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Summary: Vivid memories...
Review: I read this book in high school almost 20 years ago - what vivid memories I still have!!! Golding does a great job of taking the reader through evolution of the group...from the beginning when they work together to the end where they have broken into smaller groups working against each other. The power struggles, the turf wars, and insight into human nature...great book!!
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Summary: Lord of the youth classics!!
Review: This is actually the only book I read that we were suppose to read when we were in high school. I just picked it back up over 10 years later to reread it and compare it to the other classics. I truly enjoyed this one. This could actually happen. I could picture myself in these kids shoes trying to survive, struggling for leadership and trying to stay cool when faced with totally anarchy. A great book for high school age boys if you are trying to get them hooked into reading. Very fast paced with little down time. Could be a one sitting read. What a great story.
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Summary: GREAT book
Review: First of all, let's get some things clear. There IS a "deeper" meaning to The Lord of the Flies. In fact, there are dozens. Second of all, Golding was an English schoolmaster who understood how children behaved. The idea that he was not qualified to write about children's behavior is ludicrous. One reviewer is partially correct when he states that children rarely attack each other. They rarely attack each other IN THE PRESENCE OF AUTHORITY. Finally, society could have developed with human nature the way that Golding presents it because human brains were developed to allow us to interact socially with other humans. Society would have then been made up of fifty to a hundred people, and authority would have been present, too. Having said all that, the only reason why you could not like this book is if you absolutely did not understand it. The Lord of the Flies might not have changed my life, but it really was a GREAT book. Its symbolism is poignant, clear, and powerful. The message the book gets across is wonderful. This dark, somewhat disturbing book is absolutely worth reading, and a copy belongs on the shelf of every serious reader. Each time I have read it I have come up with new meanings that I missed the previous time and it never gets old. If you know how to read it, it is definitely NOT boring. Be prepared for a wonderfully written, powerful book about the darker side of human nature.
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Summary: Good Plot, But Not An Easy Read
Review: I read some of this book in high school, but read it in its entirety recently to see how I felt about it as a 32-year-old adult. I enjoyed it somewhat. It is a good plot concept in general, with lots of opportunity for analysis and psychological scrutiny. However, oftentimes I had a difficult time believing that the characters were children, because they seemed to behave a little too adult for their age. The writing was a bit verbose for my tastes, although not excessively so. Because of this, it didn't suck me into it's world entirely, and it wasn't something that I was very enthusiastic about finishing, except to find out how it ends. Overall, this is worth reading if you have any curiosity about it, but it may take some determination to get through it.
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Summary: Lord of the flies is a book of symbolism
Review: When a plane carrying a bunch of school boys crashes into an uninhabited Island, the pilot is killed and the young boys are left to fend for themselves. Immediately two leaders arise. The democrat (Ralph) and the dictator (Jack), the traits that the boys portray and the way all of the boys on the island treat each other is very much a microcosm of the society and world of America and Nazi Germany in WWII. Another bit of symbolism is with the Bible and the idea of the character Simon as a Christ figure. He is the prophet throughout the book. He warns the boys that the beast they all fear on the island is really the inherant evil of man within them, not something you can hunt and kill. He confronts the lord of the flies (a pigs head on a stick), and though he is threatened, he goes back to the boys to warn them that the beast is really them. He gives his life to preach this truth. Also the comparison of Jack with the serpant, he lures the boys away with promises of fun times an food, but he really leads them into sins like murder and greed. I think that this is a great literary classic., and has much to teach and understand in it. No matter wich way you take it this is a must read for all classic literature lovers.
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Summary: reminds me of the TV series "Survivor"
Review: I read this book in 9th grade. I am 26 years old now and still think about the morality and symbolism of human nature I discovered in "Lord of the Flies". I decided to write this review all these years later after watching the first installment of the TV show "Survivior". I saw a lot of similarities. In "Lord of the Flies" we are given a sort of scenario...what if a group of young adolescent boys were left abandoned on a deserted island. This is what happens...and as I describe some of the scenes from the book, compare them to that of a real life TV show a lot of us watch. Maybe like me, you'll see a more animal, evil side to these "real-life" strategy survival shows. On this deserted island a natural leader is born, Ralph. He is kind, and understanding of the fears his fellow students face. He accepts responsibility and delegates "chores" for the other boys to do. They must tend a rescue fire. They must hunt for food. They must tend to the wounded pilot. Ralph chooses the path a responsible adult might. Soon some of the boys become lazy. They do not follow Ralph's rules. These unruly boys are headed by another natural leader. The more "wild" and fun-seeking Jack. Jack and Ralph argue. To maintain control the boys find a large shell ....the conch....and whoever holds it has the right to speak. This attempt at order works for a little while but soon Jack dismisses the control the conch holds. He and his pig-hunting, lazy friends split from the original group and leave to another part of the island. They want to "do their own thing". They defy rules and organization which Ralph feels is the key to survival. Meanwhiile Ralph and his friend Piggy struggle to keep their small group in order. It becomes increasingly difficult to maintain adult responsibility. For the youngest who fear Jack and his clan, Ralph becomes almost their savior, their security on an island of unknown. Soon Ralph's pack decides they too are tired of rules, and one by one leave to join Jack's ideas of senseless fun. Jack represents abandonment of control, living purely through pleasures. This is where you can form a million metaphors between the two clans of boys. Jack and his bandits become so wild and animal-like near the "end" that they actually start hunting Ralph in the manner of a real pig-hunt. They have forgotten society, basic humanity, and most of all..they have forgotten they were once all friends. This kind of behavior echoed alot of the back-stabbing things I see on TV and in the government, religion, everywhere in real life. Read this book and never let yourself abandon what you truly beleive to be good in your heart...Let us compare this book of instinct and leaders and followers to our own lives....On a personal note....Jack always kind of reminded me of Adolph Hitler and his control over his followers during the war. I would love to hear some other thoughts via e-mail. If you are reading this book for school, like I did once, really try to think about some real-life comparisons you find between the pages of Golding's work of art.
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Summary: Lord of the Flies...
Review: I did not enjoy this book, I thought it was over-rated and quite boring. It has no real plot and the story line is a never-ending piece of text which in all honesty, bored me to tears!. I find that William Golding should not have had as much success as he did because the Symbolism is never ending and I can not handle how he symbolises even a scar or a pair of glasses worn by a fat kid. This book can easily be reduced from 225pages to at least 3pages. They are stranded, two boys die and they're rescued! Hooray! (As you can tell I'm being sarcaistic!).
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Summary: Thought Provoker
Review: This year when I was handed The Lord of the Flies I remember giving a mental groan. Just what I need, another half hour of homework added to my very busy schedule. And to make matters worse my satanic English teacher was going to make us, the students teach the book. Well it turns out that the Lord of the Flies was not just another half hour of homework. It was insight into the dregs of human nature, the secret thoughts that we pretend not to think. It basically places a group of boys onto an idyllic island, adds a few pigs, some firewood, a pair of glasses, a conch, a parachutist and a generous dose of fear and savagery inherent to all humans, and documents what happens. It is a deceptively simple storyline that makes the reader examine him/herself more closely than s/he otherwise would. On the journey important questions are raised,and in the quest for answers to them I learned fundamentally important facts about myself in this period of teenage rebellion. What is survival worth? What is the cost of human advancement? How is it that our society we created is the only thing protecting us from are inherent savagery? Would I kill someone in that situation? Who am I?
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Summary: Magnificent Book
Review: Lord of the Flies is an excellent book with many different symbolic refrecences. This book has a very interesting story line following relatable characters and it is enthralling to read. The symbolism actually works unlike many other similair faliures. There are many things going on that stay in your subconscious mind but make an impact on how you read the book. This is a literary masterpiece and I highly recommend it. It is Golding's finest work and one of the greatest literary pieces every written. This book deserves great praise for it's excellence.
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Summary: Important Lessons from a Timeless Classic...
Review: Even if you don't remember the incredible story foretold in this classic, you'll definitely remember the lessons that you learned from it. Golding did an excellent job of weaving the "moral of the story" into the plot through an intricate display of symbolic description. The three things that I learned from this book were: 1) civilization keeps individuals from reverting to a more primitive, savage state, 2) all individuals have a natural capacity for brutality, and 3) defects in society can be traced back to defects in individuals. Also, Golding gives us a fleeting glimpse of what society would be like without the presence of government and authority figures through the adventures of half-grown boys stranded on a deserted island. Very much like Orwell's "Animal Farm", this book can be read either for the story or the lessons, but the story and the lessons together make it an outstanding classic. Every bit of what Golding said in the post-WWII era still rings true to this day. I would definitely recommend reading this book because both the themes and plot are as universal as they come - the book can be appreciated by a variety of ages on a multitude of reading levels. "Lord of the Flies" is really "Harry Potter" with more important and satisfying lessons!
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