Title: Lord of the Flies
Author: William Golding
Genre: Allegory/Adventure
Date Published: 1954
Hello fellow bookworms! So yesterday I finished Lord of the Flies which I am currently studying in English. My feelings on this book are mixed. I'm not sure whether I detest this book beyond words and think it worthy of burning, or if I just find it obscenely boring. So. Lord of the Flies. Basically, it's about a group of English schoolboys (oldest is age twelve) that are evacuated from England because of a dawning nuclear war. The time period is never obviously noted but my English teacher claims it's the future so we'll go with that. The pilot of their aircraft releases the cabin along with the boys into the ocean when it is attacked, and the boys are now stranded on an island with no adults. I know what you're thinking. This a recipe for disaster that's just begun preheating...
Anyways, there a bunch of boys but the ones that are most crucial to the story are Ralph, Piggy, Jack and Simon.
Ralph, Piggy, Jack and Simon in a nutshell:
Ralph: "Hello, my name is Ralph. I deserve to be chief because well, I'm the oldest so ha. I lack much of a personality so don't expect much dialogue out of me."
Piggy: "Greetings I'm Piggy! Well not really. I told the boys not to call me that but they do anyway. I have asthma by the way. And I'm going to mention it every other page so I hope you're ready. Also, I wear specs and live with my auntie-poo. It's a good life. But now that I'm stranded on this island, I want to be heard. I'm no pig! I'm a man!"
Jack: "Hear ye, hear ye! 'Tis I, Jack Merridew... head boy of my choir! Bow down to me you useless peasants! Mwahahahaha!"
Simon: "Um... hey guys... uh... let's do something else. You know, besides slaughter pigs and place their severed heads on sticks. We can do better at decorating than that... uh... yeah, world peace! I'm a Christ-like figure! Woohoo! Yeah..."
I'll make this short and to the point because as much as I know you guys would just LOVE to read a whole detailed analysis on LOTF, I must get to work on my next review which shall be long-winded so worry not!
Summary of Book **WARNING--SPOILERS AHEAD*** in a Nutshell:
Jack hunts pigs. Pigs die. Jack spears Pig head on stick to give to beastie. Beastie does not exist. Simon has conversations with decaying pigs head on stick. Boys beat Simon to death because they think he is the 'beast'. Piggy gets crushed by a rock. Remaining boys get rescued. Come to realization that beastie is in us all. The end.
Basically, what I got out of reading this book was "all men have the same capacity for evil when under the right circumstances", which is a message I do agree with. I just wish that Golding presented this message in a different way... one that was more disturbing and moving and caused me to really ponder it. Was I disappointed? Yeah, pretty much. I was indeed expecting more.
And now, it is that time again... time to end this conflict, that is!
Stay in school, be a Potterhead, release your inner Mockingjay, and above all... be your magickal self!
~Sam
aka The Black Rose Librarian ^_^
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