Rating: 
Summary: A ripping story, and a good intro to lit analysis
Review: Somehow I missed this book through grade school and high school, and am just now reading it for the first time, following a degree in literature. It is easy to see why teachers love it so much: the symbolism and thematic sense are simple and easily accessible. Like Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird, it is an easy introduction into digging more out of a book than just a good story. And, also like those books, the story is good enough to keep kids -- and adults-- reading. So does it hold any appeal for an adult, used to digging around in Joyce or Faulkner? Well, to be honest, To Kill a Mockingbird is still one of my favorite books, and sometimes it's nice when you don't have to try too hard. In this book, an experienced eye can pretty much see what's going to happen from the very beginning, and then what is left is to sit back and enjoy the ride. And it is a pretty good ride, a pretty ripping little bloody story. I have some issues with the basic thematic material, wondering how and why (or even if) Golding really believes that grownups or law and society or really anything else really do tame the savage beast that is allowed reign on the island. When the soldier shows up at the end, is it really over? If I had the time, talent, and permission, it would be intriguing to write a sequel -- in which Jack and Ralph go the same boarding school and must deal with what happened on the island -- and, in the end, find that there is as much savagery living within the structures of civilization as there ever was on the island. I actually listened to this book, on tape, rather than reading it. I was fortunate enough to find a copy read by the author himself, with a short commentary by Mr. Golding at the end of every chapter. Very fun, and recommended. (...)
Rating: 
Summary: Great Novel
Review: This book is great. I also watched the movie. A nice plot.
Rating:
Summary: Perceptive
Review: This is a great book. It works not simply because it's gripping, but because it's an accurate distillation of observations of greater human society. The characters and their motivations are an allegory (among other things) for general human nature left ungoverned, isolated, and unconnected to kin, institutions or culture. It's believable to the point of seeming natural. Not a very bright view of human nature, but not too far off I think.
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Summary: Lord of The Flies
Review: Themes are the fundamental concepts addressed an explored in any literary work. William Golding writes this novel with the theme of conflict consistant throughout the story. It is the same conflict that all human beings experience everyday. The conflict between two impulses: the instinct to live by rules, act peacefully, follow the moral commands, and value the good of the group versus the instinct to selfishly satisfy your own desires, act violently to gain control, and enforce your will on others in your group. One is devoted to values that promote order, and the other is devoted to values that threaten order. Throughout the novel, the conflict between good and evil is the driving force on human beings by the civilization. He states that when people are left to do what they chose, they are more likely to become cruel, wild and evil. Another literary devise used by Golding in The Lord of the Flies is that of symbolism. Symbols are objects, characters, figures or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. One of the symbols is the conch shell. It is one of the first things that they find on the island and they use it to summon the boys together. The shell became a sign of civilization. It was used to control the meeting the boys held, the boy who holds the shell is given the right to speak. As evil takes the shell looses its power among the boys. One of the most important symbols in the novel is the imaginary beast, which frightens all of the boys. All of the boys are afraid of the beast, this symbolizes the fear that each one of us has inside of us. As the boys become more and more evil and against civilization the more their belief in the beast grow stronger. Another symbol is The Lord of The Flies. The Lord of The Flies is the bloody sow's head that Jack beats with a stick in the forest as an offering to the beast. This symbol becomes more important when Simon confronts it in the glades and it speaks to him, telling him that evil lies in every human being. The Lord of he Flies becomes a symbol for evil or the devil and Simon represents Christ. It symbolizes the natural instinct of power and the cruelty that takes over. The characters and objectives in The Lord of The Flies represtents the novel's main theme or ideas. Every element of The Lord of The Flies becomes meaningful to the exploration of conflict.
Rating: 
Summary: dramatic
Review: I read this book my junior year, and I couldn't believe how real it seemed. It's obvious Golding put alot of thought into it. The book was written to show the dark side of man (or the beast, as he calls it) and does its job well. Highly recomended!
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Summary: A thought provoking book par excellence...
Review: One of the numerous required reading for us in school, it is memorable to me for the simple reason that this work, on one level is a semi-adventure but on a deeper level, is a symbolic narrative open to many interpretations--moral, psychological, political, social--which created a lively discussion in class. I can now better appreciate it as an adult. It is about a group of schoolboys, marooned on an island and in due time turns savages. Golding's pessimistic premise was that left to ourselves, mankind would regress to barbarism and savagery--a very grim view of the nature of man. But he didn't want to be realistic about it because Golding calls his books fables. He was a school teacher (that may perhaps serve as another reason why this was required reading for a majority of schools) and his World War II experiences in the Navy and years teaching small boys have helped to shape his philosophical attitudes. It was very much evident in the "Lord" as this was his first symbolic novel. The major idea of the novel is that evil is part of human nature (so forget about the idea of ending all wars) but not of civilization which is an absolute must to restrain humans. He wanted to stress the parallelism between the adult and children's world and that both have the capacity to destroy: the boys the island, the adults nuclear war (remember, this was first published in 1954--when the Cold War was in full swing). Golding criticizes the idea that science can explain everything but Piggy believes that science explains everything, that there is no evil except the ones created by troublemakers. And yet Piggy participates in Simon's murder and was not very convincing when he would not accept his own guilt. As for the 'noble savage' living happily in the wilderness as described by the French writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, uncorrupted by civilized life--Golding attacks Rousseau's belief that humans in their natural surroundings are rational and good and that society corrupts humans. On the contrary, according to Golding...civilization is needed for saving man from their brutish, destructive instincts. The novel has so many numerous overtones and symbolism, which needs a certain level of maturity in order to be appreciated. And so after many years have elapsed I find it now more engrossing than ever. If you want to be entertained but at the same time challenged...this is the book to read.
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Summary: Lord of the flies.
Review: This book is a real hit with the young population of scotland i found it was a great book. It was really discriptive. if you are thinking of getting this book i would advise it so much that you should tell all of your friend and your parants about this book. I would give this book 5/5 i personly lthink that at the end of this year every household in the world will have a copy of this book after reading this review and others.
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Summary: Lord of the Flies
Review: This novel, by William Golding has a lot of symbolism and takes a lot of analyzing. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under the age of 14 or 15. But, it is a great novel for older readers.
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Summary: not kids on an island, a look into human nature
Review: Lord of the Flies is a chilling classic that you will no doubt love. One: the plot sounds stupid at first but it's really not. Think of it, a bunch of kids who got stranded on a deserted island after their plane wrecked... a stupid sounding plot, Gilligan's island. But its not. You see the realism in it. The way kids act, the whole survival of the fittest. Kids picking on kids. The strong survive, the weak don't. It gives you a different look at young boys... a very very different look at the story continues. Enough to send chills down your spine. I read this book twice and loved it both times. Then I saw a movie of it that was made some time in the 1990's, (they have a really old black and white one too that I belive would be interesting to see). The story is great. As you read on you find yourself feeling compassion towards some characters, and fear towards others. This is a look at human behavior, not a book about kids on an island. Five stars for Lord of the Flies.
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Summary: Casserly Period 6
Review: The book I read was the Lord of the Flies. I thought it was a really good book. It had a very good hook. The plot was great too. Ralph is the protagonist of the novel who at first is overjoyed to be on a tropical island free from adult restraints. To express his
excitement, he stands on his head, foreshadowing the topsy-turvy nature of things to come. By nature, he is an innocent, mild-tempered boy who accepts leadership when it is thrust on him. He uses a conch shell to mildly show his authority. He thinks of building shelters to protect them and a signal fire for their rescue. He befriends Piggy, the fat boy that receives taunts and teases from the other boy, and learns to rely on Piggy's intellectual reasoning. Jack Merridew is Ralph's antagonist in the novel. When he is first seen on the island, he is leading a group of choirboys, who are dressed in strange uniform and march military style. It is a foreshadowing of Ralph's authoritarian and dictatorial leadership at the end of the novel. During the novel, Jack is in constant conflict with Ralph, because he feels he should be the leader. There were some very interesting things in this book that kept me interested. When they found the dead parachuter it really got my attention because I thought it was the lord of the flies. When piggy gets killed with the rock it made me mad but I survived. When Simon came running back to tell the other boys what he discovered and they all killed him it was depressing. There was so much death and hate in this book. I really see how it stood for the real life situations. This book is one of the best ones I have ever read. I am especially glad I read it because it was assigned to me to read one of the years before but I never read it. I never used to read books for school. I am so glad I read this book, it is one of the best books I have ever read. And I had to read it really fast.
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