Editing Lord of the Flies (section)

== Themes ==
The novel's major themes of morality, civility, leadership, and the potential for rapid degeneration into chaos in society that all explore the duality of human nature.<ref name="youtube.com" /> 

''Lord of the Flies'' portrays a scenario in which upper-class British children quickly descend into chaos and violence without adult authority, despite attempts by some of them to establish order and co-ordination. This subverts the [[colonization|colonial narration]] found in many British books of this period; for example, ''[[The Coral Island]]''.<ref name="youtube.com"/> ''Lord of the Flies'' contains various references to ''The Coral Island''; for example, the rescuing naval officer describing the misadventures of the boys as a "jolly good show. Like the Coral Island."<ref>{{citation |last=Reiff |first=Raychel Haugrud |title=William Golding: Lord of the Flies |page=93 |year=2010 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-4700-9}}</ref> Golding's three central characters, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack, can also be interpreted as caricatures of the protagonists in ''The Coral Island''.<ref>{{citation |last=Singh |first=Minnie |title=The Government of Boys: Golding's ''Lord of the Flies'' and Ballantyne's ''Coral Island'' |journal=[[Children's Literature (journal)|Children's Literature]] |volume=25 |pages=205–213 |year=1997 |doi=10.1353/chl.0.0478 |s2cid=144319352| issn = 0092-8208 }}</ref>

At an [[allegory|allegorical]] level, a central theme is how the desire for civilisation conflicts with the [[will to power|desire for power]]. ''Lord of the Flies'' also portrays the tension between [[groupthink]] and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. These themes have been explored in an essay by American literary critic [[Harold Bloom]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bloom |first1=Harold |title=Major themes in Lord of the Flies |url=https://1.cdn.edl.io/DCZIfXm4z8XvzcRiCqTQbpSIBE3zLa6rhs0IuJCTkigqTLD9.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211194237/https://1.cdn.edl.io/DCZIfXm4z8XvzcRiCqTQbpSIBE3zLa6rhs0IuJCTkigqTLD9.pdf |archive-date=11 December 2019 |access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref>

Some examples of symbolism in ''Lord of the Flies'' are the signal fire, Piggy's glasses, and the conch shell, which may be read as representing hope, reason, democracy, and unity, among other interpretations.

The novel also examines aspects of war, as the story is set during a [[World War|war]] that has begun before the boys arrive on the island.<ref>https://study.com/learn/lesson/lord-of-the-flies-william-golding-settings-time-period-analysis What does the setting symbolize in Lord of the Flies?{{Dead link|date=May 2023}}</ref> Although the location of the island is never stated, it is sometimes thought to be somewhere in the Pacific, but [[John Sutherland (author)|John Sutherland]] argues that a [[coral island]] in the [[Indian Ocean]] is intended, based on remarks by Jack that the plane had stopped off in "Gib" ([[Gibraltar]]) and "Addis" ([[Addis Ababa]]), presumably en route to a refuge in [[Western Australia]]. In fact, an early manuscript, entitled ''Strangers From Within'', explicitly placed the island near [[New Guinea]] and [[Borneo]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sutherland |first= John|author-link=John Sutherland (author) |date=1998 |title=Where was Rebecca shot? : curiosities, puzzles, and conundrums in modern fiction |url= https://archive.org/details/wherewasrebeccas0000suth/page/71/mode/1up|location=London|publisher= Weidenfeld & Nicolson|pages= 70–71|isbn=9780297841463}}
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=== Genre and style ===
As a tale of adventure and survival, ''Lord of the Flies'' fits the genre of [[romanticism]]. It also questions human morality, making it a work of [[philosophical fiction]]. The novel is styled as allegorical fiction, embodying the concepts of inherent human savagery, [[mob mentality]], and [[totalitarianism|totalitarian leadership]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/genre/|title=Lord of the Flies: Genre|website=SparkNotes}}</ref> However, Golding deviates from typical allegory in that both the protagonists and the antagonists are fully developed, realistic characters.