilization—living by rules, peacefully and in harmony—and toward the will to power. Themes include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. How these play out, and how different people feel the influences of these, form a major subtext of Lord of the Flies.[citation needed] The name "Lord of the Flies" is a literal translation of Beelzebub, from 2 Kings 1:2-3, 6, 16.
Plot
In the midst of a wartime evacuation, a British plane crashes on or near an isolated island in a remote region of the Pacific Ocean. The only survivors are boys in their middle childhood or preadolescence. Two boys—the fair-haired Ralph and an overweight, bespectacled boy nicknamed "Piggy"—find a conch, which Ralph uses as a horn to call all the survivors to one area. Due largely to the fact that Ralph appears responsible for bringing all the survivors together, he is quickly elected their "chief", though he does not receive the votes of the members of a boys' choir, led by the red-headed Jack Merridew. Ralph asserts three primary goals: to have fun, survive, and to maintain a smoke signal that could alert passing ships to their presence on the island. The boys declare that whoever holds the conch shall also be able to speak at their formal gatherings and receive the attentive silence of the larger group.
Jack organises his choir group into a hunting party responsible for discovering a food source; Ralph, Jack, and a quiet, dreamy boy named Simon soon form a loose troika of leaders. Though he is Ralph's only confidant, Piggy is quickly made an outcast by his fellow "biguns" (older boys) and becomes an unwilling source of laughs for the other children. Simon, in addition to supervising the project of constructing shelters, feels an instinctive need to protect the "littluns" (younger boys).
The semblance of order quickly deteriorates as the majority of the boys turn idle, giving little aid in building shelters, and begin to develop paranoias about the island, referring to a supposed monster, the "beast", which they believe to exist on the island. Ralph insists that no such beast exists, but Jack, who has started a power struggle with Ralph, gains control of the discussion by boldly promising to kill the beast. At one point, Jack summons all of his hunters to hunt down a wild pig, drawing away those assigned to maintain the signal fire. A ship travels by the island, but without the boys' smoke signal to alert the ship's crew, the ship continues by without stopping. Angered by the failure of the boys to attract potential rescuers, Ralph considers relinquishing his position, but is convinced not to do so by Piggy.
One night, an aerial battle occurs over the island while the boys sleep, during which a dead fighter pilot is ejected from his plane. His body drifts down to the island in his parachute, both get tangled in a tree near the top of the mountain. Later on, while Jack schemes against Ralph, twins Sam and Eric, now assigned to the maintenance of the signal fire, see the corpse of the fighter pilot and his parachute in the dark. Mistaking the corpse for the beast, they run to the cluster of shelters that Ralph and Simon have erected and warn the others. This unexpected meeting again raises tensions between Jack and Ralph. Shortly thereafter, Jack decides to lead a party to the other side of the island, where a mountain of stones, later called Castle Rock, forms a place where he claims the beast resides. Only Ralph and Jack's sadistic supporter Roger agree to go; Ralph turns back shortly before the other two boys. When they arrive at the shelters, Jack calls an assembly and tries to turn the others against Ralph, asking for them to remove him from his position. Receiving little support, Jack, Roger, and another boy leave the shelters to form their own tribe. This tribe lures in recruits from the main group by providing a feast of cooked pig and its members begin to paint their faces and enact bizarre rituals including sacrifices to the beast.
Simon, likely an epileptic,[5][6] wanders off on his own to think and finds a severed pig head, left by Jack as an offering to the beast. Simon envisions the pig head, now swarming with scavenging flies, as the "Lord of the Flies" and believes that it is talking to him. The pig's head tells Simon that the boys themselves "created" the beast and claims that the real beast is inside them all. Simon also locates the dead parachutist who had been mistaken for the beast, and is the sole member of the group to recognise that the "monster" is merely a human corpse. Simon, hoping to tell others of the discovery, finds Jack's tribe in the island's interior during a ritual dance and, mistaken for the beast, is killed by the frenzied boys. Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric feel guilty that they, too, participated in this murderous "dance."
Jack and his band of "savages" decide that they should possess Piggy's glasses, the only means of starting a fire on the island, so they raid Ralph's camp, confiscate the glasses, and return to their abode on Castle Rock. Ralph, now deserted by most of his supporters, journeys to Castle Rock to confront Jack and secure the glasses. Taking the conch and accompanied only by Piggy, Sam, and Eric, Ralph finds the tribe and demands that they return the valuable object. Turning against Ralph, the tribe takes Sam and Eric captive while Roger drops a boulder from his vantage point above, killing Piggy and shattering the conch. Ralph manages to escape, but Sam and Eric are tortured until they agree to join Jack's tribe.
The following morning, Jack orders his tribe to begin a manhunt for Ralph. Jack's savages set fire to the forest while Ralph desperately weighs his options for survival. Following a long chase, most of the island is consumed in flames. With the hunters closely behind him Ralph trips and falls. He looks up at a uniformed adult - a naval officer whose party has landed from a passing warship to investigate the fire. Ralph bursts into tears over the death of Piggy and the "end of innocence". Infected by his emotion the other children, filthy and unkempt but suddenly reverting to their true ages, also spontaneously erupt into sobs. After expressing disappointment that "British boys" had fallen into such feral behaviour, the officer awkwardly turns away to give them a moment to pull themselves together.
Allegorical relationships
Ralph
When he and the others arrive on the island, Ralph quickly becomes the chief of the group, not by any harsh, overt, or physical action, but by being elected.[7] Ralph is described as having "the directness of genuine leadership".[8] Ralph's first big decision is that they have "got to decide if this is an island".[9] After Ralph, Jack, and Simon discover that they are truly "on an uninhabited island",[10] Ralph suggests that a fire be lit because "if a ship comes near the island they may not notice us".[11] However, towards the end of the book he forgets the initial reason for maintaining the fire. This is representative of the debilitating effects corruption has on even the most benevolent of men. Ralph may seem to mean well, but often his obsession with being popular overcomes him and he resorts to bullying Piggy to regain his power. Therefore, Ralph can be understood to symbolize mankind's optimistic ambition to self-govern despite its historical record of failure and abuse of power. Still, in the midst of all the island's chaos, Ralph has a tendency to be polite, selfless and logical in the tensest of moments; for example, when the children are obliged to investigate Castle Rock, Ralph takes the lead despite being afraid of "the beast". Ralph is sometimes perceived as partially being a literary tool to aid the audience's realisation of inner evil throughout the duration of the novel; "Ralph wept for the end of innocence".
Just as mankind has demonstrated its limitations in effective self-governing, Ralph embodies good intentions in the implementation of reason, but ultimately fails to execute these plans soundly. Ralph's refusal to resort to violence throughout the novel is counterpoised by Jack's inherent love of violence.
Piggy
Piggy has poor eyesight, asthma, and is overweight.[12] He is the most physically vulnerable of all the boys. He appears to be of working-class background, as evidenced by his non-standard Cockney speech,[13] but he is the most intellectual of the boys, frequently appealing to reason. By frequently quoting his aunt, he provides the only female voice.
Piggy has been described as "the only adult-type figure on the island".[13] His intellect benefits the group only through Ralph; he acts as Ralph's adviser. He cannot be the leader himself because he lacks leadership qualities and has no rapport with the other boys. Piggy relies on the power of social convention. He believes that holding the conch gives him the right to be heard. He believes that upholding social conventions produces results.
Piggy asserts that "Life ... is scientific".[14] Ever the pragmatist, Piggy complains, "What good're you doing talking like that?"[15] when Ralph brings up the highly charged issue of Simon's death at their hands. Piggy tries to keep life scientific despite the incident, "searching for a formula"[16] to explain the death. He asserts that the assault on Simon was an accident, and justifiable because Simon asked for it by inexplicably crawling out of the forest into the ring.[16]
Piggy is so intent on preserving some remnant of civilization on the island that, after Jack's tribe attacks Ralph's group, he assumes they "wanted the conch",[17] when, in fact, they have come for Piggy's glasses[17] in order to make fire. Even up to the moment of his death, Piggy's perspective does not shift in response to the reality of their situation. Because his eminently intellectual approach to life is modelled on the attitudes and rules of the authoritative adult world, he thinks everyone should share his values and attitudes as a matter of course. When Ralph and Piggy confront Jack's tribe about the stolen spectacles, Piggy asks "Which is better—to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill? ... law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?"[18] as if there is no doubt that the boys would choose his preference.
The Conch
When first blown, it calls the children to an assembly, where Ralph is elected leader. They agree that only the boy holding the conch may speak at meetings to forestall arguments and chaos, and that it should be passed around to those who wish to voice their opinion. The conch symbolises effective democracy and, like Ralph, civility and order within the group. When Piggy is killed, the conch is smashed into pieces,[18] signalling the end of order and the onset of chaos.[citation needed] Originally the conch is portrayed as being very vibrant and colourful, but as the novel progresses, its colours begin to fade, the same way society begins to fade on the island.
Jack Merridew
Jack epitomises the worst aspects of human nature when unrepressed or un-tempered by society. Like Ralph, Jack is a natural leader. Unlike Ralph, Jack appeals to more primal desires in the children and relies on his status as leader of the choirboys to justify his authority. Although his way of behaving is neither disruptive nor violent at the beginning of the book, he does, at that time, express an unquenchable desire to hunt and kill a pig and spends hours in solitude traversing the island.
Beginning with his self nomination as hunter, Jack eventually degenerates into the beast he is consumed with slaying. The first time Jack has an opportunity to kill a pig, he cannot, "because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood".[19] After this hesitation, for which he is most ashamed, Jack's blood lust grows more and more irrational, to the point where he abandons the fire (and causes the boys to miss a potential rescue) in order to hunt. During Jack's metamorphosis, he begins to paint his face with clay and earth, masking his humanity from the pigs and inspiring terrible awe amongst the boys.
Jack's transition puts him on a collision course with Ralph's elected authority. As Jack leaves and takes the majority of the boys with him, lured by the promises of meat, play, and freedom, there has arisen a clear dividing line between the two. Jack represents the irrational nature of the boys, while Ralph represents rationality. Under Jack's rule, the baseness of human nature is unleashed, and he initiates a period of inter-tribal violence, punishing other children, inciting the frenzy that leads to the murder of Simon, and torturing the twins until they submit to his authority.
The tale ends with Jack leading many of the boys in a frenzied attempt to kill Ralph. At this time, the last remaining vestiges of civilization are gone, and Ralph's demise is only prevented by the abrupt and unexpected arrival of a naval officer, who is disappointed by the savage nature of the British boys.[20]
Roger
Roger, at first, is a simple "bigun" who is having fun during his stay on the island. Along with Maurice, he destroys the sand castles made by three small children. While Maurice feels guilt for kicking sand into a child's eye, Roger begins to emerge as a sadist as he throws stones at one of the boys. The book states that Roger threw the stones to miss and felt the presence of civilization and society preventing him from harming the children.[21] Later, once he feels that all aspects of conventional society are gone, he is left alone to his animal urges. During a pig hunt, Roger shoves a sharpened stick up the animal's rectum while it is still alive.[22] He kills Piggy with a boulder that was no longer aimed to miss and becomes the executioner and torturer of Jack's tribe. He also tortured Sam and Eric into joining Jack's tribe. In the final hunt for Ralph at the end of the novel, Roger is armed with "a stick sharpened at both ends,"[23] indicating his intentions of killing Ralph and offering his head as a sacrifice to the "beast". He represents the person who enjoys hurting others and is only restrained when the rules of society exist.[24]
Simon
Simon is a character who represents peace and tranquillity and positivity. He is often seen wandering off by himself in a dreamy state and is prone to fits of fainting and hallucination, likely epileptic in nature. He is in tune with the island and often experiences extraordinary sensations when listening to its sounds. He loves the nature of the island. He is positive about the future. He has an extreme aversion to the pig's head, the "Lord of the Flies", which derides and taunts Simon in a hallucination. After this experience, Simon emerges from the forest to tell the others that the "beast" that fell from the sky is actually a deceased parachutist caught on the mountain. He is brutally killed by the boys, who ironically mistake him for the beast and kill him in their "dance" in which they "ripped and tore at the beast". It is implied that Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric partake in the killing. The final words that the "Lord of the Flies" had said to Simon vaguely predicted that his death was about to occur in this manner. Earlier in the novel Simon himself also predicts his own death when he tells Ralph that Ralph will "get back all right",[25] implying that, of the two of them, only Ralph will be saved. Simon's death represents the loss of truth, innocence, and common sense. Simon is most commonly interpreted as a Christ figure because of his ability to see through misconception, unlike the rest of the boys, and the events he experiences in the book that parallel those of Jesus' life.
Naval Officer
Arriving moments before Ralph's seemingly impending death, the Royal Navy officer is surprised and disappointed to learn that the boys' society has collapsed into chaos. He states that he would have expected "a better show"[26] from British children. The sudden looming appearance of an adult authority figure instantly reduces the savagery of the hunt to a children's game. Upon the officer asking who is in charge, Ralph answers loudly, "I am",[26] and Jack, who was previously characterised as a powerful leader, is reduced to "A little boy who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who carried the remains of a pair of spectacles at his waist".[26] In the last sentence, the officer, embarrassed by the distress of the children, turns to look at the cruiser from which his party has landed—a symbol of his own adult war.
The Beast
The Beast represents the latent savagery within all human beings. It is first mentioned by a "littlun," and the notion is immediately dismissed by Ralph. The Beast is thought to be within the water and described by the littluns as such. Soon after the rumours of the Beast begin to flourish, the corpse of a fighter pilot, ejected from his aircraft, falls to the island. His parachute becomes entangled in the jungle foliage in such a way that sporadic gusts of wind cause the chute to billow and the body to move as if still alive. Sam and Eric discover the parachutist in the dark and believe that it is the beast. Ralph, Jack, and Roger search for the Beast and encounter it on the mountain. The reality of the Beast is now firmly established in the boys' minds. Simon discovers the parachutist and realizes that the beast is really only the corpse of a man. Jack's tribe feeds the Beast with the sow's head on a stick. This act symbolizes Jack's willingness to succumb to the temptation of animalism.
Simon is the first child on the island to realize that the Beast is created by the boys' fear. He decides that "the news must reach the others as soon as possible".[27] Meanwhile, the boys have been feasting and begin to do their tribal pig-hunting dance. When "the beast stumble[s] in to the horseshoe",[28] the frenzied, terrified boys "leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore".[29] While this is going on, the pilot's dead body finally falls out of the tree and down the mountain into the sea. It becomes clear that the boys have mistaken Simon for the beast and murdered, with Golding describing "Simon's dead body move[ing] out towards the open sea",[30] and on the morning after when Ralph tells Piggy, "That was Simon .... That was murder".[15]
The Lord of the Flies
The eponymous Lord of the Flies exists physically as a pig's head that has been cut off by Jack, put on a stick sharpened at both ends, stuck in the ground, and left as an offering to the "beast". Created out of fear, the Lord of the Flies is the remnant of a mother sow who, though at one time loving and innocent, has now become a manically smiling, bleeding image of horror. It represents both an intelligent, supernatural malevolence with the power to evoke "the beast" within all, as well as the power of evil in the heart of mankind. Near the end of the book, while Ralph is being hunted down, he strikes the now skeletal pig's head twice in one moment of blind anger, causing it to crack and fall on the ground with a grin "now six feet across".[31] The name "Lord of the Flies" is a literal translation of Beelzebub.
Adaptations
There have been these film adaptations:
Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook
Alkitrang dugo (1976), a Filipino film, with female cast members
Lord of the Flies (1990), directed by Harry Hook
Devolved (2010), written and directed by John Cregan
Nigel Williams adapted the text for the stage. It was debuted by the Royal Shakespeare Company in July 1996. The Pilot Theatre Company has toured it extensively in the United Kingdom and abroad.
In October 2014 it was announced that the 2011 acclaimed production [32] of Lord of the Flies would return to conclude the 2015 season at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre ahead of a major UK tour. The production is to be directed by the Artistic Director Timothy Sheader who won the 2014 Whatsonstage.com Awards Best Play Revival for To Kill A Mockingbird.
In June 2013, BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast a dramatization by Judith Adams in four 30-minute episodes directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.[33] The cast included Ruth Wilson as "The Narrator", Finn Bennett as "Ralph", Richard Linnel as "Jack", Caspar Hilton-Hilley as "Piggy" and Jack Caine as "Simon".
1: Fire on the Mountain
2: Painted Faces
3: Beast from the Air
4: Gift for Darkness
Influence
[icon] This section requires expansion. (April 2015)
Many writers have borrowed plot elements from Lord of the Flies. By the early 1960s, it was required reading in many schools and colleges.[citation needed]
Film
Stephen King's fictional town of Castle Rock, inspired by the fictional mountain fort of the same name in Lord of the Flies, in turn inspired the name of Rob Reiner's production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced the film Lord of the Flies (1990).[34]
Literature
Stephen King got the name Castle Rock from the fictional mountain fort of the same name in Lord of the Flies and used the name to refer to a fictional town that has appeared in a number of his novels.[35] The book itself appears prominently in his novels Hearts in Atlantis (1999), Misery (1987), and Cujo (1981).[36]
Stephen King wrote an introduction for a new edition of Lord of the Flies (2011) to mark the centenary of William Golding's birth in 2011.[34]
Music
The final song on U2's debut album Boy (1980) takes its title, "Shadows and Tall Trees", from Chapter 7 in the book.[37]
See also
Batavia (ship)
"Das Bus", an episode of The Simpsons with a similar plot[38]
Heart of Darkness (1899), short novel by Joseph Conrad
Island mentality
State of nature
The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean (1858), novel by R. M. Ballantyne with a similar premise but an opposite perspective
Tunnel in the Sky (1955), science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein which presents an opposite view of human nature, wherein stranded juveniles create the beginnings of a stable society
Two Years' Vacation (1888), adventure novel by Jules Verne
Robbers Cave Experiment
References
1.Jump up ^ "Bound books – a set on Flickr". Retrieved 10 September 2012.
2.Jump up ^ "100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999". American Library Association. 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
3.Jump up ^ Grossman, Lev; Lacayo, Richard (6 October 2005). "ALL-TIME 100 Novels. Lord of the Flies (1955), by William Golding". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
4.Jump up ^ "BBC – The Big Read". BBC. April 2003, Retrieved 18 October 2012
5.Jump up ^ James Rupert Baker and Arthur P. Ziegler, ed. (1983). William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Penguin. p. xxi.
6.Jump up ^ Rosenfield, Claire (1990). "Men of a Smaller Growth: A Psychological Analysis of William Golding's Lord of the Flies". Contemporary Literary Criticism 58 (Detroit, MI: Gale Research). pp. 93–101.
7.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 19.
8.Jump up ^ Golding, pp. 21–22.
9.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 20.
10.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 31.
11.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 37.
12.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 3.
13.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.nubuk.com/literature/lotf01.pdf
14.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 90.
15.^ Jump up to: a b Golding, p. 172.
16.^ Jump up to: a b Golding, p. 173.
17.^ Jump up to: a b Golding, p. 186.
18.^ Jump up to: a b Golding, p. 200.
19.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 29.
20.Jump up ^ Golding.
21.Jump up ^ Golding, pp. 64–65.
22.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 149.
23.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 211.
24.Jump up ^ Kelly, Maureen. "Character Analysis: Roger." CliffsNotes on Lord of the Flies. Web. 8 Mar 2011. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/id-64.html
25.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 121.
26.^ Jump up to: a b c Golding, p. 224
27.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 162.
28.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 168.
29.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 169.
30.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 170.
31.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 206.
32.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Flies, Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 May 2011.[not in citation given]
33.Jump up ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02x5ksf
34.^ Jump up to: a b King, Stephen (2011). "Introduction by Stephen King". Faber and Faber. Retrieved 2011-10-12.
35.Jump up ^ Beahm, George (1992). The Stephen King story (Revised ed.). Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel. p. 120. ISBN 0-8362-8004-0. "Castle Rock, which King in turn had got from Golding's Lord of the Flies."
36.Jump up ^ "Stephen King (1947–)". Authors' Calendar. 2003. Retrieved 27 March 2007.
37.Jump up ^ Bailie, Stuart (13 June 1992). "Rock and Roll Should Be This Big!". NME. UK. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
38.Jump up ^ Cohen, David (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for "Das Bus" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
Golding, William (1958) [1954]. Lord of the Flies (Print ed.). Boston: Faber & Faber.
External links
 Wikibooks has more on the topic of: Lord of the Flies
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lord of the Flies
Chapter 1: "The Sound of the Shell" of the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding on eNotes
Lord of the Flies student guide and teacher resources; themes, quotes, characters, study questions
Reading and teaching guide from Faber and Faber, the book's UK publisher
An interview with Judy Golding, the author's daughter, in which she discusses the inspiration for the book, and the reasons for its enduring legacy
William Golding official website run and administered by the William Golding Estate


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
William Golding

 
Works
Poems (1934) ·
 Lord of the Flies (1954) ·
 The Inheritors (1955) ·
 Pincher Martin (1956) ·
 The Brass Butterfly : a Play in Three Acts (1958) ·
 Free Fall (1959) ·
 The Spire (1964) ·
 The Hot Gates, and Other Occasional Pieces (1965) ·
 The Pyramid (1967) ·
 The Scorpion God : Three Short Novels (1971) ·
 Darkness Visible (1979) ·
 Rites of Passage (1980) ·
 A Moving Target (1982) ·
 Nobel Lecture, 7 December 1983 (1984) ·
 The Paper Men (1984) ·
 An Egyptian Journal (1985) ·
 Close Quarters (1987) ·
 Fire Down Below (1989) ·
 The Double Tongue (1995)
 
 
List of works


  


Categories: 1954 novels
Dystopian novels
Allegory
British novels adapted into films
Novels by William Golding
Debut novels
British young adult novels
Novels set on islands
Castaways in fiction
Faber and Faber books
Uninhabited islands in fiction

















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

View source

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Azərbaycanca
Беларуская
Български
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Español
Esperanto
فارسی
Français
Galego
한국어
हिन्दी
Ido
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
עברית
ქართული
Latviešu
Magyar
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Simple English
Српски / srpski
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Українська
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 15 April 2015, at 22:04.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies
























 


Page semi-protected

Lord of the Flies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For the 1963 film, see Lord of the Flies (1963 film). For the 1990 film, see Lord of the Flies (1990 film). For other uses, see Lord of the Flies (disambiguation).


 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2015)
Lord of the Flies
LordOfTheFliesBookCover.jpg
The original UK Lord of the Flies book cover
 
Author
William Golding
Cover artist
Anthony Gross[1]
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Genre
Allegorical novel
Publisher
Faber and Faber

Publication date
 17 September 1954
ISBN
ISBN 0-571-05686-5 (first edition, paperback)
OCLC
47677622
Lord of the Flies is a 1954 dystopian novel by Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on an uninhabited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. Its stances on the already controversial subjects of human nature and individual welfare versus the common good earned it position 68 on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–1999.[2] The novel is a reaction to the youth novel The Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne.
Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first novel. Although it was not a great success at the time—selling fewer than 3,000 copies in the United States during 1955 before going out of print—it soon went on to become a best-seller. It has been adapted to film twice in English, in 1963 by Peter Brook and 1990 by Harry Hook, and once in Filipino (1976).
In 2005 the novel was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.[3] It was awarded a place on both lists of Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 41 on the editor's list, and 25 on the reader's list. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 70 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.[4]


Contents  [hide]
1 Background
2 Plot
3 Allegorical relationships 3.1 Ralph
3.2 Piggy
3.3 The Conch
3.4 Jack Merridew
3.5 Roger
3.6 Simon
3.7 Naval Officer
3.8 The Beast
3.9 The Lord of the Flies
4 Adaptations
5 Influence 5.1 Film
5.2 Literature
5.3 Music
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Background
The book indicates that it takes place in the midst of an unspecified nuclear war. Some of the marooned characters are ordinary students, while others arrive as a musical choir under an established leader. Most (with the exception of the choirboys) appear never to have encountered one another before. The book portrays their descent into savagery; left to themselves in a paradisiacal country, far from modern civilisation, the well-educated children regress to a primitive state.
At an allegorical level, the central theme is the conflicting human impulses toward civilization—living by rules, peacefully and in harmony—and toward the will to power. Themes include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. How these play out, and how different people feel the influences of these, form a major subtext of Lord of the Flies.[citation needed] The name "Lord of the Flies" is a literal translation of Beelzebub, from 2 Kings 1:2-3, 6, 16.
Plot
In the midst of a wartime evacuation, a British plane crashes on or near an isolated island in a remote region of the Pacific Ocean. The only survivors are boys in their middle childhood or preadolescence. Two boys—the fair-haired Ralph and an overweight, bespectacled boy nicknamed "Piggy"—find a conch, which Ralph uses as a horn to call all the survivors to one area. Due largely to the fact that Ralph appears responsible for bringing all the survivors together, he is quickly elected their "chief", though he does not receive the votes of the members of a boys' choir, led by the red-headed Jack Merridew. Ralph asserts three primary goals: to have fun, survive, and to maintain a smoke signal that could alert passing ships to their presence on the island. The boys declare that whoever holds the conch shall also be able to speak at their formal gatherings and receive the attentive silence of the larger group.
Jack organises his choir group into a hunting party responsible for discovering a food source; Ralph, Jack, and a quiet, dreamy boy named Simon soon form a loose troika of leaders. Though he is Ralph's only confidant, Piggy is quickly made an outcast by his fellow "biguns" (older boys) and becomes an unwilling source of laughs for the other children. Simon, in addition to supervising the project of constructing shelters, feels an instinctive need to protect the "littluns" (younger boys).
The semblance of order quickly deteriorates as the majority of the boys turn idle, giving little aid in building shelters, and begin to develop paranoias about the island, referring to a supposed monster, the "beast", which they believe to exist on the island. Ralph insists that no such beast exists, but Jack, who has started a power struggle with Ralph, gains control of the discussion by boldly promising to kill the beast. At one point, Jack summons all of his hunters to hunt down a wild pig, drawing away those assigned to maintain the signal fire. A ship travels by the island, but without the boys' smoke signal to alert the ship's crew, the ship continues by without stopping. Angered by the failure of the boys to attract potential rescuers, Ralph considers relinquishing his position, but is convinced not to do so by Piggy.
One night, an aerial battle occurs over the island while the boys sleep, during which a dead fighter pilot is ejected from his plane. His body drifts down to the island in his parachute, both get tangled in a tree near the top of the mountain. Later on, while Jack schemes against Ralph, twins Sam and Eric, now assigned to the maintenance of the signal fire, see the corpse of the fighter pilot and his parachute in the dark. Mistaking the corpse for the beast, they run to the cluster of shelters that Ralph and Simon have erected and warn the others. This unexpected meeting again raises tensions between Jack and Ralph. Shortly thereafter, Jack decides to lead a party to the other side of the island, where a mountain of stones, later called Castle Rock, forms a place where he claims the beast resides. Only Ralph and Jack's sadistic supporter Roger agree to go; Ralph turns back shortly before the other two boys. When they arrive at the shelters, Jack calls an assembly and tries to turn the others against Ralph, asking for them to remove him from his position. Receiving little support, Jack, Roger, and another boy leave the shelters to form their own tribe. This tribe lures in recruits from the main group by providing a feast of cooked pig and its members begin to paint their faces and enact bizarre rituals including sacrifices to the beast.
Simon, likely an epileptic,[5][6] wanders off on his own to think and finds a severed pig head, left by Jack as an offering to the beast. Simon envisions the pig head, now swarming with scavenging flies, as the "Lord of the Flies" and believes that it is talking to him. The pig's head tells Simon that the boys themselves "created" the beast and claims that the real beast is inside them all. Simon also locates the dead parachutist who had been mistaken for the beast, and is the sole member of the group to recognise that the "monster" is merely a human corpse. Simon, hoping to tell others of the discovery, finds Jack's tribe in the island's interior during a ritual dance and, mistaken for the beast, is killed by the frenzied boys. Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric feel guilty that they, too, participated in this murderous "dance."
Jack and his band of "savages" decide that they should possess Piggy's glasses, the only means of starting a fire on the island, so they raid Ralph's camp, confiscate the glasses, and return to their abode on Castle Rock. Ralph, now deserted by most of his supporters, journeys to Castle Rock to confront Jack and secure the glasses. Taking the conch and accompanied only by Piggy, Sam, and Eric, Ralph finds the tribe and demands that they return the valuable object. Turning against Ralph, the tribe takes Sam and Eric captive while Roger drops a boulder from his vantage point above, killing Piggy and shattering the conch. Ralph manages to escape, but Sam and Eric are tortured until they agree to join Jack's tribe.
The following morning, Jack orders his tribe to begin a manhunt for Ralph. Jack's savages set fire to the forest while Ralph desperately weighs his options for survival. Following a long chase, most of the island is consumed in flames. With the hunters closely behind him Ralph trips and falls. He looks up at a uniformed adult - a naval officer whose party has landed from a passing warship to investigate the fire. Ralph bursts into tears over the death of Piggy and the "end of innocence". Infected by his emotion the other children, filthy and unkempt but suddenly reverting to their true ages, also spontaneously erupt into sobs. After expressing disappointment that "British boys" had fallen into such feral behaviour, the officer awkwardly turns away to give them a moment to pull themselves together.
Allegorical relationships
Ralph
When he and the others arrive on the island, Ralph quickly becomes the chief of the group, not by any harsh, overt, or physical action, but by being elected.[7] Ralph is described as having "the directness of genuine leadership".[8] Ralph's first big decision is that they have "got to decide if this is an island".[9] After Ralph, Jack, and Simon discover that they are truly "on an uninhabited island",[10] Ralph suggests that a fire be lit because "if a ship comes near the island they may not notice us".[11] However, towards the end of the book he forgets the initial reason for maintaining the fire. This is representative of the debilitating effects corruption has on even the most benevolent of men. Ralph may seem to mean well, but often his obsession with being popular overcomes him and he resorts to bullying Piggy to regain his power. Therefore, Ralph can be understood to symbolize mankind's optimistic ambition to self-govern despite its historical record of failure and abuse of power. Still, in the midst of all the island's chaos, Ralph has a tendency to be polite, selfless and logical in the tensest of moments; for example, when the children are obliged to investigate Castle Rock, Ralph takes the lead despite being afraid of "the beast". Ralph is sometimes perceived as partially being a literary tool to aid the audience's realisation of inner evil throughout the duration of the novel; "Ralph wept for the end of innocence".
Just as mankind has demonstrated its limitations in effective self-governing, Ralph embodies good intentions in the implementation of reason, but ultimately fails to execute these plans soundly. Ralph's refusal to resort to violence throughout the novel is counterpoised by Jack's inherent love of violence.
Piggy
Piggy has poor eyesight, asthma, and is overweight.[12] He is the most physically vulnerable of all the boys. He appears to be of working-class background, as evidenced by his non-standard Cockney speech,[13] but he is the most intellectual of the boys, frequently appealing to reason. By frequently quoting his aunt, he provides the only female voice.
Piggy has been described as "the only adult-type figure on the island".[13] His intellect benefits the group only through Ralph; he acts as Ralph's adviser. He cannot be the leader himself because he lacks leadership qualities and has no rapport with the other boys. Piggy relies on the power of social convention. He believes that holding the conch gives him the right to be heard. He believes that upholding social conventions produces results.
Piggy asserts that "Life ... is scientific".[14] Ever the pragmatist, Piggy complains, "What good're you doing talking like that?"[15] when Ralph brings up the highly charged issue of Simon's death at their hands. Piggy tries to keep life scientific despite the incident, "searching for a formula"[16] to explain the death. He asserts that the assault on Simon was an accident, and justifiable because Simon asked for it by inexplicably crawling out of the forest into the ring.[16]
Piggy is so intent on preserving some remnant of civilization on the island that, after Jack's tribe attacks Ralph's group, he assumes they "wanted the conch",[17] when, in fact, they have come for Piggy's glasses[17] in order to make fire. Even up to the moment of his death, Piggy's perspective does not shift in response to the reality of their situation. Because his eminently intellectual approach to life is modelled on the attitudes and rules of the authoritative adult world, he thinks everyone should share his values and attitudes as a matter of course. When Ralph and Piggy confront Jack's tribe about the stolen spectacles, Piggy asks "Which is better—to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill? ... law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?"[18] as if there is no doubt that the boys would choose his preference.
The Conch
When first blown, it calls the children to an assembly, where Ralph is elected leader. They agree that only the boy holding the conch may speak at meetings to forestall arguments and chaos, and that it should be passed around to those who wish to voice their opinion. The conch symbolises effective democracy and, like Ralph, civility and order within the group. When Piggy is killed, the conch is smashed into pieces,[18] signalling the end of order and the onset of chaos.[citation needed] Originally the conch is portrayed as being very vibrant and colourful, but as the novel progresses, its colours begin to fade, the same way society begins to fade on the island.
Jack Merridew
Jack epitomises the worst aspects of human nature when unrepressed or un-tempered by society. Like Ralph, Jack is a natural leader. Unlike Ralph, Jack appeals to more primal desires in the children and relies on his status as leader of the choirboys to justify his authority. Although his way of behaving is neither disruptive nor violent at the beginning of the book, he does, at that time, express an unquenchable desire to hunt and kill a pig and spends hours in solitude traversing the island.
Beginning with his self nomination as hunter, Jack eventually degenerates into the beast he is consumed with slaying. The first time Jack has an opportunity to kill a pig, he cannot, "because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood".[19] After this hesitation, for which he is most ashamed, Jack's blood lust grows more and more irrational, to the point where he abandons the fire (and causes the boys to miss a potential rescue) in order to hunt. During Jack's metamorphosis, he begins to paint his face with clay and earth, masking his humanity from the pigs and inspiring terrible awe amongst the boys.
Jack's transition puts him on a collision course with Ralph's elected authority. As Jack leaves and takes the majority of the boys with him, lured by the promises of meat, play, and freedom, there has arisen a clear dividing line between the two. Jack represents the irrational nature of the boys, while Ralph represents rationality. Under Jack's rule, the baseness of human nature is unleashed, and he initiates a period of inter-tribal violence, punishing other children, inciting the frenzy that leads to the murder of Simon, and torturing the twins until they submit to his authority.
The tale ends with Jack leading many of the boys in a frenzied attempt to kill Ralph. At this time, the last remaining vestiges of civilization are gone, and Ralph's demise is only prevented by the abrupt and unexpected arrival of a naval officer, who is disappointed by the savage nature of the British boys.[20]
Roger
Roger, at first, is a simple "bigun" who is having fun during his stay on the island. Along with Maurice, he destroys the sand castles made by three small children. While Maurice feels guilt for kicking sand into a child's eye, Roger begins to emerge as a sadist as he throws stones at one of the boys. The book states that Roger threw the stones to miss and felt the presence of civilization and society preventing him from harming the children.[21] Later, once he feels that all aspects of conventional society are gone, he is left alone to his animal urges. During a pig hunt, Roger shoves a sharpened stick up the animal's rectum while it is still alive.[22] He kills Piggy with a boulder that was no longer aimed to miss and becomes the executioner and torturer of Jack's tribe. He also tortured Sam and Eric into joining Jack's tribe. In the final hunt for Ralph at the end of the novel, Roger is armed with "a stick sharpened at both ends,"[23] indicating his intentions of killing Ralph and offering his head as a sacrifice to the "beast". He represents the person who enjoys hurting others and is only restrained when the rules of society exist.[24]
Simon
Simon is a character who represents peace and tranquillity and positivity. He is often seen wandering off by himself in a dreamy state and is prone to fits of fainting and hallucination, likely epileptic in nature. He is in tune with the island and often experiences extraordinary sensations when listening to its sounds. He loves the nature of the island. He is positive about the future. He has an extreme aversion to the pig's head, the "Lord of the Flies", which derides and taunts Simon in a hallucination. After this experience, Simon emerges from the forest to tell the others that the "beast" that fell from the sky is actually a deceased parachutist caught on the mountain. He is brutally killed by the boys, who ironically mistake him for the beast and kill him in their "dance" in which they "ripped and tore at the beast". It is implied that Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric partake in the killing. The final words that the "Lord of the Flies" had said to Simon vaguely predicted that his death was about to occur in this manner. Earlier in the novel Simon himself also predicts his own death when he tells Ralph that Ralph will "get back all right",[25] implying that, of the two of them, only Ralph will be saved. Simon's death represents the loss of truth, innocence, and common sense. Simon is most commonly interpreted as a Christ figure because of his ability to see through misconception, unlike the rest of the boys, and the events he experiences in the book that parallel those of Jesus' life.
Naval Officer
Arriving moments before Ralph's seemingly impending death, the Royal Navy officer is surprised and disappointed to learn that the boys' society has collapsed into chaos. He states that he would have expected "a better show"[26] from British children. The sudden looming appearance of an adult authority figure instantly reduces the savagery of the hunt to a children's game. Upon the officer asking who is in charge, Ralph answers loudly, "I am",[26] and Jack, who was previously characterised as a powerful leader, is reduced to "A little boy who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who carried the remains of a pair of spectacles at his waist".[26] In the last sentence, the officer, embarrassed by the distress of the children, turns to look at the cruiser from which his party has landed—a symbol of his own adult war.
The Beast
The Beast represents the latent savagery within all human beings. It is first mentioned by a "littlun," and the notion is immediately dismissed by Ralph. The Beast is thought to be within the water and described by the littluns as such. Soon after the rumours of the Beast begin to flourish, the corpse of a fighter pilot, ejected from his aircraft, falls to the island. His parachute becomes entangled in the jungle foliage in such a way that sporadic gusts of wind cause the chute to billow and the body to move as if still alive. Sam and Eric discover the parachutist in the dark and believe that it is the beast. Ralph, Jack, and Roger search for the Beast and encounter it on the mountain. The reality of the Beast is now firmly established in the boys' minds. Simon discovers the parachutist and realizes that the beast is really only the corpse of a man. Jack's tribe feeds the Beast with the sow's head on a stick. This act symbolizes Jack's willingness to succumb to the temptation of animalism.
Simon is the first child on the island to realize that the Beast is created by the boys' fear. He decides that "the news must reach the others as soon as possible".[27] Meanwhile, the boys have been feasting and begin to do their tribal pig-hunting dance. When "the beast stumble[s] in to the horseshoe",[28] the frenzied, terrified boys "leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore".[29] While this is going on, the pilot's dead body finally falls out of the tree and down the mountain into the sea. It becomes clear that the boys have mistaken Simon for the beast and murdered, with Golding describing "Simon's dead body move[ing] out towards the open sea",[30] and on the morning after when Ralph tells Piggy, "That was Simon .... That was murder".[15]
The Lord of the Flies
The eponymous Lord of the Flies exists physically as a pig's head that has been cut off by Jack, put on a stick sharpened at both ends, stuck in the ground, and left as an offering to the "beast". Created out of fear, the Lord of the Flies is the remnant of a mother sow who, though at one time loving and innocent, has now become a manically smiling, bleeding image of horror. It represents both an intelligent, supernatural malevolence with the power to evoke "the beast" within all, as well as the power of evil in the heart of mankind. Near the end of the book, while Ralph is being hunted down, he strikes the now skeletal pig's head twice in one moment of blind anger, causing it to crack and fall on the ground with a grin "now six feet across".[31] The name "Lord of the Flies" is a literal translation of Beelzebub.
Adaptations
There have been these film adaptations:
Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook
Alkitrang dugo (1976), a Filipino film, with female cast members
Lord of the Flies (1990), directed by Harry Hook
Devolved (2010), written and directed by John Cregan
Nigel Williams adapted the text for the stage. It was debuted by the Royal Shakespeare Company in July 1996. The Pilot Theatre Company has toured it extensively in the United Kingdom and abroad.
In October 2014 it was announced that the 2011 acclaimed production [32] of Lord of the Flies would return to conclude the 2015 season at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre ahead of a major UK tour. The production is to be directed by the Artistic Director Timothy Sheader who won the 2014 Whatsonstage.com Awards Best Play Revival for To Kill A Mockingbird.
In June 2013, BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast a dramatization by Judith Adams in four 30-minute episodes directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.[33] The cast included Ruth Wilson as "The Narrator", Finn Bennett as "Ralph", Richard Linnel as "Jack", Caspar Hilton-Hilley as "Piggy" and Jack Caine as "Simon".
1: Fire on the Mountain
2: Painted Faces
3: Beast from the Air
4: Gift for Darkness
Influence
[icon] This section requires expansion. (April 2015)
Many writers have borrowed plot elements from Lord of the Flies. By the early 1960s, it was required reading in many schools and colleges.[citation needed]
Film
Stephen King's fictional town of Castle Rock, inspired by the fictional mountain fort of the same name in Lord of the Flies, in turn inspired the name of Rob Reiner's production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced the film Lord of the Flies (1990).[34]
Literature
Stephen King got the name Castle Rock from the fictional mountain fort of the same name in Lord of the Flies and used the name to refer to a fictional town that has appeared in a number of his novels.[35] The book itself appears prominently in his novels Hearts in Atlantis (1999), Misery (1987), and Cujo (1981).[36]
Stephen King wrote an introduction for a new edition of Lord of the Flies (2011) to mark the centenary of William Golding's birth in 2011.[34]
Music
The final song on U2's debut album Boy (1980) takes its title, "Shadows and Tall Trees", from Chapter 7 in the book.[37]
See also
Batavia (ship)
"Das Bus", an episode of The Simpsons with a similar plot[38]
Heart of Darkness (1899), short novel by Joseph Conrad
Island mentality
State of nature
The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean (1858), novel by R. M. Ballantyne with a similar premise but an opposite perspective
Tunnel in the Sky (1955), science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein which presents an opposite view of human nature, wherein stranded juveniles create the beginnings of a stable society
Two Years' Vacation (1888), adventure novel by Jules Verne
Robbers Cave Experiment
References
1.Jump up ^ "Bound books – a set on Flickr". Retrieved 10 September 2012.
2.Jump up ^ "100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999". American Library Association. 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
3.Jump up ^ Grossman, Lev; Lacayo, Richard (6 October 2005). "ALL-TIME 100 Novels. Lord of the Flies (1955), by William Golding". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
4.Jump up ^ "BBC – The Big Read". BBC. April 2003, Retrieved 18 October 2012
5.Jump up ^ James Rupert Baker and Arthur P. Ziegler, ed. (1983). William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Penguin. p. xxi.
6.Jump up ^ Rosenfield, Claire (1990). "Men of a Smaller Growth: A Psychological Analysis of William Golding's Lord of the Flies". Contemporary Literary Criticism 58 (Detroit, MI: Gale Research). pp. 93–101.
7.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 19.
8.Jump up ^ Golding, pp. 21–22.
9.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 20.
10.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 31.
11.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 37.
12.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 3.
13.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.nubuk.com/literature/lotf01.pdf
14.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 90.
15.^ Jump up to: a b Golding, p. 172.
16.^ Jump up to: a b Golding, p. 173.
17.^ Jump up to: a b Golding, p. 186.
18.^ Jump up to: a b Golding, p. 200.
19.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 29.
20.Jump up ^ Golding.
21.Jump up ^ Golding, pp. 64–65.
22.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 149.
23.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 211.
24.Jump up ^ Kelly, Maureen. "Character Analysis: Roger." CliffsNotes on Lord of the Flies. Web. 8 Mar 2011. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/id-64.html
25.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 121.
26.^ Jump up to: a b c Golding, p. 224
27.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 162.
28.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 168.
29.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 169.
30.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 170.
31.Jump up ^ Golding, p. 206.
32.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Flies, Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 May 2011.[not in citation given]
33.Jump up ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02x5ksf
34.^ Jump up to: a b King, Stephen (2011). "Introduction by Stephen King". Faber and Faber. Retrieved 2011-10-12.
35.Jump up ^ Beahm, George (1992). The Stephen King story (Revised ed.). Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel. p. 120. ISBN 0-8362-8004-0. "Castle Rock, which King in turn had got from Golding's Lord of the Flies."
36.Jump up ^ "Stephen King (1947–)". Authors' Calendar. 2003. Retrieved 27 March 2007.
37.Jump up ^ Bailie, Stuart (13 June 1992). "Rock and Roll Should Be This Big!". NME. UK. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
38.Jump up ^ Cohen, David (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for "Das Bus" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
Golding, William (1958) [1954]. Lord of the Flies (Print ed.). Boston: Faber & Faber.
External links
 Wikibooks has more on the topic of: Lord of the Flies
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lord of the Flies
Chapter 1: "The Sound of the Shell" of the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding on eNotes
Lord of the Flies student guide and teacher resources; themes, quotes, characters, study questions
Reading and teaching guide from Faber and Faber, the book's UK publisher
An interview with Judy Golding, the author's daughter, in which she discusses the inspiration for the book, and the reasons for its enduring legacy
William Golding official website run and administered by the William Golding Estate


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
William Golding

 
Works
Poems (1934) ·
 Lord of the Flies (1954) ·
 The Inheritors (1955) ·
 Pincher Martin (1956) ·
 The Brass Butterfly : a Play in Three Acts (1958) ·
 Free Fall (1959) ·
 The Spire (1964) ·
 The Hot Gates, and Other Occasional Pieces (1965) ·
 The Pyramid (1967) ·
 The Scorpion God : Three Short Novels (1971) ·
 Darkness Visible (1979) ·
 Rites of Passage (1980) ·
 A Moving Target (1982) ·
 Nobel Lecture, 7 December 1983 (1984) ·
 The Paper Men (1984) ·
 An Egyptian Journal (1985) ·
 Close Quarters (1987) ·
 Fire Down Below (1989) ·
 The Double Tongue (1995)
 
 
List of works


  


Categories: 1954 novels
Dystopian novels
Allegory
British novels adapted into films
Novels by William Golding
Debut novels
British young adult novels
Novels set on islands
Castaways in fiction
Faber and Faber books
Uninhabited islands in fiction

















Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

View source

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Azərbaycanca
Беларуская
Български
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Español
Esperanto
فارسی
Français
Galego
한국어
हिन्दी
Ido
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
עברית
ქართული
Latviešu
Magyar
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Simple English
Српски / srpski
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Українська
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 15 April 2015, at 22:04.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies























 



Lord of the Flies (1990 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Wiki letter w.svg
 This article is missing information about the film's production and release. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (April 2015)
For the novel, see Lord of the Flies. For the 1963 film, see Lord of the Flies (1963 film). For other uses, see Lord of the Flies (disambiguation).

Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies (1990 film).jpg
Theatrical Release Poster
 
Directed by
Harry Hook
Produced by
Lewis M. Allen
Written by
Screenplay:
 Sarah Schiff
Based on
Novel
 by William Golding
 "Rite of Spring"
 by Igor Stravinsky
Starring
Balthazar Getty
Chris Furrh
Danuel Pipoly
James Badge Dale
 Andrew Taft
 Edward Taft
Music by
Philippe Sarde
Cinematography
Martin Fuhrer
Edited by
Harry Hook

Production
 company

Castle Rock Entertainment
 
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures (original)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (current)

Release dates
 March 16, 1990

Running time
 90 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Box office
$13,985,225[1]
Lord of the Flies is a 1990 American survival film adapted from the classic novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding. It is the second film adaptation of the book, after Lord of the Flies (1963). The film was a moderate box office success and critics gave it average reviews.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Reception 3.1 Critical response
4 References
5 External links

Plot[edit]
An aircraft carrying young military school cadets returning home crash lands into the sea near a remote, uninhabited, jungle island in the Pacific Ocean. Among the survivors is the pilot, Captain Benson (Michael Greene), who is seriously injured and delirious. Meanwhile, on the beach, an overweight cadet, whose real name is never revealed, nicknamed “Piggy” (Danuel Pipoly), finds a conch seashell and takes it to the grouped cadets, who adopt it to signal the right to speak and be heard by the group. The senior cadet, and one of the elder boys, Cadet Colonel Ralph (Balthazar Getty), organizes a meeting to discuss surviving their predicament. Ralph and Jack (Chris Furrh) emerge dominant, with Ralph's seniority in rank making him the one in charge. Tensions begin to grow between Ralph and Jack, however, and the group gradually becomes divided between the two leaders.
One night, as they sleep, the delusional Capt. Benson escapes from them into the jungle, eventually making his way to a cave deep inland. Later, one of the boys, in the darkness of the cave, mistakes Capt. Benson for a wild animal and kills him. He tells the other boys and they all think it is a monster. Jack, tired of listening to Ralph and Piggy, leaves and forms his own camp, taking many of the boys with him. Expecting to be rescued, Ralph's civilized leadership establishes a permanent signal-fire to alert passing ships of their presence on the island. Not expecting to be rescued, Jack's savage leadership adapts to circumstance; he establishes his camp as spear-bearing hunters who provide meat to both camps. They kill a wild pig and leave its head as an offering to "the monster" that they believe is in the cave. Eventually, identical twins Sam and Eric (Andrew Taft and Edward Taft), two of Ralph's friends, leave him to join Jack's tribe.
One night, using a glow stick, cadet Simon (James Badge Dale) explores the cave where the “monster” was killed, and discovers the cadaver of Capt. Benson. He runs to alert the boys of his discovery. In the ensuing hysteria, Simon's waving of the light frightens the other boys, who mistake him for the monster and stab him to death with their spears as Ralph and Piggy watch in horror.
After Piggy's glasses are stolen one night, Piggy and Ralph travel to Jack's camp, attempting to call a meeting using the conch. Piggy insists that everyone be sensible and work together, but Jack's savages refuse to listen. As they jeer him, Roger (Gary Rule), the cruel torturer in Jack's tribe, pushes a boulder off a cliff and smashes Piggy's head, killing him. A distraught Ralph swears that Jack will not get away with the murders, but Jack declares that Ralph is now on his own as Simon and Piggy are dead and all the other cadets have defected and joined Jack. Jack and his savages throw stones at Ralph to drive him away. Ralph returns at night time, and is warned by Sam and Eric that the hunters will chase after him.
The next day, Jack and his hunters begin setting the jungle on fire to force Ralph out of hiding so they can kill him. Just barely dodging the spreading fire and Jack's hunters, Ralph makes a desperate run to the sea, where he encounters a U.S. Marine Corps officer (Bob Peck) who has just landed on the island with other Marines. He is surprised to see them there, and asks what they are doing. Ralph begins to sob while a shocked, guilty and horrified Jack and his stunned hunters look on in silence.
Cast[edit]
Balthazar Getty as Ralph
Chris Furrh as Jack
Danuel Pipoly as Piggy
James Badge Dale as Simon
Gary Rule as Roger
Andrew Taft as Sam
Edward Taft as Eric
Michael Greene as Captain Benson
Bob Peck as U.S. Marine Corps Officer
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (April 2015)
The film has a rating of 61% or "Fresh" on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
Some cited that the novel in general is somewhat dated and unsuitable for a remake. Roger Ebert remarked in his review that "events take place every day on our mean streets that are more horrifying than anything the little monsters do to one another on Golding's island."[3]
Barrie Maxwell of DVD Verdict commented that the color of the island creates a more superficial atmosphere than the stark black and white of the previous version.[4]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Lord of the Flies. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
2.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Flies on Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
3.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (1990-03-16). "Lord Of The Flies: Roger Ebert Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
4.Jump up ^ Maxwell, Barrie (2001-11-20). "DVD Verdict Review — Lord Of The Flies (1990)". Retrieved 2008-04-01.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lord of the Flies (1990 film)
Official website
Lord of the Flies at the Internet Movie Database
Lord of the Flies at AllMovie
Lord of the Flies at Rotten Tomatoes
Lord of the Flies at the Movie Review Query Engine
Lord of the Flies at Box Office Mojo
  


Categories: English-language films
American films
1990 films
1990s adventure films
1990s drama films
Castle Rock Entertainment films
Columbia Pictures films
Adventure drama films
Films based on novels





Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Deutsch
Español
Euskara
Français
Galego
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Русский
Српски / srpski
Svenska
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 15 April 2015, at 17:08.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies_(1990_film)













 



Lord of the Flies (1990 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Wiki letter w.svg
 This article is missing information about the film's production and release. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (April 2015)
For the novel, see Lord of the Flies. For the 1963 film, see Lord of the Flies (1963 film). For other uses, see Lord of the Flies (disambiguation).

Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies (1990 film).jpg
Theatrical Release Poster
 
Directed by
Harry Hook
Produced by
Lewis M. Allen
Written by
Screenplay:
 Sarah Schiff
Based on
Novel
 by William Golding
 "Rite of Spring"
 by Igor Stravinsky
Starring
Balthazar Getty
Chris Furrh
Danuel Pipoly
James Badge Dale
 Andrew Taft
 Edward Taft
Music by
Philippe Sarde
Cinematography
Martin Fuhrer
Edited by
Harry Hook

Production
 company

Castle Rock Entertainment
 
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures (original)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (current)

Release dates
 March 16, 1990

Running time
 90 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Box office
$13,985,225[1]
Lord of the Flies is a 1990 American survival film adapted from the classic novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding. It is the second film adaptation of the book, after Lord of the Flies (1963). The film was a moderate box office success and critics gave it average reviews.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Reception 3.1 Critical response
4 References
5 External links

Plot[edit]
An aircraft carrying young military school cadets returning home crash lands into the sea near a remote, uninhabited, jungle island in the Pacific Ocean. Among the survivors is the pilot, Captain Benson (Michael Greene), who is seriously injured and delirious. Meanwhile, on the beach, an overweight cadet, whose real name is never revealed, nicknamed “Piggy” (Danuel Pipoly), finds a conch seashell and takes it to the grouped cadets, who adopt it to signal the right to speak and be heard by the group. The senior cadet, and one of the elder boys, Cadet Colonel Ralph (Balthazar Getty), organizes a meeting to discuss surviving their predicament. Ralph and Jack (Chris Furrh) emerge dominant, with Ralph's seniority in rank making him the one in charge. Tensions begin to grow between Ralph and Jack, however, and the group gradually becomes divided between the two leaders.
One night, as they sleep, the delusional Capt. Benson escapes from them into the jungle, eventually making his way to a cave deep inland. Later, one of the boys, in the darkness of the cave, mistakes Capt. Benson for a wild animal and kills him. He tells the other boys and they all think it is a monster. Jack, tired of listening to Ralph and Piggy, leaves and forms his own camp, taking many of the boys with him. Expecting to be rescued, Ralph's civilized leadership establishes a permanent signal-fire to alert passing ships of their presence on the island. Not expecting to be rescued, Jack's savage leadership adapts to circumstance; he establishes his camp as spear-bearing hunters who provide meat to both camps. They kill a wild pig and leave its head as an offering to "the monster" that they believe is in the cave. Eventually, identical twins Sam and Eric (Andrew Taft and Edward Taft), two of Ralph's friends, leave him to join Jack's tribe.
One night, using a glow stick, cadet Simon (James Badge Dale) explores the cave where the “monster” was killed, and discovers the cadaver of Capt. Benson. He runs to alert the boys of his discovery. In the ensuing hysteria, Simon's waving of the light frightens the other boys, who mistake him for the monster and stab him to death with their spears as Ralph and Piggy watch in horror.
After Piggy's glasses are stolen one night, Piggy and Ralph travel to Jack's camp, attempting to call a meeting using the conch. Piggy insists that everyone be sensible and work together, but Jack's savages refuse to listen. As they jeer him, Roger (Gary Rule), the cruel torturer in Jack's tribe, pushes a boulder off a cliff and smashes Piggy's head, killing him. A distraught Ralph swears that Jack will not get away with the murders, but Jack declares that Ralph is now on his own as Simon and Piggy are dead and all the other cadets have defected and joined Jack. Jack and his savages throw stones at Ralph to drive him away. Ralph returns at night time, and is warned by Sam and Eric that the hunters will chase after him.
The next day, Jack and his hunters begin setting the jungle on fire to force Ralph out of hiding so they can kill him. Just barely dodging the spreading fire and Jack's hunters, Ralph makes a desperate run to the sea, where he encounters a U.S. Marine Corps officer (Bob Peck) who has just landed on the island with other Marines. He is surprised to see them there, and asks what they are doing. Ralph begins to sob while a shocked, guilty and horrified Jack and his stunned hunters look on in silence.
Cast[edit]
Balthazar Getty as Ralph
Chris Furrh as Jack
Danuel Pipoly as Piggy
James Badge Dale as Simon
Gary Rule as Roger
Andrew Taft as Sam
Edward Taft as Eric
Michael Greene as Captain Benson
Bob Peck as U.S. Marine Corps Officer
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (April 2015)
The film has a rating of 61% or "Fresh" on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
Some cited that the novel in general is somewhat dated and unsuitable for a remake. Roger Ebert remarked in his review that "events take place every day on our mean streets that are more horrifying than anything the little monsters do to one another on Golding's island."[3]
Barrie Maxwell of DVD Verdict commented that the color of the island creates a more superficial atmosphere than the stark black and white of the previous version.[4]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Lord of the Flies. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
2.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Flies on Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
3.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (1990-03-16). "Lord Of The Flies: Roger Ebert Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
4.Jump up ^ Maxwell, Barrie (2001-11-20). "DVD Verdict Review — Lord Of The Flies (1990)". Retrieved 2008-04-01.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lord of the Flies (1990 film)
Official website
Lord of the Flies at the Internet Movie Database
Lord of the Flies at AllMovie
Lord of the Flies at Rotten Tomatoes
Lord of the Flies at the Movie Review Query Engine
Lord of the Flies at Box Office Mojo
  


Categories: English-language films
American films
1990 films
1990s adventure films
1990s drama films
Castle Rock Entertainment films
Columbia Pictures films
Adventure drama films
Films based on novels





Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Deutsch
Español
Euskara
Français
Galego
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Русский
Српски / srpski
Svenska
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 15 April 2015, at 17:08.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies_(1990_film)
























 



Lord of the Flies (1963 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Not to be confused with Lord of the Flies (1990 film).

Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies (1963 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
 
Directed by
Peter Brook
Produced by
Lewis M. Allen
Written by
Peter Brook
Based on
Lord of the Flies
 by William Golding
Starring
James Aubrey
 Tom Chapin
Hugh Edwards
Music by
Raymond Leppard
Cinematography
Tom Hollyman
Edited by
Peter Brook
 Gerald Feil
 Jean-Claude Lubtchansky
Distributed by
British Lion (UK)
Continental Distributing (US)

Release dates

May 1963 (Cannes)
August 13, 1963 (United States)
 

Running time
 92 minutes
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Budget
$250,000
Lord of the Flies is a 1963 British film adaptation of William Golding's novel of the same name. It was directed by Peter Brook and produced by Lewis M. Allen. The film was in production for much of 1961 though the film was not released until 1963. Golding himself supported the film. When Kenneth Tynan was a script editor for Ealing Studios he commissioned a script of Lord of the Flies from Nigel Kneale, but Ealing Studios closed in 1959 before it could be produced.
The film is generally more faithful to the novel than the 1990 adaptation.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Theme
4 Production 4.1 Filming
4.2 Trivia
5 Song
6 Reception 6.1 Critical response
6.2 Accolades
7 Home media
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
A group of British schoolboys, living in the midst of a war, are evacuated from England. Their airliner is shot down by briefly glimpsed fighter planes and ditches near a remote island.
The main character Ralph is seen walking through a tropical forest. He meets an intelligent and chubby boy, who reveals his school nickname was Piggy, but asks that Ralph not repeat that. The two go to the beach where they find a conch shell which Ralph blows to rally the other survivors. As they emerge from the jungle it becomes clear that no adults have escaped the crash. Singing is heard and a small column of school choir boys, wearing dark cloaks and hats, appearing to be walking in pairs, led by a boy named Jack.
The boys decide to appoint a chief. The vote goes to Ralph, and not Jack. Initially Ralph is able to steer the children (all of whom appear to be aged between about six and fourteen) towards a reasonably civilized and co-operative society. Only boys holding the conch are allowed to speak during meetings or "assemblies". The choir boys make wooden spears, further reinforcing their appearance as warriors within the group. Crucially Jack has a knife, capable of killing an animal.
The boys build shelters and start a fire using Piggy's glasses. With no rescue in sight, the increasingly authoritarian and violence-prone Jack starts hunting and eventually finds a pig. Meanwhile, the fire, for which he and his "hunters" are responsible, goes out, keeping them hidden from a passing airplane. Piggy chastises Jack, and Jack strikes him in retaliation, knocking his glasses off, and breaking one lens on the rocks. Ralph is furious with Jack. Soon some of the children begin to talk of a beast that comes from the water. Jack, obsessed with this imagined threat, leaves the group to start a new tribe, one without rules, where the boys play and hunt all day. Soon, more follow until only a few, including Piggy, are left with Ralph.
Events reach a crisis when a boy named Simon finds a sow's head impaled on a stick, left by Jack as an offering to the Beast. He becomes hypnotized by the head, which has flies swarming all around it. Simon goes to what he believes to be the nest of the Beast and finds a dead pilot under a hanging parachute. Simon runs to Jack's camp to tell them the truth, only to be killed in the darkness by the frenzied children who mistake him for the Beast. After this, Piggy explains a series of rationalizations and denials that parallel directly the Kübler-Ross model, commonly referred to as the "five stages of grief". The hunters raid the old group's camp and steals Piggy's glasses. Ralph goes to talk to the new group using the still-present power of the conch to get their attention. However when Piggy takes the conch, they are not silent (as their rules require) but instead jeer. Roger, the cruel torturer and executioner of the tribe, pushes a boulder off a cliff and kills Piggy.
Ralph hides in the jungle. Jack and his hunters set fires to smoke him out, and Ralph staggers across the smoke-covered island. Stumbling onto the beach, Ralph falls at the feet of a naval officer who stares in shock at the painted and spear-carrying savages that the children have become, before turning to his accompanying landing party. A small boy tries to tell the officer his name but cannot remember it. The last scene shows Ralph weeping as flames spread across the island.
Cast[edit]
James Aubrey as Ralph
Tom Chapin as Jack
Hugh Edwards as Piggy
Roger Elwin as Roger
Tom Gaman as Simon
David Surtees as Sam
Simon Surtees as Eric
Nicholas Hammond as Robert
Roger Allan as Piers
Theme[edit]
As with Golding's book, the pessimistic theme of the film is that fear, hate and violence are inherent in the human condition – even when innocent children are placed in seemingly idyllic isolation. The realisation of this is seen as being the cause of Ralph's distress in the closing shots.[1]
Production[edit]
Filming[edit]
The parents of those chosen are reported to have been provided copies of the novel, from which a commentary had been physically removed; those pages included describing the culmination of the hunt of a wild sow as an "Œdipal wedding night".
The film was shot entirely in Puerto Rico at Aguadilla, El Yunque and on the island of Vieques. The boys in the cast had mostly not read the book, and actual scripting was minimal; scenes were filmed by explaining them to the boys, who then acted them out, with some of the dialogue improvised.[citation needed]
The NYC premiere of the film was attended by some of the original cast members followed by a photo shoot in Times Square (picture subsequently published in a Life Magazine article) and a party at Sardi's attended by others such as Zero Mostel.[citation needed]
Trivia[edit]
In the final scene the sailors rescuing the children are clearly marked as belonging to the Royal Navy frigate HMS Troubridge.[citation needed]
Song[edit]
The song, heard throughout the film, of the boys singing is Kyrie Eleison which, translated from Greek, means "Lord, have mercy". It is an expression used in a prayer of the Christian liturgy.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The film received universally positive reviews. Based on 18 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating of 100% from critics, with an average score of 8.3/10.[2]
PopMatters journalist J.C. Maçek III wrote "The true surprise in Lord of the Flies is how little these child actors actually feel like 'child actors'. With few exceptions, the acting rarely seems to be forced or flat. This practiced, well-honed craft aids Brook’s vision of a fly on the wall approach that pulls the viewer into each scene."[3]
Accolades[edit]
Peter Brook was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival.[4]
Home media[edit]
The Criterion Collection released it on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in America and Canada. Janus Films also released the DVD in the UK.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Robert Wallace, Life Magazine 25 October 1963
2.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Flies (1963)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
3.Jump up ^ Maçek III, J.C. (6 September 2013). "Have Mercy: 'Lord of the Flies'". PopMatters.
4.Jump up ^ "Festival de Cannes: Lord of the Flies". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
External links[edit]
Lord of the Flies at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
Lord of the Flies at the Internet Movie Database
Lord of the Flies at AllMovie
Lord of the Flies at Rotten Tomatoes
Criterion Collection essay by Peter Brook


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Peter Brook

 
The Beggar's Opera (1953) ·
 Seven Days... Seven Nights (1960) ·
 Lord of the Flies (1963) ·
 Marat/Sade (1967) ·
 King Lear (1971) ·
 Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979) ·
 The Mahabharata (1989)
 

  


Categories: 1963 films
English-language films
1960s drama films
British films
British drama films
British coming-of-age films
British Lion Films films
Films directed by Peter Brook
Adventure drama films
Black-and-white films
Films based on novels
Films shot in Puerto Rico
Films set on uninhabited islands
Films featuring an all-male cast








Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Svenska
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 21 April 2015, at 01:41.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies_(1963_film)










 



Lord of the Flies (1963 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Not to be confused with Lord of the Flies (1990 film).

Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies (1963 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
 
Directed by
Peter Brook
Produced by
Lewis M. Allen
Written by
Peter Brook
Based on
Lord of the Flies
 by William Golding
Starring
James Aubrey
 Tom Chapin
Hugh Edwards
Music by
Raymond Leppard
Cinematography
Tom Hollyman
Edited by
Peter Brook
 Gerald Feil
 Jean-Claude Lubtchansky
Distributed by
British Lion (UK)
Continental Distributing (US)

Release dates

May 1963 (Cannes)
August 13, 1963 (United States)
 

Running time
 92 minutes
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Budget
$250,000
Lord of the Flies is a 1963 British film adaptation of William Golding's novel of the same name. It was directed by Peter Brook and produced by Lewis M. Allen. The film was in production for much of 1961 though the film was not released until 1963. Golding himself supported the film. When Kenneth Tynan was a script editor for Ealing Studios he commissioned a script of Lord of the Flies from Nigel Kneale, but Ealing Studios closed in 1959 before it could be produced.
The film is generally more faithful to the novel than the 1990 adaptation.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Theme
4 Production 4.1 Filming
4.2 Trivia
5 Song
6 Reception 6.1 Critical response
6.2 Accolades
7 Home media
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
A group of British schoolboys, living in the midst of a war, are evacuated from England. Their airliner is shot down by briefly glimpsed fighter planes and ditches near a remote island.
The main character Ralph is seen walking through a tropical forest. He meets an intelligent and chubby boy, who reveals his school nickname was Piggy, but asks that Ralph not repeat that. The two go to the beach where they find a conch shell which Ralph blows to rally the other survivors. As they emerge from the jungle it becomes clear that no adults have escaped the crash. Singing is heard and a small column of school choir boys, wearing dark cloaks and hats, appearing to be walking in pairs, led by a boy named Jack.
The boys decide to appoint a chief. The vote goes to Ralph, and not Jack. Initially Ralph is able to steer the children (all of whom appear to be aged between about six and fourteen) towards a reasonably civilized and co-operative society. Only boys holding the conch are allowed to speak during meetings or "assemblies". The choir boys make wooden spears, further reinforcing their appearance as warriors within the group. Crucially Jack has a knife, capable of killing an animal.
The boys build shelters and start a fire using Piggy's glasses. With no rescue in sight, the increasingly authoritarian and violence-prone Jack starts hunting and eventually finds a pig. Meanwhile, the fire, for which he and his "hunters" are responsible, goes out, keeping them hidden from a passing airplane. Piggy chastises Jack, and Jack strikes him in retaliation, knocking his glasses off, and breaking one lens on the rocks. Ralph is furious with Jack. Soon some of the children begin to talk of a beast that comes from the water. Jack, obsessed with this imagined threat, leaves the group to start a new tribe, one without rules, where the boys play and hunt all day. Soon, more follow until only a few, including Piggy, are left with Ralph.
Events reach a crisis when a boy named Simon finds a sow's head impaled on a stick, left by Jack as an offering to the Beast. He becomes hypnotized by the head, which has flies swarming all around it. Simon goes to what he believes to be the nest of the Beast and finds a dead pilot under a hanging parachute. Simon runs to Jack's camp to tell them the truth, only to be killed in the darkness by the frenzied children who mistake him for the Beast. After this, Piggy explains a series of rationalizations and denials that parallel directly the Kübler-Ross model, commonly referred to as the "five stages of grief". The hunters raid the old group's camp and steals Piggy's glasses. Ralph goes to talk to the new group using the still-present power of the conch to get their attention. However when Piggy takes the conch, they are not silent (as their rules require) but instead jeer. Roger, the cruel torturer and executioner of the tribe, pushes a boulder off a cliff and kills Piggy.
Ralph hides in the jungle. Jack and his hunters set fires to smoke him out, and Ralph staggers across the smoke-covered island. Stumbling onto the beach, Ralph falls at the feet of a naval officer who stares in shock at the painted and spear-carrying savages that the children have become, before turning to his accompanying landing party. A small boy tries to tell the officer his name but cannot remember it. The last scene shows Ralph weeping as flames spread across the island.
Cast[edit]
James Aubrey as Ralph
Tom Chapin as Jack
Hugh Edwards as Piggy
Roger Elwin as Roger
Tom Gaman as Simon
David Surtees as Sam
Simon Surtees as Eric
Nicholas Hammond as Robert
Roger Allan as Piers
Theme[edit]
As with Golding's book, the pessimistic theme of the film is that fear, hate and violence are inherent in the human condition – even when innocent children are placed in seemingly idyllic isolation. The realisation of this is seen as being the cause of Ralph's distress in the closing shots.[1]
Production[edit]
Filming[edit]
The parents of those chosen are reported to have been provided copies of the novel, from which a commentary had been physically removed; those pages included describing the culmination of the hunt of a wild sow as an "Œdipal wedding night".
The film was shot entirely in Puerto Rico at Aguadilla, El Yunque and on the island of Vieques. The boys in the cast had mostly not read the book, and actual scripting was minimal; scenes were filmed by explaining them to the boys, who then acted them out, with some of the dialogue improvised.[citation needed]
The NYC premiere of the film was attended by some of the original cast members followed by a photo shoot in Times Square (picture subsequently published in a Life Magazine article) and a party at Sardi's attended by others such as Zero Mostel.[citation needed]
Trivia[edit]
In the final scene the sailors rescuing the children are clearly marked as belonging to the Royal Navy frigate HMS Troubridge.[citation needed]
Song[edit]
The song, heard throughout the film, of the boys singing is Kyrie Eleison which, translated from Greek, means "Lord, have mercy". It is an expression used in a prayer of the Christian liturgy.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The film received universally positive reviews. Based on 18 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating of 100% from critics, with an average score of 8.3/10.[2]
PopMatters journalist J.C. Maçek III wrote "The true surprise in Lord of the Flies is how little these child actors actually feel like 'child actors'. With few exceptions, the acting rarely seems to be forced or flat. This practiced, well-honed craft aids Brook’s vision of a fly on the wall approach that pulls the viewer into each scene."[3]
Accolades[edit]
Peter Brook was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival.[4]
Home media[edit]
The Criterion Collection released it on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in America and Canada. Janus Films also released the DVD in the UK.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Robert Wallace, Life Magazine 25 October 1963
2.Jump up ^ "Lord of the Flies (1963)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
3.Jump up ^ Maçek III, J.C. (6 September 2013). "Have Mercy: 'Lord of the Flies'". PopMatters.
4.Jump up ^ "Festival de Cannes: Lord of the Flies". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
External links[edit]
Lord of the Flies at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
Lord of the Flies at the Internet Movie Database
Lord of the Flies at AllMovie
Lord of the Flies at Rotten Tomatoes
Criterion Collection essay by Peter Brook


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Peter Brook

 
The Beggar's Opera (1953) ·
 Seven Days... Seven Nights (1960) ·
 Lord of the Flies (1963) ·
 Marat/Sade (1967) ·
 King Lear (1971) ·
 Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979) ·
 The Mahabharata (1989)
 

  


Categories: 1963 films
English-language films
1960s drama films
British films
British drama films
British coming-of-age films
British Lion Films films
Films directed by Peter Brook
Adventure drama films
Black-and-white films
Films based on novels
Films shot in Puerto Rico
Films set on uninhabited islands
Films featuring an all-male cast








Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Svenska
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 21 April 2015, at 01:41.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies_(1963_film)





























 



The Cay (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)
This article is about the film. For the book, see The Cay.

The Cay

Directed by
Patrick Garland
Produced by
Frank O'Connor
Walter Seltzer
Russell Thacher
Written by
Theodore Taylor (novel)
Russell Thacher (teleplay)
Based on
The Cay
Starring
James Earl Jones
Alfred Lutter
Gretchen Corbett
Music by
Carl Davis
Cinematography
Alric Edens
Rosalío Solano
Edited by
Douglas Stewart
Distributed by
Universal TV
NBC
Russell Thacher-Walter Seltzer Productions

Release dates
 October 21, 1974

Running time
 60 minutes
Country
 United States
Language
English
The Cay is an American drama film based on the book titled The Cay.[1] It was released on October 21, 1974.[2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Production
3 Cast
4 Awards and nominations
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Plot[edit]
Main article: The Cay § Plot
Production[edit]
Universal TV, NBC and Russell Thacher-Walter Seltzer Productions produced and distributed the film. It was filmed in Belize.[3]
Cast[edit]
James Earl Jones as Timothy
Alfred Lutter as Phillip
Gretchen Corbett as Grace – Phillip's Mother
In the film (unlike the book), Phillip's father did not appear.
Awards and nominations[edit]

Year
Award Show
Category
Result
Recipient(s)
1975 Humanitas Prize 60 Minutes Nominated [4] Russell Thacher
See also[edit]
The Cay
Timothy of the Cay
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246477/
2.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246477/
3.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246477/
4.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246477/awards
External links[edit]
The Cay at the Internet Movie Database
  


Categories: English-language films
1974 films
American films
Films set on uninhabited islands
Castaways in fiction
Films about survivors of seafaring accidents or incidents
Films shot in Belize
Films set in the Caribbean





Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Simple English
Edit links
This page was last modified on 29 April 2014, at 05:48.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cay_(film)























 



The Cay (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)
This article is about the film. For the book, see The Cay.

The Cay

Directed by
Patrick Garland
Produced by
Frank O'Connor
Walter Seltzer
Russell Thacher
Written by
Theodore Taylor (novel)
Russell Thacher (teleplay)
Based on
The Cay
Starring
James Earl Jones
Alfred Lutter
Gretchen Corbett
Music by
Carl Davis
Cinematography
Alric Edens
Rosalío Solano
Edited by
Douglas Stewart
Distributed by
Universal TV
NBC
Russell Thacher-Walter Seltzer Productions

Release dates
 October 21, 1974

Running time
 60 minutes
Country
 United States
Language
English
The Cay is an American drama film based on the book titled The Cay.[1] It was released on October 21, 1974.[2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Production
3 Cast
4 Awards and nominations
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Plot[edit]
Main article: The Cay § Plot
Production[edit]
Universal TV, NBC and Russell Thacher-Walter Seltzer Productions produced and distributed the film. It was filmed in Belize.[3]
Cast[edit]
James Earl Jones as Timothy
Alfred Lutter as Phillip
Gretchen Corbett as Grace – Phillip's Mother
In the film (unlike the book), Phillip's father did not appear.
Awards and nominations[edit]

Year
Award Show
Category
Result
Recipient(s)
1975 Humanitas Prize 60 Minutes Nominated [4] Russell Thacher
See also[edit]
The Cay
Timothy of the Cay
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246477/
2.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246477/
3.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246477/
4.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246477/awards
External links[edit]
The Cay at the Internet Movie Database
  


Categories: English-language films
1974 films
American films
Films set on uninhabited islands
Castaways in fiction
Films about survivors of seafaring accidents or incidents
Films shot in Belize
Films set in the Caribbean





Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Simple English
Edit links
This page was last modified on 29 April 2014, at 05:48.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cay_(film)
























 



Timothy of the Cay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2012)
Timothy of the Cay
 
Author
Theodore Taylor
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Historical fiction

Publication date
 1993
Media type
Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN
ISBN 978-0-152-06320-7
OCLC
28422724
Preceded by
The Cay
Timothy of the Cay is a book written by Theodore Taylor. It is a prequel for Timothy and a sequel for Phillip to The Cay.


Contents  [hide]
1 The synopsis 1.1 Timothy
1.2 Phillip Enright
2 Reception

The synopsis[edit]
The book discusses Timothy's life before the events of The Cay, when he was living in "Back O' All", the poorest section of the squatter's village Charlotte Amalie, on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas, and Phillip Enright Jr.'s life after the same events. The theme to this story is making dreams a reality.
Timothy[edit]
According to Timothy of the Cay, Timothy had been abandoned as a baby at the residence in Back O' All where Hannah Gumbs, a former coal carrier turned washer-woman who reared him, was a squatter. As a boy, he formed a dream of one day being captain of his own schooner, which he meant to name after the woman he called "Tante Hannah". Even though she was not Timothy's biological aunt, Timothy still referred to her as this. When he tried to become a cabin boy on one ship, its captain took on a "bukra" boy instead because he was a negro. A "bukra" was a white boy in the richer part of St. Thomas. When he finally got a job on another ship, he was fourteen but claimed an age of sixteen.He later claimed to be older so he could become part of the crew on the hato.
Hanna Gumbs died in Timothys first four years at sea.Timothy worked long enough and hard enough, both at sea and on land, to be able to afford a schooner originally named the Tessie Crabb by what he guesstimated were his forties. Holding a master's license in the name of "Timothy Gumbs" (he would think of himself simply as Timothy, without a family name, for his entire life); by this time, he renamed this schooner the Hannah Gumbs, as he had always intended. Making his living as its "captain", Timothy gleaned an extensive enough knowledge of the sea to be able, in his last months, to help Phillip Enright Jr. survive on a cay in El Boca de Diablo, "the Devil's Mouth".
The story describes how, after the captain of the Hettie Redd died, Timothy was asked to bring his body back for burial as temporary captain of the Hettie Redd. He did so reluctantly, suspecting that a violent storm, or "tempis'", might strike. One did, sinking the Hettie Redd with all hands let alone him and drowning all its passengers in spite of all he did to ensure their survivals. Though he was absolved in the inquiry, Timothy carried the guilt for the rest of his days and often wished he too had drowned in the storm.
At over seventy years of age, and two years after he had sold the Hannah Gumbs and retired from the sea, Timothy signed aboard the S.S. Hato, the Dutch-registered freighter that, according to The Cay, was sunk in April 1942, as an able-bodied seaman, in response to a call for volunteers placed early in 1942. The cause was that of a German U-boat that had torpedoed the S.S. Hato. When it picked up Phillip Enright and his mother in Curaçao, of what were then the Netherlands Antilles, they were fleeing to their native Virginia. Instead the Hato was torpedoed; as it sank, Phillip Jr. was struck on the back of the head by a piece of loose timber just as he was being thrown aboard a raft, which blinded him two days later. Most of the events in 'The Cay follow the sinking of the Hato. Timothy later taught Phillip Enright to survive on his own. Approximately a month after the shipwreck (give or take a few days) another "tempos" struck in July. Timothy let Phillip live by shielding him from the storm with his back. The storm eventually takes his life away.
Phillip Enright[edit]
After his rescue from the Cay in El Boca de Diablo, Phillip was reunited with his parents, his mom, who had likewise survived the sinking of the Hato. His mother, Gracey Enright, continued to think of him as a child of age 19 for a long while, even after he was told that an operation could be performed that might restore his vision, but her husband, Phillip Sr., endorsed their son's decision to have that surgery. Phillip had come, since Timothy's life, to consider Timothy a guardian angel with whom he could sometimes speak, but his mother thought this idea was foolish.
They flew to New Jersey, where the surgeon who could perform the operation was based. The operation was a success, restoring most of Phillip's vision, though he would always need eyeglasses from that day forward. He and his father made plans to visit the cay where he and Timothy had survived for just over three months, until Timothy had been killed in a hurricane that had struck the cay when flying debris had severely lacerated him; he had given his life to protect Phillip's, using his body to shield Phillip from the debris. Philip had survived alone for almost two months afterwards, thanks to Timothy's having prepared him for just that.
Reception[edit]
This book was named "one of the greatest books for children" by Students Across America (SAA) in 2011. They said of it: "This novel is about the life of Timothy and Philip after their ordeal on the cay. In order to make sense of this story you must first read 'The Cay'."
  


Categories: 1993 novels
American children's novels
Prequel novels
Sequel novels
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Novels set in the Caribbean






Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Edit links
This page was last modified on 9 April 2015, at 13:57.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_of_the_Cay













 



Timothy of the Cay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2012)
Timothy of the Cay
 
Author
Theodore Taylor
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Historical fiction

Publication date
 1993
Media type
Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN
ISBN 978-0-152-06320-7
OCLC
28422724
Preceded by
The Cay
Timothy of the Cay is a book written by Theodore Taylor. It is a prequel for Timothy and a sequel for Phillip to The Cay.


Contents  [hide]
1 The synopsis 1.1 Timothy
1.2 Phillip Enright
2 Reception

The synopsis[edit]
The book discusses Timothy's life before the events of The Cay, when he was living in "Back O' All", the poorest section of the squatter's village Charlotte Amalie, on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas, and Phillip Enright Jr.'s life after the same events. The theme to this story is making dreams a reality.
Timothy[edit]
According to Timothy of the Cay, Timothy had been abandoned as a baby at the residence in Back O' All where Hannah Gumbs, a former coal carrier turned washer-woman who reared him, was a squatter. As a boy, he formed a dream of one day being captain of his own schooner, which he meant to name after the woman he called "Tante Hannah". Even though she was not Timothy's biological aunt, Timothy still referred to her as this. When he tried to become a cabin boy on one ship, its captain took on a "bukra" boy instead because he was a negro. A "bukra" was a white boy in the richer part of St. Thomas. When he finally got a job on another ship, he was fourteen but claimed an age of sixteen.He later claimed to be older so he could become part of the crew on the hato.
Hanna Gumbs died in Timothys first four years at sea.Timothy worked long enough and hard enough, both at sea and on land, to be able to afford a schooner originally named the Tessie Crabb by what he guesstimated were his forties. Holding a master's license in the name of "Timothy Gumbs" (he would think of himself simply as Timothy, without a family name, for his entire life); by this time, he renamed this schooner the Hannah Gumbs, as he had always intended. Making his living as its "captain", Timothy gleaned an extensive enough knowledge of the sea to be able, in his last months, to help Phillip Enright Jr. survive on a cay in El Boca de Diablo, "the Devil's Mouth".
The story describes how, after the captain of the Hettie Redd died, Timothy was asked to bring his body back for burial as temporary captain of the Hettie Redd. He did so reluctantly, suspecting that a violent storm, or "tempis'", might strike. One did, sinking the Hettie Redd with all hands let alone him and drowning all its passengers in spite of all he did to ensure their survivals. Though he was absolved in the inquiry, Timothy carried the guilt for the rest of his days and often wished he too had drowned in the storm.
At over seventy years of age, and two years after he had sold the Hannah Gumbs and retired from the sea, Timothy signed aboard the S.S. Hato, the Dutch-registered freighter that, according to The Cay, was sunk in April 1942, as an able-bodied seaman, in response to a call for volunteers placed early in 1942. The cause was that of a German U-boat that had torpedoed the S.S. Hato. When it picked up Phillip Enright and his mother in Curaçao, of what were then the Netherlands Antilles, they were fleeing to their native Virginia. Instead the Hato was torpedoed; as it sank, Phillip Jr. was struck on the back of the head by a piece of loose timber just as he was being thrown aboard a raft, which blinded him two days later. Most of the events in 'The Cay follow the sinking of the Hato. Timothy later taught Phillip Enright to survive on his own. Approximately a month after the shipwreck (give or take a few days) another "tempos" struck in July. Timothy let Phillip live by shielding him from the storm with his back. The storm eventually takes his life away.
Phillip Enright[edit]
After his rescue from the Cay in El Boca de Diablo, Phillip was reunited with his parents, his mom, who had likewise survived the sinking of the Hato. His mother, Gracey Enright, continued to think of him as a child of age 19 for a long while, even after he was told that an operation could be performed that might restore his vision, but her husband, Phillip Sr., endorsed their son's decision to have that surgery. Phillip had come, since Timothy's life, to consider Timothy a guardian angel with whom he could sometimes speak, but his mother thought this idea was foolish.
They flew to New Jersey, where the surgeon who could perform the operation was based. The operation was a success, restoring most of Phillip's vision, though he would always need eyeglasses from that day forward. He and his father made plans to visit the cay where he and Timothy had survived for just over three months, until Timothy had been killed in a hurricane that had struck the cay when flying debris had severely lacerated him; he had given his life to protect Phillip's, using his body to shield Phillip from the debris. Philip had survived alone for almost two months afterwards, thanks to Timothy's having prepared him for just that.
Reception[edit]
This book was named "one of the greatest books for children" by Students Across America (SAA) in 2011. They said of it: "This novel is about the life of Timothy and Philip after their ordeal on the cay. In order to make sense of this story you must first read 'The Cay'."
  


Categories: 1993 novels
American children's novels
Prequel novels
Sequel novels
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Novels set in the Caribbean






Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Edit links
This page was last modified on 9 April 2015, at 13:57.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_of_the_Cay

























 



The Cay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the book. For the film based on the book, see The Cay (film).
The Cay
The Cay cover.jpg
Author
Theodore Taylor
Country
United States
Genre
Survival
Publisher
Avon

Publication date
 1969
Media type
Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages
105 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN
ISBN 0-380-01003-8
OCLC
26874149
Followed by
Timothy of the Cay
The Cay is a children's novel written by Theodore Taylor. It was published in 1969.
The Cay took only three weeks to complete.[citation needed] Taylor based the character of the boy in his book on a child who was aboard the Hato, when it was torpedoed, who drifts out to sea on a lifeboat. The novel was published in 1969 and dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Controversy[edit]
The Cay received Jane Addams Children's Book Award in 1970, but following criticism of the book, in 1976 the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom asked Taylor to return the award. Taylor complied, but stated the work was "a subtle plea for better race relations and more understanding."[1] The book later became required reading in schools in dozens of U.S. states as well as internationally.
Adaptation and sequel[edit]
The book was adapted into a one-hour TV drama in 1974 with Alfred Lutter as Phillip, James Earl Jones as Timothy, and Gretchen Corbett as Phillip's mother.
In 1993, Taylor published Timothy of the Cay, a book which tells both of Phillip's life after and of Timothy's life before the ordeal.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Miller, Stephen (2006-10-30). "Theodore Taylor, 85, Children's Novelist". New York Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  


Categories: 1969 novels
American children's novels
Novels about racism
Curaçao culture
Novels set in the Caribbean
1974 television films
Coming-of-age fiction
Castaways in fiction
Uninhabited islands in fiction





Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Edit links
This page was last modified on 18 February 2015, at 16:22.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cay











 



The Cay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the book. For the film based on the book, see The Cay (film).
The Cay
The Cay cover.jpg
Author
Theodore Taylor
Country
United States
Genre
Survival
Publisher
Avon

Publication date
 1969
Media type
Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages
105 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN
ISBN 0-380-01003-8
OCLC
26874149
Followed by
Timothy of the Cay
The Cay is a children's novel written by Theodore Taylor. It was published in 1969.
The Cay took only three weeks to complete.[citation needed] Taylor based the character of the boy in his book on a child who was aboard the Hato, when it was torpedoed, who drifts out to sea on a lifeboat. The novel was published in 1969 and dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Controversy[edit]
The Cay received Jane Addams Children's Book Award in 1970, but following criticism of the book, in 1976 the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom asked Taylor to return the award. Taylor complied, but stated the work was "a subtle plea for better race relations and more understanding."[1] The book later became required reading in schools in dozens of U.S. states as well as internationally.
Adaptation and sequel[edit]
The book was adapted into a one-hour TV drama in 1974 with Alfred Lutter as Phillip, James Earl Jones as Timothy, and Gretchen Corbett as Phillip's mother.
In 1993, Taylor published Timothy of the Cay, a book which tells both of Phillip's life after and of Timothy's life before the ordeal.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Miller, Stephen (2006-10-30). "Theodore Taylor, 85, Children's Novelist". New York Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  


Categories: 1969 novels
American children's novels
Novels about racism
Curaçao culture
Novels set in the Caribbean
1974 television films
Coming-of-age fiction
Castaways in fiction
Uninhabited islands in fiction





Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk





 



Read

Edit

View history










 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Edit links
This page was last modified on 18 February 2015, at 16:22.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cay