Was William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' written for children?

Question

My understanding is that 'Lord of the Flies' was not written for children, and I'm looking for a specific reference to back this up, e.g. an interview with the author.

Answer 1

Heaven's no. You need only to read the book to realize it wasn't written "for" children. You don't need the author to tell you that. I can't think of any children of the age the children in the book were who would want to read the book.

Answer 2

I think it is mostly for young adults/adults. Remember, it was written before the 1980s, and many writers back then wrote about struggle/war/survival because of the Depression, and the Vietnam War. If you would like to find more information, type in the author's name in a search engine. I am sure you would be able to find an interview on "Lord of the Flies."

Answer 3

No, it was not written for children. It was written for people who can realize the symbolism of almost everything in the book. Look below at a comment in an interview with William Golding:

"The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature...The whole book is symbolic in nature except the rescue in the end where adult life appears, dignified and capable, but in reality enmeshed in the same evil as the symbolic life of the children on the island..."

As you can see, the book is written for society to realize the nature of the human personality. Children may not even understand this book, it is so complex. I'm not sure if that interview helped much for your specific search, but you can draw your own conclusions.

Great book, though!! Possibly my favorite.

Answer 4

Gyahgh - you don't need a reference, just read the dang book. Lord of the Flies is _about_ children, but that doesn't make it a children's book by a long shot, considering how it's about how an isolated, stranded community of children turn on each other and themselves, and descend into savagery and bloodthirsty violence.

Probably not suitable for anyone younger than, say, high school age, and written more as social commentary for adult sensibilities.

Answer 5

Lord of the Flies (Perigee) his first novel, author William Golding wrote a novel that he could never surpass in greatness. Lord of the Flies is a novel about our human nature. Too often I think, people jump to quick conclusions about the book and Golding's stand on human nature. "His stance is too pessimistic" or "That books really gross." What these people fail to realize is that Golding tried to paint a picture of human nature as he saw it. He wasn't making things up, I don't think he was particularly angry, he wrote Lord of the Flies to expose people to the atrocities that he witnessed in World War II.

Answer 6

It was not written for children but nor was Macbeth but children have studied both as they are considered literature. Lord of the Flies won a Nobel Prize for Literature which cranked it up rather in the eyes of teachers. William Golding dedicated it to his Mother and Father when he published in 1954. It was his first novel!

Answer 7

The Lord of the Flies, by post-War author R. M. Ballantyne, is a beloved piece of classic children's literature about the inherently civilized nature of British school children. It tells the story of Ralph, Jack, Simon and Piggy, which is a triumphant illustration of the moral superiority of the white man. Stranded on an uninhabited island, the boys flawlessly recreate British society where previously there was no civilization, demonstrating the virtues of Western colonialism in microcosm. The book is widely seen as arguing against the idea of original sin.

Answer 8

I don't believe it was written for young children, but it can easily be appreciated by literate 15 year olds and above. It is about the only one of Golding's books which can be appreciated by a youngish audience; his other books require a fair amount od life experience.
Katey is a bit muddled. Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding.

Answer 9

If I recall correctly, the Norton Classical edition of the book contains a section of literary and biographical analysis. I taught the book for high schoolers and it certainly contains nuances--anti-imperialist, anti-fascist, to name two--that can be extracted by a more sophisticated reader. Its graphic horror might make it inappropriate for a sensitive 12 year old. The same can be said for just about any book whose central characters are children. Adults will "get" more. To Kill a Mockingbird and Hesse's Demian spring to mind.

Answer 10

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