On The Gothic Elements In Golding's Novels

William Golding (1911—1993), a world-renowned British writer in 20th century, is unique in the postwar literary circle for his pioneering use of fable to write novels. He has inherited the tradition of western ethics and is good at writing fables and myths in realistic narrative art to explore the nature and fortune of human being in modern world. Being called an allegory writer, Golding is widely acclaimed for his solemn style, philosophical implication, vivid description, and gothic elements, which this thesis is to explore by analyzing three of his main works, Lord of the Flies, Pincher Martin and The Pyramid.The thesis consists of three chapters in addition to the introduction and conclusion. Introduction offers a brief account of William Golding's life experience and his career, summarizes the current research on William Golding and his works both at home and abroad, and explains the necessity and significance of studying the gothic elements in his novels.Chapter one aims to explore Golding's adherence to the tradition of Gothic novel. To begin with, Golding has created some horrible characters in his novels that are typically gothic, like Jack and Roger in Lord of the Flies and Martin in Pincher Martin. Secondly, Golding has successfully inherited the gothic ideas of establishing a gloomy and scared setting. Together with the horrible scenes, supernatural phenomena and illusive plots, Golding succeeds in endowing his novels with thick gothic atmosphere.Chapter two is devoted to the breakthroughs that Golding makes in gothic theme and narration. For one thing, Golding has reversed the traditional gothic theme about the confliction between the good and the evil, although he also presents such events as murder, revenge, violence, rape and other gothic topics in his novels. He believes that man is born evil. In his novels, Golding often puts the opposite sides in a specific condition and let them confront the discord. He insists that the evil would defeat the good. For another thing, Golding's experiment in writing skills is also discussed in this chapter. His creative use of narrative techniques and parody enables him to express more explicitly his thematic concern.Chapter three lays stress on the roots for Golding's uniqueness in his Gothic novel creation. To begin with, Golding gets inspirations from the classic literature, especially the Greek literature, which has far-reaching influences on the structure of his novels and the ways to solving problems. Besides, Golding devotes all his works to illustrating that man is born evil. In order to prove it is a universal phenomenon, he digs into himself and seeks materials from his personal experience to establish the theme, shape the characters and knit the plot.William Golding's adherence and contribution to the gothic elements makes his novels masterpieces, which not only carry forward the classic tradition but also enrich and renovate this form. Exploring the gothic elements can help better understand the motif and ideas of Golding's novels and comprehend the efforts that Golding, as a novelist, has made to promote and develop Gothic literature. His contribution lies in the fact that he has offered another interpretation of the nature of human being and committed himself to questing for a road to salvation.