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Welcome to our resources page! You can filter by book, by category, and by format (text, sound and film). Use the research filter for higher-level items like critical bibliographies.

27 results

Death

Pincher Martin Christopher Martin’s desire to defeat death forms the narrative of this whole novel, as he battles to survive. Early on, he declares ‘I […]

Hunger

As many of Golding’s novels feature aspects of survival, hunger is a recurrent theme.

A dead pig's head on a stick.

Animals

Lord of the Flies The island is the home of a number of animals, most notably pigs, who become the target of the boys’ hunts. Ralph, […]

War

Lord of the Flies In many ways, war is the central theme of Lord of the Flies; the experience of the boys on the island is […]

Piggy’s glasses

Piggy’s glasses are symbolic for a number of reasons in Lord of the Flies. The spectacles represent the boys’ only means of obtaining fire through reflecting […]

Civilisation vs savagery

The battle between civilisation and savagery is represented in a number of Golding’s novels, most famously in Lord of the Flies and The Inheritors.

Naval Officer

The Naval Officer appears at the end of Lord of the Flies and represents the chance of rescue to the stranded boys. He surveys the […]

Percival

In Lord of the Flies Percival is described as ‘not … very attractive even to his mother’. He is one of the ‘littluns’ who first […]

Music

Music is a major theme in some of Golding’s novels, particularly The Pyramid, but it also plays a minor, but important role in others, including Pincher Martin […]

Pincher Martin opera

Pincher Martin was adapted into a stunning opera by Oliver Rudland in 2014. Staged at the Royal College of Music, London, the opera combined music with […]

Fire

Fire burns through many of the novels.

BBC Adaptation: To the Ends of the Earth

In 2005 the BBC produced a mini-series adaptation of Golding’s A Sea Trilogy, called To the Ends of the Earth. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Edmund Talbot, […]

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