Lord of the Flies- Book Review

Lord of the Flies

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York. Berkley Publishing Group: 1954.

Reason, Type and Setting: I chose Lord of the Flies because I have heard a lot about it and I have been told that it has a good message and a timeless lesson that everyone can benefit from hearing. The book certainly did not let me down, I found the message to be no only moving and interesting but it was far too familiar. Independence and insecurity lead people to irrational decisions and I think Golding did a great job displaying some of the fallacy of human nature. How society molds our younger generations and even taken out of civilization even kids are brain washed enough to still follow the normality of their society. After many boys are stranded on an uninhabited island with no adult figures they struggle to survive until they are rescued. I believe this book took place towards the end of World War II.

Plot: The boys on the island trouble accepting others view and respecting each other. They had issues creating a fair and simple governing system that consisted of nothing more than a chief and a conch. They had troubles following the “laws” set in place by their chief, Ralph. The struggle of determining whether brains or muscles are the key to survival the boys end up destroying major recourses and lead themselves to their own destruction. Getting carried away with hunting and games the boys were distracted from the things that were the most important. Even though they had an abundance of food, water, space, fire, and supplies for building shelters; all from the island they temporarily lived on, they still couldn’t find a way to live in harmony. Man fights between the power hungry Jack and the judicial chief Ralph ended up tearing the rest of the group apart and led to the unnecessary death and torture of many boys.

Character: Ralph was the initial chief of the island. The other boys voted in the 12 year old boy to create fair rules and mediate all the things that happened on the island. Ralph is a fit boy with fair blonde hair and blue eyes. He is well built and it is easy for him to adjust to the different terrain of the island. He is not only strong and able bodied, but he also is good about thinking situations through before acting on an impulse. He holds a very important role in the maintenance of keeping order through the island. He is understanding, intelligent and level minded.

I chose Ralph because despite the fact that he was the main character and as the reader I learned the most about his personality; but I liked how he was able to stay rue to his morals and he had no problem enforcing what he truly believed to be right. He was not easily swayed by others in the group and the peer pressures they placed on him. Not only did Ralph do all that he should have for the people he was with on the island, but he was able to maintain a down to earth personality and never get control crazy. The other boys respected him but they were all still young and naive so it was hard for them to understand the importance of what Ralph did for them.

Evaluation: I enjoyed this novel, although I did find the message and morals to be different from my own ideas. The way that the situation was described was accurate and interesting. Unfortunately I think that by having such a large time gap between when the novel was written to now the behaviors in the book aren’t as preposterous now as they may have been then. It was entertaining and unique in the story line and plot but I did not feel as though I really connected with any of the characters or found myself really emotionally attached to the characters. It was especially interesting to see the authors take on how the boys should have been more civil and had such high expectations for the boys in the story. What I did like about this book was that I felt it was the closest situation to see human instincts in a state of nature; rather than so equally molded and conformed by society. I don’t think I would particularly recommend this book to others, but I don’t regret reading it and I still felt that I got a valuable and different perspective from the novel.

The way this book triggered my interest in the greatest way was it made me think about how I personally would feel in the situation the boys were put in. If I could endure what they had and if I would be able to remain calm and hopeful. It is mind boggling to see how self destructive a person can get all in the hopes of making themselves better. But I think the worst way that some of the boys acted was indifference. In any situation it is important for people to voice their opinions with out forcing them on others and being respectful to the situation. I think if I were in Ralph’s position I would hope I could respond to the situation the way that Ralph had. His level headed decisions made him far wiser than the other boys in the group. I think that the fact that so many of the boys died and only because of the other boys was a sad ending, but I don’t think the book would have been as powerful with out those plot twists. I enjoyed the ending, but I felt that it was a bit cliché. I would have liked the boys to be rescued at a less opportune moment.

Author, Context and Trivia: Golding's other novels include Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors, The Spire, Rites of Passage (Booker Prize), and The Double Tongue. Lord of the Flies was the most famous of his novels. William Golding was born in England and attended Oxford University, and published his first book while in college. I have not read any other Golding stories or poems, I am not sure if it is in my intention to read others.