In order for a reader to understand a text fully, they must arrive at a balance between the author’s context and their own. The context of a novel is defined as “the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood”
(www.oxforddictionaries.com) Knowing the context that the author wrote the novel in, helps the reader fully understand the issues discussed in the text with a deeper knowledge.
Published in 1954, Golding’s allegorical novel Lord of the Flies is a post war novel with all the standard aspects of novels in this time period. Post war novels were written during the period of time immediately following War II. Lord of the Flies is a novel of dystopia and disillusionment in response to what Golding saw as a naval officer in the war. A fable is defined as “a short tale to teach a moral lesson” (dictionary.reference.com) When Golding first began writing Lord of the Flies, he wanted it to be a simple fable, but as he continued writing, it evolved into a novel with …show more content…
This highly influenced the way he wrote Lord of the Flies and the characters’ personalities. Before the war, Golding’s view on man was foolishly idealistic, completely naive to the horrors of what mankind could do. When he returned from World War II, he had been permanently damaged from the tragic events he witnessed and experienced, forcing him to see things through a new set of eyes. Golding was horrified by what war revealed about people's capacity to harm other humans. One event in the novel arguably influenced by Golding’s participation in World War II was the rivalry between Jack and Ralph. They represented the two sides, the Allies and the Axis. Fundamentally, the boys end up mirroring the conflict happening in the ‘outside word’, learning nothing rom their experiences, creating a microcosm of the world from which they have come
(www.oxforddictionaries.com) Knowing the context that the author wrote the novel in, helps the reader fully understand the issues discussed in the text with a deeper knowledge.
Published in 1954, Golding’s allegorical novel Lord of the Flies is a post war novel with all the standard aspects of novels in this time period. Post war novels were written during the period of time immediately following War II. Lord of the Flies is a novel of dystopia and disillusionment in response to what Golding saw as a naval officer in the war. A fable is defined as “a short tale to teach a moral lesson” (dictionary.reference.com) When Golding first began writing Lord of the Flies, he wanted it to be a simple fable, but as he continued writing, it evolved into a novel with …show more content…
This highly influenced the way he wrote Lord of the Flies and the characters’ personalities. Before the war, Golding’s view on man was foolishly idealistic, completely naive to the horrors of what mankind could do. When he returned from World War II, he had been permanently damaged from the tragic events he witnessed and experienced, forcing him to see things through a new set of eyes. Golding was horrified by what war revealed about people's capacity to harm other humans. One event in the novel arguably influenced by Golding’s participation in World War II was the rivalry between Jack and Ralph. They represented the two sides, the Allies and the Axis. Fundamentally, the boys end up mirroring the conflict happening in the ‘outside word’, learning nothing rom their experiences, creating a microcosm of the world from which they have come