Three Works of Sir William Golding

William Golding wrote many books through his lifetime. He was granted a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. The Nobel Foundation cited “his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today.” He also wrote several other works, composed of; poems, short stories, essays and reviews, and a travel book about a trip to Egypt. His works demonstrate a great variety of content, a challenge he set to himself.  He lived through some hard times; he actually participated in World War 2. His books reflect much of the experienced he had throughout his life.

Golding’s books content is varied. Many times the story takes place in a closed environment. For example island in Lord of the Flies, a ship in the trilogy To the End of the Earth, and a group of hunter-gatherers in The Inheritors. The style in his books varies to, although many of his book are allegorical and make allusion to mythology, classic literature, and Christian symbolism. Most of his book may be united by a common thread with a pessimistic perspective about humanity.

Lord of the Flies was his first published book, established 1954. It has been adapted into play and a film. It is by far his most notable work, having sold millions of copies worldwide, “25 million in English alone.” It is an allegorical book about the nature of humanity. The characters are realistic children who are stranded in an island. The group starts off united and slowly throughout the novel they separate and become more savage. The children argue about the direction their group must take in order to survive; some of them want start a fire and wait to be rescued but there are those who want to hunt and ‘explore’ the island. Some children disappear and Piggy dies. In the end the children are rescued. Symbolism is very important in this book. A conch represent power, the fire represent hope, and the monster fear. The characters themselves are symbolic of different ideologies.

The Inheritors was published the year after Lord of the Flies in 1956. It was the favorite of Mr. Golding himself. It is story about the Homo sapiens overtake of the Neanderthal. The story start by presenting a group of Neanderthals that act much like humans, so the reader might believe that they are modern Homo sapiens. They speak, gesture, and practice burial rituals. As the story progress it is inevitable to notice that they have a limited vocabulary and are not very intelligent which gives it away, they are not modern Homo sapiens. The plot centers on the character, Lok, a Neanderthal. Hi rises as the leader of his small band after the elders were killed by modern humans. Humans are presented as strange gods; the Neanderthals witness their mastery of fire, development of Neolithic weaponry, and sail of the seas. The humans had captured some Neanderthal children and in the last chapter after the showdown they cowardly run away. This action reveals the terrible fear the humans have of the Neanderthals and shows humans believe that they are demons of the forest. After the death of Lok’s partner Fa, Lok he decided to suicide, there was no one else to share his life with. This demonstrates the end of the Neanderthal race. One important trait about the story is the dialect use in it. Except for the last chapter the story is written in stark, simple style, reflecting the animal-like of the Neanderthal. Narrative and point of view are also important at the end because we can see what the human and Neanderthal feel at the end, their different perspectives.

To the End of the Earth won the Booker McConnell prize in 1980. It is a sea trilogy. Rites of Passage was the first published in 1980. The second part, Close Quarters, was published six years later, 1987. The final part was Fire down below published in 1989. The book is a sea story of a sea it analyses individual and society. The narrative is mostly composed of journals written by aristocrat, Edmund Talbot. He responds to the characters and drams of the confined environment in which he is situated, a ship. It his influential godfather who gives him his journal in the first part, to record important events in his journey.  He first describes characters in his ship, which encompass 19^th century English society. Talbot presumes preference of status from the captain Anderson, which lead to a down fall of reverend Colley Talbot. Self warranted higher statue and class division is a running theme in the book. It also like many of Golding’s books, deals with the wake of savagery that arises when people are isolated. In the end Talbot seals the book; he does not want to show it to his godfather because it does not shoe the best of him. This book uses narrative in form of a journal making it different from the rest. The sea is symbolic of life.

Sir William Golding was definitely a very talented writer. He reflects what he had observations about humanity in his writing. His writing style is dynamic as is his stories. His books have a lot to teach and discuss about.