William Gerald Golding was born at St Columb, Cornwall, on 19 September 1911. He died on 19 June 1993 in Truro, Cornwall. Golding became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1955 and was awarded the CBE in 1966. In 1980 he received the Booker Prize and in 1983 Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. His multiple interests were to a considerable degree present in his writing. His fascination for archaeology is reflected i n The Inheritors 1 (1955) that Golding referred to as his own favorite among his novels. While digging as an amateur archaeologist, he discovered the remains of an old woman. He expressed his sensations when the skeleton was covered again with earth: “There is a sense in which I share the guilt buried beneath the runway, a sense in which my imagination has locked me to them. I share in what was at the least a callous act - in what at the worst may very well have been prehistoric murder.” Evolution and religion, two of the themes, which reappear throughout Golding’s writing, are addressed in The Inheritors. The most fundamental contribution to the evolutionary insight that man developed from animal, ape- like ancestors in the dim and distant past made Charles Darwin. His theory placed man at the top of evolution. Evolution became a synonym for progress. This new era of thinking influenced writers and provoked a strong reaction. One important example is The Outline of History by H.G. Wells, a rational supporter of the Darwinian theory. Deliberately prefixed to The Inheritors is the epigraph from The Outline of History. So the reader enters the novel with this passage in mind. … We know very little of the appearance of the Neanderthal man, but this … seems an extreme hairiness, an ugliness, or a repulsive strangeness in his appearance over and above his low forehead, his beetle brows, his ape neck, and his inferior stature. … Says Sir Harry Johnston, in a survey of the rise of modern man in his Views and Reviews: ‘The dim racial remembrance of such gorilla-like monsters, with cunning brains, shambling gait, hairy bodies, strong teeth, and possibly cannibalistic tendencies, may be the germ of the ogre in folklore. …’ (7)
It served as the initial stimulus for Golding’s work about the clash of two different species - the Neanderthal man and the Cro-Magnon man. The book turned up with high frequency on the lists of The World’s Ten Most Important Books or The Ten Most Important Books in My Life. [...]
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The People
1.1. Community Life and Image of Nature
1.2. Leadership
1.3. Religion
1.4. The Concept of Guilt
2. The New People
2.1. Community Life and Image of Nature
2.2. Leadership
2.3. Relogion
2.4. The Concept of Guilt
3. Concluding Remarks
Objectives and Topics
This academic paper examines the depiction of community life, nature, and religion in William Golding's novel "The Inheritors." The primary objective is to contrast the peaceful, matriarchal culture of the Neanderthal "People" with the violent, patriarchal, and sacrificial society of the "New People" (Homo sapiens), analyzing how their distinct worldviews and religious practices reflect Golding's exploration of the human condition and the nature of evil.
- The comparative analysis of community structures and leadership models.
- The interpretation of nature as both a source of life and an object of fear.
- The role of religion and ritual in shaping the identity of the two species.
- The influence of evolutionary theories and literary precedents on Golding's narrative.
- The psychological exploration of guilt and scapegoating in primitive human societies.
Excerpt from the Book
1.3. Religion
The People’s pictures give access to the Neanderthal’s past, tradition and religion. Lok’s only picture is about “finding the little Oa” (33) – a natural sculpture of their goddess Oa, the woman-shaped root he found by chance. The People see the root as a miniature of Oa, the spirit of maternal creation incarnated in the wooden shape. It is neither an artifact nor a work of art. Lok found it but did not shape it or change its form. The People are not able to create things – for innovation and art we must look at the New People. It serves as a doll for the girl Liku, it is kept and protected, but its religious significance makes the little Oa more than a toy.
This introduces us to the People’s religion. “There was the great Oa. She brought forth the earth from her belly. She gave suck. The earth brought force woman and the woman brought forth the first man out of her belly.” (35) This is the basic idea of life and also of their own creation story: the endless creation out of femininity. Philip Redpath adds a brilliant thought by saying that Oa, their female earth goddess, “can be seen as a reversal of Alpha and Omega (Oa/Ao), the beginning and the end”, life and death. The earth-mother goddess is not worshipped by fleshly sacrifice but she appears in natural forms: a root shaped like a woman, female shaped hills and ice formations.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter provides biographical background on William Golding and discusses the evolutionary and literary influences, such as H.G. Wells, that shaped the conceptualization of the novel.
1. The People: This section explores the Neanderthal perspective, focusing on their communal harmony, non-verbal communication, and matriarchal connection to the earth goddess, Oa.
2. The New People: This chapter analyzes the contrasting society of the incoming Homo sapiens, characterized by patriarchal power, aggressive behavior, and a death-oriented religion requiring blood sacrifices.
3. Concluding Remarks: The conclusion synthesizes the differences between the two tribes, emphasizing Golding’s message about the human tendency to project internal evil onto external "scapegoats."
Keywords
William Golding, The Inheritors, Neanderthal, Homo sapiens, Oa, evolutionary theory, matriarchy, patriarchy, ritual, blood sacrifice, cannibalism, scapegoat, community life, prehistory, totemism
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper provides a structural and thematic analysis of William Golding's novel "The Inheritors," focusing on the clash between Neanderthal man and the emerging Homo sapiens.
What are the primary themes analyzed in the work?
The central themes include the comparison of communal life, environmental perception, leadership structures, and religious beliefs between the two species depicted in the novel.
What is the main research question or goal?
The goal is to interpret how the distinct cultures and religious systems of the "People" and the "New People" reflect Golding's critique of human nature, progress, and the perception of evil.
Which methodology is applied in this research?
The study uses a literary and comparative analysis, drawing on anthropology, paleontology, and established Golding scholarship to examine the novel's narrative and symbolic depth.
What content is covered in the main body of the paper?
The body covers the detailed comparison of social order, religious worship—specifically the matriarchal Oa-cult versus the patriarchal stag-cult—and the manifestation of guilt and violence.
Which keywords best characterize this study?
Key terms include William Golding, Neanderthals, Oa, ritual, blood sacrifice, scapegoating, and the contrast between communal harmony and competitive aggression.
How does the paper interpret the role of "pictures" for the Neanderthals?
The paper explains that Golding uses "pictures" or thought-transference to represent the pre-linguistic consciousness of the Neanderthals, who lack logical abstraction and communicate through communal visualization.
How is the concept of the "scapegoat" addressed in the context of the New People?
The paper argues that the New People project their internal sense of guilt and their struggles with starvation onto the Neanderthals, whom they label as "devils," thereby justifying their acts of ritual killing and cannibalism.
- Quote paper
- Christiane Landsiedel (Author), 2003, Prehistoric Islanders. Community Life, Nature and Religion in William Golding's 'The Inheritors', Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/31411
