Golding often presents isolated individuals or small groups in extreme situations dealing with man in his basic condition stripped of trappings, creating the quality of a fable. His novels are remarkable for their strikingly varied settings.
The book is a systematic and scholarly attempt to present to the readers a comprehensive understanding of William Golding, the English novelist, who appeared exceptionally unique in his treatment of what is constant in man’s nature. The book is divided into four chapters, including the Introduction chapter, providing an insight into the literary and social background that influence his works. The basic convention, thematic concerns, structure, style and diction are discussed, projecting the moral framework of his novels conceived in terms of traditional Christian symbolism.
A detailed critical analysis of his first two novels Lord of the Flies and The Inheritors attempts to show that his novels deal with the Orthodox Christian version of human depravity, spiritual fall and his evolutionary rise with guilt as the primary legacy that we have inherited.
The book will be found highly useful by the students and teachers of English literature and researchers in this field.