Title: On the Indeterminacy of the Significance of Sea in Lord of the Flies

Abstract: The sea assumes a fundamental role in the construction of geographical ecology, social ecology and spiritual ecology in Lord of the Flies. Through sea writing, William Golding intricately weaves the disparities in geographical cognition, the evolution of social civilization, and the variations in human nature into the indeterminacy of the significance of sea. The sea functions as a paradoxical geographical expanse, shaping individuals’ character, psychology, and behavior in explicit or implicit ways. Simultaneously, it exerts a dual impact on social order, molding the development and demise of social civilization. Furthermore, the sea serves as an enigmatic metaphor for the dichotomy inherent in human nature’s moral spectrum, offering a reflective and revelatory lens onto the multidimensional essence of human beings. It is the indeterminacy of the significance of the sea that precipitates the gradual delineation of characters, the undulating trajectories of the narrative, and the diverse interpretations of textual significance, engendering an expansive platform for the exploration of real-world issues including the interplay between human and nature, the relationship between individual and society, and the complex intersections of war and civilization.

Keywords: William Golding, Lord of the Flies, the significance of sea, indeterminacy

Authors: Zhe Zhang, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Xiaoyan Huang, Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China.