Teaching Democratic Values in the ESL classroom through William Golding's Lord of the Flies

The aim of this essay is to show how to use William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies in the ESL classroom to teach democratic values. Such values include: respect, empathy and the right to free speech. According to Reader-Response theory, the reader brings expectations and knowledge about the subject matter (in this case democracy and its values) to the texts, which influence his/her interpretation. I have applied two different styles of analyzing a text: a Content-Based Approach and Simpson's Communication Triangle. The Content-Based Approach, in accordance with Reader-Response Theory, builds on students' knowledge and previous experience and focuses on the content to be acquired. The Simpson's Communication Triangle, on the other hand, connects reading, discussing and writing. Both of the approaches are designed to enhance the students' reading responses by providing different forums for sharing, such as discussions and writing (diary entries) from one of the character's perspective. The idea of creating Reader-Response journals is supported by multiple forms of theoretical study, and the assignments explained in this essay have been designed upon this research.