Abstract：Lord of the Flies is a novel that gives us a great inspiration. Human evilness is one of its themes. The children become savage and animalistic over the course of the novel and they pose threats on nature consequently. My thesis aims at interpreting reasons of the changes of human nature in this book from the perspective of ecocriticism which consists of natural ecology, social ecology, and spiritual ecology. Through analyzing different characters and plots, even the language, we could explore the relationship of man and nature, man and society, man and himself, and conclude that we should return to nature, remain innocent and live in harmony with nature so that we can get sustainable development.

Keywords:  Lord of the Flies; ecocriticism; human nature

从生态理论角度分析《蝇王》中人性的变化

摘  要《蝇王》是一部能给人很多启示的小说，具有很大的探讨意义。人性恶是这本书的主题之一。书里的儿童不断的变得野蛮和充满兽性，随而对自然环境造成了危害。我的论文旨在从由自然生态，社会生态和精神生态组成的生态批评角度解读为什么人性会发生变化。本文通过对书中不同人物和情节，甚至语言的分析，进一步挖掘人与自然，人与社会，人与自身的关系，启示我们人类应该回归自然，保持纯真，只有与自然和谐相处，才能获得可持续发展。

关键词：蝇王；生态批评；人性

Contents

1.Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Theoretical Base—Ecocriticism 2

2.1.1 Definition of Ecocriticism 2

2.1.2 Development of Ecocriticism at Home and Abroad 2

2.1.3 Purpose of Ecocriticism 2

2.2 A Brief Introduction to Lord of the Flies 3

2.3 Research and Discussions of Lord of the Flies at Home and Abroad 3

2.4 Study Significance 4

3.The Changes of Human Nature 5

3.1Imbalance of Natural Ecology 5

3.1.1 Imbalance Between Man and the Island 5

3.1.2 Imbalance Between Man and Boars 6

3.2 Imbalance of Social Ecology 7

3.2.1 Imbalance Between Man and Social Rules 7

3.2.2 Imbalance Between Man and Science 8

3.3 Imbalance of Spiritual Ecology 9

3.3.1Anthropocentrism 9

3.3.2 The Inner Demon 10

4. Conclusion 11

References 12

1.Introduction

For many readers, William Gerald Golding has linked with the book Lord of the Flies. As Golding’s first novel which was published in 1954, Lord of the Flies didn’t set the world on fire at that time. In 1983, William Golding won the Nobel Prize for Literature on the strength of this book. It became the bestsellers in many countries. For a few years, many scholars have dug into this book from different angles. This time, I choose to analyze the changes of nature of characters (from reason to savagery) in the novel but provide a new perspective.

In the 21th century, with the global ecological environment worsening and the environmental crisis deepening, more and more people began the study of ecocriticism in literature. It is worthy for us to study the book Lord of the Flies from the perspective of ecocriticism which could give us new thinking in human survival and development.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Theoretical Base—Ecocriticism

Ecocriticism, as a branch discipline of literary criticism, is from an interdisciplinary point of view to study literature and environment and used to explore the texts that illustrate environmental concerns the connections examine the perse ways literature treats the subject of nature. The following part will give a presentation of the definition and purposes of the ecocriticism.

2.1.1 Definition of Ecocriticism

Cheryll Glotfelty, in her introduction in The Ecocriticism Reader, pointed that ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment (Glotfelty & Fromm 1996, p.xviii). Estok argues that ecocriticism is more than “simply the study of Nature or natural things in literature; rather, it is any theory that is committed to effecting change by analyzing the function–thematic, artistic, social, historical, ideological, theoretical, or otherwise–of the natural environment, or aspects of it, represented in documents that contribute to material practices in material worlds” (Estok 2005, pp.16-17). It raises moral questions about human interactions with nature, while also motivating audiences to live within a limit that will be binding over generations ( Camilo Gomides, 16).