September 17, 1954: William Golding Publishes "Lord of the Flies"

September 17, 1954: William Golding publishes his 1st novel, Lord of the Flies. Then about to turn 43, Golding had written it after reading what he deemed to be an unrealistic portrayal of stranded children in the youth novel The Coral Island: a Tale of the Pacific Ocean, published in 1857 by R.M. Ballantyne. That book included themes of the civilizing effect of Christianity, and the importance of hierarchy and leadership. Golding asked his wife, Ann, if it would "be a good idea if I wrote a book about children on an island, children who behave in the way children really would behave?"

The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island, and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality.

The novel contains various references to The Coral Island, such as the rescuing naval officer's description of the boys' initial attempts at civilized cooperation as a "jolly good show. Like the Coral Island." Golding's three central characters -- Ralph, Piggy, and Jack -- have also been interpreted as caricatures of Ballantyne's Coral Island protagonists.

The book is polarizing. In 2003, it was listed at Number 70 on the BBC's The Big Read poll. In 2005, Time magazine named it as one of the 100 best English-language novels published since the magazine's founding in 1923. But many people despise it for its seeming promotion of fascism, for its presumption of a descent into madness without the overseeing of adults, and, my biggest argument when I first read it, for its prose being generally boring.

Golding began a "sea trilogy" with To the Ends of the Earth in 1980, and was awarded the Booker Prize for this. In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was knighted in 1988, and died in 1993.

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September 17, 1954 was a Friday. Rocky Marciano defended the Heavyweight Championship of the World at Yankee Stadium, against former Champion Ezzard Charles. Marciano had beaten Charles there 3 months earlier.

In the 6th round, Charles opened a cut on Marciano's nose, and his trainer couldn't stop the bleeding. Before the 8th round, the referee, Al Berl, told Marciano that if he didn't knock Charles out in the coming round, he would stop the fight and give it to Charles on a technical knockout. Marciano knocked Charles out in that round. The Ring magazine named it Fight of the Year.

These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 10-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Tommy Byrne went the distance for the win. Yogi Berra hit a home run, and Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4 with a walk.

Two days later, the Yankees would beat the A's, 4-2, and it would be the last home game they would ever play. They played their last 6 games on the road, and moved to Kansas City for the 1955 season. They moved to Oakland in 1968, and wouldn't return to Philadelphia for a regular-season game until the Interleague schedule sent them to play the Phillies in 2003.

* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at the Polo Grounds. Robin Roberts (22-14) outpitched Johnny Antonelli (21-6). Stan Lopata hit a home run. Willie Mays went 0-for-4.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Billy Loes was knocked out of the box in the 2nd inning. Jackie Robinson went 1-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Dean Stone pitched a 3-hit shutout. Ted Williams went 0-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. (It was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961.) Al Kaline went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-4 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Stan Musial went 0-for-4. Hank Aaron did not play.

* And the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds -- the latter in their 1st of 5 seasons of McCarthyism-forced change of name to "Redlegs" -- were not scheduled.