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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 man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

— William Golding Lord of the Flies (1954)

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More quotes by William Golding

I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men — they are far superior and always have been.

Introduction to his reading of Lord of the Flies in the unabridged audio version (1980)

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.

Lord of the Flies (1954)

"How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?"

Lord of the Flies (1954)

Sleep is when all unsorted stuff comes as from a dustbin upset in a high wind.

Pincher Martin (1956)

Novelists do not write as birds sing, by the push of nature. It is part of the job that there should be much routine and some daily stuff on the level of carpentry.

A Moving Target (1982)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Golding (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.