| William Golding (1911-1993) is one of the most famous English novelists in contemporary English literature, and the winner of Nobel Literature Prize of the year 1983. He starts his unusual literary career with a masterpiece, Lord of the Flies (1954), which is his first novel and his tour de force. Golding is a writer of exceptional quality and his works are philosophical and rich in meaning. He published altogether 11 novels and one play. The other 10 novels are: The Inheritors (1955), Pincher Martin (1956), Free Fall (1959), The Spire (1964), The Pyramid (1967), Darkness Visible (1979), Rites of Passage (1980), The Paper Man (1984), Fire Down Below (1989), and The Double Tongue (1995). His only play is Brass Butterfly (1958).Nearly all his novels are concerned with the problem of evil. But each of them is not repetitious but original, vivid and fascinating. Therefore, he was awarded the Nobel Literature Prize for "his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world today." Lord of the Flies tells us a story about how a group of "angel-like" boys are stranded on a desert island and change to be bloodthirsty savages at last. The story is Golding's bold exploration of the evil in human nature. Although the theme is serous and profound, it's still an interesting and compelling children's adventure story with realistic descriptions of the environment and vivid, convincing characters. Since it was published in 1954, it has become the most popular of all Golding's novels, which hasbeen studied in schools and universities all over the world and brought him a lasting fame. "It seems to have captured the imagination of a whole generation." It's no exaggeration to say that it's mainly this novel that enables Golding to win the Nobel Prize.What fundamental characteristics make such a novel tour de force? The thesis will make an attempting probe of this question and analyze the artistic features of the novel and their contributions to the theme, concerning the following topics: the artistic form (the two patterns), the characterization and the language.Chapter one deals with the pattern of allegory in Lord of the Flies. The novel first can be read as a modern allegory, which departs from the traditional in three aspects: moral, implication and narrative method. It has more complicated and significant moral; it's full of profound implications, some of which have its origin in traditional religions and cultures ("original sin" and "Apollonian and Dionysian") and some are borrowed from modern ideas (Freud's theory of Psycho-Analysis). Moreover it's written in more realistic narrative method, which can be reflected in its detailed environmental descriptions and vivid, fleshy characters. In order to make a thorough research on Golding's Lord of the Flies, a historical retrospect of allegory is given. And lists of allegories in different periods are analyzed in order to generalize the features of allegory and give a scientific classification.Chapter two endeavors to discuss the pattern of desert island fiction. It has the major features of a desert island fiction, but it's a departure from the traditional ones, such as Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and The CoralIsland. In its theme and artistic method lie the significant differences: its theme is "evil defeats good" while the traditional is "good defeats evil"; as for artistic method, symbols and metaphor are widely used in Lord of the Flies, which are seldom used in the traditional desert island fictions. In order to deepen our understanding , a historical retrospect of desert island fiction is given, including its originating, developing and flourishing. At the same time, the significant status of Lord of the Flies in the history of desert island literature is established. Furthermore, a series of desert island fictions are analyzed for the purpose of generalizing the features of desert island fiction. At last, the contributing factors of the flourish o...
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