An Analysis Of Lord Of The Flies Through Derrida’s Dynamic Text Theory

William Golding (1911—1993) is a British novelist who enjoys a widespread influence in the contemporary English literature. With his masterpiece—Lord of the Flies, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in1983. Critics have analyzed Lord of the Flies from different perspectives after it was published. However, the writer finds there is a huge space to study Lord of the Flies with Derrida’s dynamic text theory. The thesis analyzes the uncertainty of the text and the human nature, which is based on this theory.Firstly, the thesis briefly introduces the author and the novel, and reviews different critics’perspectives at home and abroad. Meanwhile, the writer puts forward creative views and significance of the thesis. Secondly, the writer illustrates intertextuality and differance of Derrida’s dynamic text theory. The thesis applies intertextuality to dig out the trace of other texts. Through intertextuality reading the text, the significance of the text depends on the dialogue among readers, the author and the text. Every text has the trace of other texts and is interwoven each other. So the significance of Lord of the Flies is infinitely changing. Besides, the thesis applies differance to explain uncertainty of characterization, space, time and the image, and to display the uncertainty of the text and the human nature. Lastly, the thesis reconsiders the evil of human nature and Golding’s attitude to human beings. It is difficult to conclude the significance of the novel just from the evil of human nature.In a word, Derrida’s dynamic text theory reconciles the traditional studies on Lord of the Flies. Through applying Derrida’s dynamic text theory, readers can not only grasp the change of human nature, but also comprehend the essence of the novel. The writer hopes the thesis can provide a new view for readers studying Lord of the Flies.