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We did everything adults would do. What went wrong?

William Golding

This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grownups come to fetch us we’ll have fun.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Fetch Fun Good Grownup Island Until
Serve you right if something did get you, you useless lot of cry-babies!
WILLIAM GOLDING

Baby Cry Right Save Something Useless
We’re not savages. We’re English.
WILLIAM GOLDING

English Language Savage
Childhood is a disease – a sickness that you grow out of.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Children Disease Grow Out Sickness
He became absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things. He talked to them, urging them, ordering them. Driven back by the tide, his footprints became bays in which they were trapped and gave him the illusion of mastery.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Absorb Become Beyond Control Describe Excercise Felt Happiness Himself Living Thing
The greatest ideas are the simplest.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Greatest Ideas Simplest
Philosophy and Religion-what are they when the wind blows and the water gets up in lumps?
WILLIAM GOLDING

Get Lump Now Philosophy Religion Water Wind
The mask was a thing on it’s own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-conciousness.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Behind Consciousness Country Liberated Mask Own People Person Self Shame Think
You have the older generation like Iris Murdoch and Angus Wilson who are not as old as Graham Greene, but still are coming on. I dare say anyone who knew the scene better than I know it could fill it in with a very satisfactory supply of novels.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Come Country Generation Holder Like One People Still
I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men, they are far superior and always have been.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Always Been Foolish Pretend Superior Think
A crowd of grade-three thinkers, all shouting the same thing, all warming their hands at the fire of their own prejudices, will not thank you for pointing out the contradictions in their beliefs. Man is a gregarious animal, and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all the same way on the side of a hill.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Crow Grade Hand Prejudice Same Shout Thing Thinker Warning
It may be — I hope it is — redemption to guess and perhaps perceive that the universe, the hell which we see for all its beauty, vastness, majesty, is only part of a whole which is quite unimaginable.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Beauty Guess Hell Hope Majesty May Perhaps Redemption See Universe Vastness
No human endeavour can ever be wholly good… it must always have a cost.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Coat Endeavour God Human Must Wholly
Life’s scientific, but we don’t know, do we? Not certainly, I mean.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Certainty Know Life Mean Scientific
But forgiveness must not only be given but received also.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Forgiveness Given Must Receive
As soon as Oliver Twist is serialized, people who would never dream of reading [Charles] Dickens, if they hadn’t seen him on their box, buy the paperback.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Box Country Dream never People Person Raed Seen Serialized Soon
In India the odd thing is that English is this almost artificial language floating on the surface of a place with about fifty other languages. The same is true of Nigeria but even more so.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Almost Artificial Country English Fifty Float Language Odd Other Place Surface Thing
What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?
WILLIAM GOLDING

Animal Human Savage
How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?
WILLIAM GOLDING

Act Expect First Proper Rescue Thing
Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Air Call Darkness End Fall Friend Innocence People Through True Went Wise
I’ve come across a novel called The Palm-Wine Drinkard, by the Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola, that is really remarkable because it is a kind of fantasy of West African mythology all told in West African English which, of course, is not the same as standard English.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Call Come Cross Dimkard Kind Novel Palm Person Really Remarkable Wine Writer
Even if you got rid of paper, you would still have story-tellers. In fact, you had the story-tellers before you had the paper.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Before Even Fact Got Paper Still Story Teller Would
Together, joined in effort by the burden, they staggered up the last steep of the mountain. Together, they chanted One! Two! Three! and crashed the log on to the great pile. Then they stepped back, laughing with triumphant pleasure.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Burden Chant Effort Join Last Mountain Sleep Staggered Together Two
What a man does defiles him, not what is done by others.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Believe Define Done Man Other
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.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Beast Claw Fear Know Mean No Pause Piggy
Percival was mouse-coloured and had not been very attractive even to his mother.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Attractive Beem Cloured Even Mother Mouse Percival Very
The Navy’s a very gentlemanly business. You fire at the horizon to sink a ship and then you pull people out of the water and say, ‘Frightfully sorry, old chap.’
WILLIAM GOLDING

Business Fire Frightfully Gentleently Horizon Navy People Say Pull Ship Very Water

We did everything adults would do. What went wrong?

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We did everything adults would do. What went wrong?

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