Lord of the Flies

William Goldberg’s novel Lord of Flies tells the story of a group of British boys who are involved in a plane crash and find themselves deserted on a stranded island during World War II. The boys rejoice in their new-found freedom since no adults survived the crash; however, they soon realize that chaos is never a good thing. Without order or civility, the true colors of the boys begin to show, and they realize that social order is crucial to their survival. Needing a sense of structure, the boys elect one of the boys, Ralph, as the chief of the group. Ralph then assigns roles and duties to each of the other boys to survive until they can be rescued. This seems like a good solution to their problem until rumors begin that a monster is residing on the island with the boys. The boys decide to give a sacrifice to the monster in the form of a bloody boar’s head, which in time decays becoming “Lord of the Flies.” This unknown monster “fear” ultimately lives inside each of the boys causing it to consume every moment of the boys’ days and nights turning the boys against one another. Their make-shift society quickly begins to unravel creating a conflict between the need for order and the savage nature of human beings. The novel delves deep into the four main characters showing how chaos can truly change a person and make one do things that he never imagined he could do. The first character is Ralph, who is elected chief of the group. Ralph is determined to maintain order within the group. When the boys first arrive on the island, Ralph blows a conch shell like a make-shift horn signaling all the lost boys from the island to descend upon the group. The second character is Piggy, who is smart and insightful. Piggy becomes the most mature of the group; however, he is soon mocked by the other boys due to his physique. Another character Jack is the hunter of the group and delights in hunting for wild pigs on the island. Jack slowly develops a following of other boys who want to hunt, and this leads to a power struggle between Ralph’s followers and Jack’s group. The last of the boys is Simon, the quiet type who likes to venture into the jungle to find solitude away from the others. However, Simon’s solitude becomes his downfall when he starts to become crazy leading to the other boys killing Simon thinking he is the monster of their dreams. The climax of the novel begins after Piggy is killed, and Ralph, Jack, and one of the island’s lost boys named Roger set fire to the entire island. Knowing he is the next to be killed by the group of savages, Ralph runs away and straight into the arms of a British naval officer signaling the end of the haunting journey for the remaining boys. When the boys realize that they have been rescued, they burst into tears realizing what the evil that they have become. Human nature, the struggle between good and evil, and the ultimate darkness of man are central themes throughout the story detailing how even good people can be savage if it means survival. The haunting story is a scary reminder that human depravity makes people do things unimaginable. The struggle between savagery and civilization is something our own society has dealt with since the beginning of time. The novel is a classic story that bleeds over into our world today and details how fear can be used as a weapon when needed to achieve a desired outcome. Goldberg’s novel Lord of the Flies is dark and disturbing at times, but it opens the reader’s eyes to how human nature ultimately controls us all.

Lord of the Flies is one of those books everyone should read no matter what kind of books you like. The story will stick with you for a long time and there is a timeless message hidden within the pages. Even though I never read this in high school, this is defiantly a high school level book. The reading is quick and easy once you get into it, just the plot might slow you down. Everyone should read though if you want to understand great usage of motifs, foreshadowing, allusions to mythology, and get certain references from several books, movies, and television shows. The main reason I started this book now was one I never read it before and two I have read all the Hunger Games. Yes, Hunger Games is like Battle Royale, but they are both extremely close to Lord of the Flies as well. Another reason I read this was that I heard Fables refers to it in the Animal Farm story arch, not just the pigs head on a stick, but the fact only one person can hear the “Lord of the Flies” talk to them. So, I went all Fables Fangirl at that part of the book. I must say I also was constantly thinking about the Simpsons’ episode were the kids are stranded on a disserted island. Overall, I really liked the book. It was somewhat predictable at times, but I think that was mainly due to the fact the book has been referenced so many times. Not to give anything away but there is a lot of talk about Piggy’s glasses and how if he ever lost them. At times, the dialogue was a little difficult to follow, but I just had to figure out who was talking when. This is more of a personal issue, but authors need to stop stereotyping twins so much. We are not the same person and makes it hard for me to follow books when they make them Samneric all the time. I think my favorite character in the book was Piggy. Right away, you just get a sense of feeling for him and you just want him to stand up for himself. Ralph you get the feeling he is a complete jerk and you know he is going to be the main villain of the story. I mean he calls Piggy by his nickname, when Piggy tell him not to call him that. Although, Piggy was stupid for even trusting Ralph in the first place, as most innocent kids when they meet bad friends. Clearly, Piggy just wanted a friend. This is the type of book I could go on and on with in my review, but I’m not going to or I know I give away spoilers to those who are living under a rock and never even heard about this book. As I previously said before, this is a book everyone should rad no matter what types of books you like to read. I very much recommend it to those who read Battle Royale and Hunger Games though. This is a great book too for a horror aspect of bullying and the flaws a government with too much authority. You don’t just read this book, this book makes you experience!

SPOILERS! Lord of the Flies is a fairly interesting and fast-paced book. It sets a great example of how easy it is for a sophisticated society to become a collection of savage animals and leaves the reader with a lot to think about. First, the characters Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon are introduced and become some of the most important symbols in the book. The characters are all unique and have different effects on each other throughout the plot. Ralph can be counted as the protagonist in this book and is a fair-haired chef representing civility. Jack is a power-hungry antagonist who symbolizes anarchy. Piggy is fat, has asthma, and acts as a scapegoat, but is smarter than anyone else; he symbolizes intelligence. Simon is a boy who volunteers to the point that it gets him killed, he is a symbol of human goodness. These characters become great contributors to the plot and theme. Speaking of the plot and theme, William Golding did an excellent job of reminding people how easily human nature can put society in danger of collapsing. It begins with the male middle school group stranded on an island with no adult supervision, it’s a thing to celebrate at first, but the group under Ralph’s attempts to raise a functioning society becomes more defiant of logic. Made-up creatures from nightmares and increasing arguments led to a downfall in the productivity and unity of the group. They then stop listening to Ralph entirely because they are deprived of fun feelings under Ralph’s logical perspective of island survival. Jack believes that they should have fun hunting pigs and chanting in circles until the day they die, with no hope of rescue in sight. The kids, being the middle school group they are, answer to Jack, except for the smart Piggy and twins Sam and Eric, who are captured or killed even by the other tribe. Simon was one of the few who did his best work under Ralph, even to where his work beat him down. Simon is killed around this time by the group, as they thought he was the fake beast they feared, even when he worked for the good of the group until he died. Ralph is left to survive with the savage group hunting him for the rest of the book until the island is set on fire, catching the attention of a ship that rescues them. When they meet the officer who descended to see what was going on, he asks if they are playing at war, and they agree, even with the mentioned two deaths from this savagery. It becomes clear that the members of a functioning society are ignorant of how easily life becomes a fight for survival when all else is lost. A good theme for the book goes something like the following sentence. Society’s flaws come from the flaws of human nature. This book shows that the human’s nature is to have fun, be lazy, and do what it wants. Society only functions when people mature. Maturing means doing stuff that you don’t want, helping others, and being aware of your mistakes. The middle schoolers in Golding’s book are not mature enough, except for Simon, Ralph, Piggy, and the twins Sam and Eric. They do their part in society but are crushed by the overbearing weight of the savages who let human nature control their every move. These savages blamed others for their mistakes, which led to increasing arguments and aggression towards others. These savages let laziness get the best of their civility, and the group suffered because of it. Other examples clearly show this message as well. In the grand scheme of things, this book is extremely cool and I would recommend it to anyone who wants more than a bad summary of it from me, and anyone who hasn’t read it at all. Just don’t tell them all the spoilers.

(Preface: This review is part of an extra-credit school assignment about whether classic books, such as LoTF, should be banned or not and why, so if the following seems a little different from an average Amazon product review, that's why.) :) Lord of the Flies: Why It Should Not Be Banned Reading William Golding’s famous novel Lord of the Flies recently was a fabulous experience. Its chronicles of friendship, betrayal, and the battle between civilization/”goodness” and man’s inner evil were both thrilling and intriguing. I read the book for a school assignment, and I must say that I was sorry that I had not read it earlier. It’s fascinating, and a great read for anyone above the age of 10 (there are a few gruesome scenes and images that may scare younger readers). Still, the violence is far from too graphic for middle-school students – for them the pros of reading the book outweigh the cons. Lord of the Flies is an extremely well-written tale with intriguing plots and ideas. Young teenagers should read the book because it teaches about human nature, and because censoring literature that teaches morals in an intense way is not censoring’s purpose. William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies is one of the best books on human nature ever written. In the story, British schoolboys crash on an island in the middle of the ocean. They try to create a sort of makeshift society, but due to the lack of parental supervision, it breaks down and results in anarchy – several of the boys die due to the chaos that ensues. By reading the story, children will learn about how the human psyche works – and how dependent we are on society. Lord of the Flies is an incredible book that contains many important things – some of these being civilization vs. savagery, individualism vs. community, the nature of evil, man vs. nature, dehumanization of relationship, the loss of innocence, and the negative outcomes of war. (What an incredible list – would anyone deprive a middle-schooler of knowledge on these profound topics simply because of one scene that is a little graphic?) Lord of the Flies is a novel of profound messages, themes, and morals, and censoring is not worth missing out on learning from the book. A second reason why Lord of the Flies should not be banned is that doing so would defy the purpose of censoring books. When a board or organization bans a book, they are doing so logically because the book that they are banning has little or no literary value. Of course, Golding’s novel is far from that – as mentioned, it’s a work of literary genius with countless themes and lessons. Why ban a book and deprive students of such learning because of one scene? Teachers can allow students to skip the graphic parts, as many have done in my school. Besides, even if students choose to read even the scarier scenes, they are reading about human nature – they’re not watching a horror movie with pointless, excessive violence that has no meaning or point for its existence. Lord of the Flies may have gruesome parts, but those parts are educational and only help shine Golding’s messages brighter. In conclusion, The Lord of the Flies should be taught in school, because of its incredible literary and moral value, and because censoring it would defeat the purpose of censoring books in the first place.

"Lord of the Flies" smells really sweet and as a fan of anything that is able to translate complex issues into simple ways I found Golding's work here to be incredibly great! It's really interesting to me about just how great classics like this one have the ability to reach the reader at various maturity levels allowing one to glean treasures through repeated reading over the years with each visit revealing even greater insights that may have been missed during prior visits. This to me is the definition of a literary masterpiece. Although I didn't have the privilege of reading this book in school as the powers that were at the time decided that for my year the books we had to study/read were Orwell's "Animal Farm" and H. G. Wells' "The History of Mr. Polly" I can easily see why for many other students this classic has been selected having just read it decades after my GCE "O" Level Literature paper. I can see many similarities between this book and Orwell's satirical masterpiece as both provide very good lessons about human behaviour under extenuating circumstances and about how the concept of "original sin" as originally described by Augustine in the 4th century B.C. is so close to the surface for humans and how conscious effort has to be made to guard against the ease of descending into animal savagery. Golding shows us why law and order/governance is absolutely necessary while Orwell shows us how the wrong kind of governance can also be undesirable. Just like "Animal Farm" this classic can be read at a number of levels and still be enjoyed from the very superficial adventure tale to the various deeper levels of complexity that you could care to dig into and hence extract the optimal degree of utility from your reading enjoyment. Elements from this novel reminded me of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" as well although I feel Golding's work to be a lot easier read in terms of ability to extract the author's intended message. Golding's ideas live on and continue to capture the imagination in various guises such as in television e.g. "Lost" or even comedy in the movies e.g. "The Simpsons" remember "Emperor" Moe? This 50th Anniversary Edition hardcover version is also a treat coming in an attractive dustcover with raised gold print for the title and a few illustrations scattered within the text at the start of chapters as well as a section: "Notes On Lord of the Flies" comprising of an essay as well as another section: "Lord of the Flies: Selected Highlights of Critical Analysis" with contributions from various critics not forgetting the introduction by E. M. Forster. I also liked the rough-edged pages and the font sized for comfortable reading. An excellent classic that rewards repeated reading regardless of your age group given a worthy 50th Anniversary binding makes this a worthy addition to any library. Highly recommended!

Is there anything I can say about the book that had not been said yet? Anyway, take your time. Process the story and don't forget to breathe. This book made me wonder that it's actually a miracle that humankind still exists... Now when Slovakia is ruled by savages and the retired litluns don't understand what they are losing, the book made me sad and depressed. Just like Orwell's Animal Farm, it speaks throughout decades and will speak for centuries. If there's anyone to listen.

Lord of the Flies begins with a plane crash on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, killing the pilot and scattering a group of British school children. Two boys named Ralph and ‘Piggy’ meet up on the beach, creating a subtle connection lasting throughout the majority of the novel and causing them to work together in search for any other survivors. By using a conch found in the water, Ralph is able to call all the other survivors to their location at the beach. Jack arrives while leading his group of survivors, forming a sense of intimidation and authority in his character among the other children. Brewing tensions between Ralph, Piggy, and Jack guide the plot as differences in opinions and ideas begin constant arguments and disagreements. Jack’s reluctance to abide by the others’ orders involving improvements to the camp, such as building shelters and keeping the fire burning, prevents any progress in their relationships. As the novel continues, readers observe the loss of innocence of the boys as some of them commit acts that may seem unjustifiable, presenting the unavoidable aspects of human nature. I thought that this was an excellent book that gives readers an insight on human behavior but does so through a very interesting and entertaining story. I did not feel that this was a book that I had to get through in order to learn the moral of the story; the theme seemed to be always clearly at work among the characters and their actions. However, it was very cool to observe how the book began with all these innocent children trying to figure out what they can do to survive on the island, and then ended with acts of savagery and ruthlessness committed by these same children. The author perfectly summarizes this change in one of the last lines of the book: “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” (Golding 202). This, in my opinion, was the most interesting aspect of the novel. The setting, conflict, and characters all had a role in spurring this rapid change in mindset among the kids. It was almost as if the things that happened were bound to happen. No matter who it was on the island, human nature will inevitably play a role in determining their actions, thoughts, and ideas. William Golding does an unbelievable job in inciting this type of thinking and reasoning through the text. Lord of the Flies makes readers think differently in regards to the natural behavior or response of humans in certain circumstances. An important idea to understand in this book is that the eventual behavior by the children was unexpected yet should have been expected. Most readers would not likely finish reading the first couple of chapters and think that these kids were going to do what they did. However, in a situation like the one that they were in, how could someone think that they would continue to act in a civilized, appropriate manner? This type of thinking that the author invokes is the reason why I think every human being should have the chance to read Lord of the Flies.

Amazing book, if you need it, I recommend this copy. The printing was good and it came un-damaged

Someone said, a tragedy is a story where you can comprehend every step of the protagonists and foresee their final falling down the cliff, but cannot hinder it. When Mr. Golding worked on this story, seemingly he had such a tragedy in mind. Before I read this story, I have already heard a lot about it, about the evil in human nature, dystopia, etc, which made me even more surprised to see with how much love and empathy Mr. Golding proceeded with the story telling. In this story, no one is perfect, but everyone carries some virtue with him. Even Jack, who ended up as the barbaric despotic leader, started as someone aiming to contribute to the commons, just like every other boy in this story. The boys also have learnt the first democratic rules, such as voting, assembly, and speaking only when the conch is in his hands. It is interesting how Mr. Golding distributed different virtues among the children. Piggy, the one who is best capable of rational reasoning, is fat and lazy. Simon, the one who is best capable of empathy and the only one who could have helped the children to get relieved from their fear, is incapable of good speaking and regarded as batty. He died first, killed by those he liked, thus not able to relieve the children from their fear, which contributed to their drifting to the cruelty. Ralph is the one with the most leadership quality and also chosen as the leader at the beginning. He is no idealized hero who unites all virtues in himself, in fact, there is no such hero in this story, everyone has some drawbacks, has also a lovable side, just like in the real life. Jack is the charismatic challenger. He has hardly any empathy, but he is motivated by doing things he deems as right. In fact, most children in this story think he is right, namely you have to sort the people from good to bad and treat them accordingly. Jack accepted Ralph as the leader because Ralph is good: physically strong, speaks fluently, ready to take the responsibilities. He started to hate Ralph because Ralph is unjust from his point of view: Ralph even listens to Piggy, the fatty boy who is mocked by almost everyone, while his effort to do good for the commons, namely to get meat for the children, is not appreciated. BTW, there is a reason why Ralph has something against getting meat, but you have to read it on your own. IMHO, this is actually a story for adults, not only for children. While no adult would make silly things like being scared of a dead body and mistaking it for a beast, almost all adults must understand the ominous murmuring “the beast is in us”. Look at that dispute between getting meat and keeping fire, look at that killing in frenzy, look at that attempt of denial and avoidance after the first murder, doesn’t it look familiar to you? It seems to me that Mr. Golding is trying to reconstruct the fallbacks during the transition from barbarism to civilization, but I should not say too much, because the most fun of reading is to form ones own opinions. As Ralph keeps saying to himself in this story when he is in danger, “think”. Keep thinking even if you are past 18.

Lo compré de segunda mano. Vino en perfecto estado excepto algunas anotaciones a lápiz que fueron fácilmente eliminables con una goma. El libro en sí es una gran lectura. Historia tensa llena de analogías con la vida real y simbolismos que llevan a posarse preguntas desde el ambito político hasta el antropológico. No es un libro infantil o juvenil. Recomiendo su lectura a alguien que quiera leer un libro más serio.

Nice book and excellent edition. I really enjoyed it. Thanks

As expected and advertised

The book was an exercise for the mind, the vocab is way too advanced and made me search for the meaning of every word, got me tired but also taught me many new words. Excellent book but the advanced vocab got me way too tired.