An Eco-critical Interpretation On Lord Of The Flies

William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, since its publication in 1954, has became one of the most distinguished pieces of literature. This thesis studies Lord of the Flies from the perspective of eco-criticism, combined with symbolism. This thesis tries to analyze the island's value in order to reveal human's dilemma: without harmonious co-existence with nature, human can go to their doom. The children at first coexisted harmoniously on the island and even regarded the island as their heaven. But then, they began to break the island's ecological balance and even burnt the island down. All the above reflect the subtle relationship between human and nature, even between man and man.This thesis consists of five chapters. The chapter one summarizes William Golding's life and makes a survey of Lord of the Flies both at home and abroad. Meanwhile, an overview of eco-criticism is also introduced in this chapter. Chapter two focuses on the island's natural beauty, its ecological balance and the harmonious human relationships. Chapter three discusses that the island's nature has been damaged by the invasion of human, which lead to the disharmonious human relationship. Finally, the island is ruined by human, which lead to the destruction of our human being. Chapter four is the conclusion, which points out that Lord of the Flies embodies the ecological idea on the relationship between man and nature, between man and man and between man and self. If we can not achieve a balance between these relationships, we will face our extinction. So it has a realistic meaning to read this novel from the perspective of eco-criticism, especially during today when the ecological crisis is becoming more and more serious.