Quotes from William Golding

His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of mans heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

I know there isn't no beast—not with claws and all that, I mean—but I know there isn't no fear, either." Piggy paused. "Unless—" Ralph moved restlessly. "Unless what?" "Unless we get frightened of people.

The rules!" shouted Ralph, "you're breaking the rules!" "Who cares?

I am by nature an optimist and by intellectual conviction a pessimist.

He lost himself in a maze of thoughts that were rendered vague by his lack of words to express them. Frowning, he tried again.

For a small island [Great Britain], the place is remarkably diverse.

I hope my books make statements about our general condition.

Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?

Before the Second World War, I believed in the perfectability of social man; that a correct structure of society produced goodwill; and that, therefore, you could remove all social ills by a reorganisation of society. It is possible that I believe something of the same again; but after the war, I did not because I was unable to.

What a man does defiles him, not what is done by others.

I have always understood the Nazis because I am of that sort by nature.

The journey of life is like a man riding a bicycle. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. We know that if he stops moving and does not get off he will fall off.