Ballantyne's Influence On Lord Of The Flies

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William Golding composed a fiction novel titled Lord of the Flies based on his personal experiences in World War II, his exposure to the beginning years of the Cold War, what he learned from years of teaching, and influences by works of other writers. The story portrays what his conception is of how people can be cruel and even barbaric without law and order, even at a youthful age.
Golding was born and raised in England in the early 1900s to a mother who actively fought for women’s right to vote and a father who was a school teacher that had a strong belief that knowledge and reason was the way to learn about life and the environment around you instead of religious beliefs or emotional reactions (CliffsNotes).
Golding went to school where his father taught up until he began his journey to College where he chose to grant his father’s wishes and studied science. After a couple of years into his college career he decided that he wanted to change courses and studied
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Ballantyne titled The Coral Island. It was such an inspiration that he chose to use the same character names of two of the boys that were in Ballantyne’s book as well as used a similar story line. Summarized by Feedbooks, The Coral Island was a story about three boys, Ralph (15), Jack (18), and Peterkin (14), that become shipwrecked on a deserted island that had plenty of resources for food to survive on allowing these boys to enjoy their adventure on the island. Although the beginning of their journey was rather peaceful, picturesque and enjoyable there were some unwelcomed visitors after months of being the only ones to inhabit the island. There were two groups of people that were battling against each other. Ralph, Jack and Peterkin helped win victory over the charging group and made friends with the people from the victorious group who later helped the three boys reunite on Coral Island after a group of pirates captured Ralph

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