Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Flies
Review: I think the authors purpose for writing this story was to show that all people are born naturally evil, and with fear. I don't agree with the author because I don't think everyone is born evil. The literary element that I think Golding handled best was the characters. He must of done alot of research on them. The names and the characterists fit well with the story. I think the book was believable because it handles fear, and every child goes through some sort of fear. This fear that they had made the story what it is. I really didn't expect the book to end the way it did. It was a really boring ending. Its like he didn't give the ending any thought, or he ran out of time.
Rating: 
Summary: How can you not like this?
Review: I gotta say, I loved this book. Leaving all the school reviews behind of foreshadowing and such, I really could associated with all the main characters and see it through thier eyes (except Simon, not much of a mystic myself). I could feel the power trip of Jack, speak the voice of reason of Piggy, know that it's gone too far like Ralph, and mindlessly follow the masses as a child. It's IMO, a real reflection of human nature. READ IT! As for the reading itself, kinda simplistic, but when talking about kids, shouldn't it be?
Rating:
Summary: Just a school book? I dont think so!
Review: I am 14 years old and loved this book. I have read many books and liked and hates some. But this book I loved!! When my friends and family told me about it it made me sick to think of KIDS killing each other. Once I read it I loved it. Golding really understood that kids will only want to have fun. I recomend this to anyone who likes to read and to anyone over 13 years old. Most teenagers thought it was stupied, but you got to remeber that, that is how life is, there is good and bad people, most peoples like the bad people because they make life seem easyer. If you put kids on a island they would do what happens in the book. Any thing to say to me you can e-mail me at angel73339@hotmail.com I love to hear what people have to say.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: I am a high school senior and my teacher made us read this book it is about the most boring book I have ever read I would not recommend this book to anyone that I know.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!!! :)
Review: As a high school student, I was indeed forced to read this book. However, I found this book to be absolutely amazing. It was one of my favorite books. Golding has a way with words. His cynicism in the book helps make the book even more inticing. I don't understand how anyone could dislike this book. It deserves 5 stars all around and nothing less.
Rating:
Summary: Cynicism at its best...
Review: It's interesting to see how cynical a successfull author can be, and how popular such cynicism can be. Lord of the Flies might be a suspenseful and thought-provoking book, but it's main thesis --children turning into beasts as soon as the burden of civilization is taken off them-- is utterly silly. It makes me wonder how many children Mr. William Golding really knew or talked to before writing this book. Children are always capable (many times much more than grownups) to act with common-sense and responsibility. I think Mr. Golding knew this (he can't be that narrow-minded), but simply choose to forget it since it would destroy his thesis and he wouldn't be able to write this novel. It's also fun to see how easily some authors can ignore or blur the most simple realities. I don't recommend this book to anyone who loves children and childhood, which is a period of exploration and friendships.
Rating:
Summary: My reaction from "Lord of the Flies''
Review: This was a very good book. We read it in class one day and I started to get sick. We were on Chapter 4 and then I went home. I was sick a whole week, so I know that I missed out on an immense amount of reading. So I got an idea one morning. I told my mom to go buy me the book. She went and purchased it and I begin to catch up on my reading. I really enjoyed this book. I encourage my friends to read this. It was very inspiring. My teacher said that scientists believe that it was based on a true story, but he said they do not have enough evidence to prove that it really happened. In my opinion, I think it couldn't have happened because everyone knew where the boys were traveling to and when the boys came up missing, they could have retraced their route and went back looking for them. This is my review of the book. I attend St. Andrews Middle School and I read this in an AAP Young Literature Class. Now at my age, this book would be considered to a little to old, but I understood it quite well. Audra Williams
Rating: 
Summary: Sort of Classic
Review: In the early part of the 20th Century a Englishman called Barry wrote a book called The Coral Island. It involved some children who were cast away in the pacific. Full of British pluck they quickly get organized and build a working civilization on the Island. They are more than equal, the adult natives they meet and have far higher and superior values. They have many adventures and all end in triumph. The book was a hymn to Imperialism and the racist assumptions on which it was based. Pacific Islanders probably still ritually burn it as part of their independence ceremonies. William Golding's book has generally thought to be a response. Golding is apparently a deeply religious man and a number of his later books have religious themes. His theme is probably related his view of the nature of man. Unlike Barry he has a pessimistic view of the nature of man and his tendency for evil. He also starts by having a number of school children marooned on an island. The children are all male and appear to be from wealthy backgrounds. Initially there are attempts to collect food and carry on in a civilized way but things break down. A number of the boys chase pigs and set up a pig's head as a sort of religious shrine in a clearing. Towards the end of the book the group turn violent. Golding's book has been prescribed on school texts for years. Unlike most books set for children to read most of them seem to like it. The imagery is startling and the book is quite short. Golding's other works never quite had the same impact as this one. In retrospect although a readable book it is hard to think that it is really about much at all. The subject of the work is after all just children. It is not surprising that poorly socialized kids placed in a difficult social environment might be at sea. The books main message is probably a historic one putting in context the reality of what people are like and should be read in comparison to Barry's work which suggested a more political view of white people. Despite the fact that the historical impact has declined the book is remarkable easy to read and the imagery is startling. It is probably a good bridge for children to move from kids to adult literature.
Rating:
Summary: Almost great
Review: Lord of the Flies is a worthwhile book that could have used an editor with just a little more aggressiveness. The first hundred ninety-nine pages are excellent. Golding has wonderful insight into the human condition, and he applies it with rare grace and tact. And then we get to the final page, which would be best ripped out. It's impossible to go into detail without spoilers, so suffice to say this novel's ending is the single largest letdown in all of literature. Disappointing enough to knock a full star and a half off the rating. ***
Rating:
Summary: Definitely a boy book...
Review: Which is not to say that girls won't enjoy this too, but when it was published in 1954, 'Lord of the Flies' was written in response to the standard literature targeted to boys. Golding was frustrated with the idealistic, happy-ending-every-time formula, particularly in one book called 'The Coral Reef'-there are several cutting references throughout 'Lord of the Flies' to this work. In 'Lord of the Flies,' Golding shows us what he feels would *really* happen if a group of boys were left alone on a deserted island. As the book progresses, we see the boys' attempts at maintaining a civilized society degenerating faster and faster. The plots and ideas introduced present many questions of the reader. How does a group of British schoolboys, growing up in what they consider the height of civility, turn so readily to savagery? How does the temptation of power make them forget their goal of rescue so quickly? How can they so easily dismiss acts of murder? And, as you read the last three pages and close the book, you wonder...how do they feel about the events that have taken place, afterwards? A better question than "how" is "why." In the critical note included in the back of the book, there is a quote by Golding that states, in his own words, the theme of 'Lord of the Flies': "...an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature...the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable." Given the novel's endurance over time and countless praises by the critics, one would judge that Golding succeeded. As a reader, you must decided for yourself, but one thing is for sure: This definitely isn't the Hardy Boys, the popular (yet plastic) product of the Stratenmeyer syndicate that, while it has withstood time as well, can't be said to have had an impact on society. Whereas this novel was carefully crafted to be intense and thought provoking, unflinchingly real...not to mention graphic. As a final word of advice, don't hesitate to read this...but don't read it while eating. ^_^;
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