Literary Criticism Presentation: Exploring Golding's Lord of the Flies

This presentation focuses on the literary criticism of William Golding's novel, "Lord of the Flies." It begins by establishing the context of literary criticism, its purpose, and its relevance. The presentation analyzes the essay by James R. Baker, highlighting key arguments and comparing Golding's work to that of Aldous Huxley. It discusses the novel's themes, such as societal degeneration and human nature, and explores Baker's interpretations. The presentation also includes a discussion of the novel's structure, the use of fable and allegory, and the connection to Dionysian myths. The assignment aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the novel through literary analysis, including discussion points, thesis identification, and an annotated version of the essay.

Literary Criticism
Essay Analysis

What is Literary criticism
• In simple words it is the discussion, the study,
evaluation and the interpretation of literature.
• It includes –
• The classification by genre
• The analysis of the structure
• The judgement of value

The elements of literature
• Both human and textual
element
• The author and readers and
human element
• This forms the rhetorical
triangle

Why everything has to be anlyzed?
• Enhances the intensity of the text
• Increases the understanding of the text
• Socrates said : “ The life which is unexamined
is not worth living”.

The literary criticism map

Best part of the essay-1
• James R. Baker was the first critic to have
pointed out the similarities between The
Bacchae of Euripides with The Lord of the Flies
of William Golding.

Best part of the essay-2
• Baker has also put that that Simon meets the
fate of the saints through martyrdom.
• The connection with the Dionysian myths is
placed as identified by Baker before.
• The Dionysian myth highlights the societal
degeneration along with the essential human
blindness.

Literature criticism
• Baker’ comment on the “ Free Fall” in an
interview with William Golding.
• This novel irritated people because of its
peculiar structure as a contrast to “ Lord of the
flies”.

Literature Criticism
• Baker’ comparison of Aldous Huxley and
Golding.
• Both of them were near contemporary.
• Golding focused on science and Huxley
focused on literature more.
• The comparative literary criticism technique
has been used .

References
• Ayyıldız, N. E. (2019). A Discussion of Aristotelianism and Machiavellianism in William
Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” as a Children’s Dystopic Novel. Border Crossing, 9(2), 63-77.
• PELIN, R. Ș. (2017). The Coral Island vs. Lord of the Flies Variations in Emotional Intelligence
Skills. Cultural Intertexts, 7, 152-162.
• Prahari, S. (2017). A Psycho Analytic Study of The Select Novels of Sir William Golding.
• KHALIL, A. K. A. (2018). The Use of Fable and Allegory in William Golding's Lord of the
Flies.e3, Number4.
• Shah, U., & O Abahussain, M. (2019). A Deconstructive Reading of William Golding's Lord of
the Flies for EFL Learners in the Saudi Context. AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volum