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Summary: A frighteningly accurate book on human civilisation
Review: "Lord of the Flies", it should be warned, is by no means an adventure story of a group of boys stranded upon a desert island. Rather, it is an attack upon our own civilisation, and just how shallow this is.The storyline, as with most great literature, is very simple: A group of boys are left to their own devices on a desert island following a plane crash. Too begin with, the boys manage very well for themselves, keeping themselves in order, making plans for rescue and providing for each other and the community as a whole. Thimgs begin to go wrong, however, when following a series of incidents the group splits down the middle and one group shows itself to be decidedly more powerful and influential than the other. Murders, riots and fires follow, showing the one group to have returned to their roots of animal instincts to eat and to stay alive. Golding successfully presents civilisatin as a farce that could fall apart at the simplest hiccup in the grand scheme of things. The book is a chilling question of human nature, that raises very serious questions about human life and nature.
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Summary: "LORD OF THE" literary world
Review: William Golding's "Lord Of the Flies" is an absolute masterpiece. It is a fantastic story of a group of school boys stranded on an island. However, with close reading an allegorical underlying meaning surfaces. Golding masterfully creates a miniature society with the boys and proceeds to depict it as corrupt and depraved, using Jack as a violent and tyrannical politician-like figure. When my english teacher first informed my ninth grade class that we would be reading this potentially boring book, I groaned along with my peers. However, within a few pages, I was enthralled. I could not get enough of the lovable and heroic Ralph, the endearing complaints of Piggy, the epilictic visions of the ill-fated Simon, or the evil manipulations of the nefarious Jack and his hunting hooligans. By the end, I was in complete awe and forever raptured by Ralph. In this novel, I discovered my favorite book and my all time favorite character as well.
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Summary: insightful.
Review: An insightful portrayal of our society. Those of you who enjoyed reading George Orwell will love this book!
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Summary: revisit a classic ..
Review: this is a book that will be enjoyed on many levels. it has something for everyone. younger readers will enjoy the fantasy and instant action that the story delivers from page 1. older readers will consider the various 'morals' and how it portrays a micro-version of the degradation of society. although at times the book can be a bit difficult to follow <especially for younger readers>, i believe that their perseverance in reading the book will pay off largely at the conclusion of the tale.
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Summary: Lord of the Flies asks us to question human nature...
Review: In William Goldings timeless tale, Lord of the Flies, we are shown a much darker side of human nature. English Chior boys, shipwrecked and alone on a deserted island, with no pre elected leaders, no sociey. Just what will they do to survive? What will some do to gain control? You will be shocked by you findings. If you have seen films on this one, ingnore them. No film can touch William Goldings pen on this one. You must read to understand, that without our everyday hum drum society. Without stucture we only have our worst intent, our darkest side lies within... Read Lord of the Flies to understand...
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Summary: One-dimensional
Review: First of all, I will admit to a profound distaste for heavy-handed symbolism, and since this book is nothing but--well, profound distaste on my part was inevitable. Personally, by the time I've finished analyzing how Piggy's glasses symbolize human reason, the pig's head represents human evil, etc., the book has lost its impact for me and becomes pretentious. But that is not my main problem with this book. I find it frightening that so many people consider this book 'revealing' and a 'classic'. This seems to indicate that the message of this book has universal relevance for people. And this message is as follows: Humankind, homo sapiens, people as we know them, are intrinsically evil. Meaning, that deep down in our hearts we are nothing but wells of corrupt blackness, or as Conrad so aptly put it, hearts 'of darkness'. Anything good we do is a sham. We act a certain way only because civilization dictates it, but as soon as the rules of civilization no longer get us what we want, or they are no longer imposed on us, our natural tendency will be to fall into evil, our true, innermost nature. Garbage. I for one do not believe that human beings are intrinsically evil. Are they intrinsically good, then? Of course not. I am not advocating a world view based on naivete. Human beings have a natural tendency for both good and for evil. How much these tendencies influence a person's behavior is entirely up to him: he is not wholly at the mercy of his baser instincts. Even in 'Heart of Darkness', upon which Golding based this work, Marlowe faced the evil and did not succumb to it. These boys are given no choice, as evil is the only true reality. There is no way to fight it; one can either surrender to it, or run from it by way of civilization. To take an active stand against it is impossible. Even in 'Les Miserables' during the horrendous poverty and the barricades, where all of civilization is crumbling at its foundations and people are rotting because of it, there are glimpses into the beauty of humankind. Eponine, though sunk in squalor and darkness, finds redemption by saving Marius; this in contrast to her father, whose evil increases all the more. Jean Valjean sinks to the lowest level a human can sink to, yet there is hope for him; and because one person had faith in the good that was inside him, he, too found redemption. There is choice involved, and one can either strive for light, or fall into darkness. Maybe people like Golding because he unintentionally grants justification for the evil Man is capable of--after all, we can't help it. It's our nature. Therefore people need not bother to strive to become better than they are, to actualize the beauty within themselves. Humans have no inner beauty; it is imposed from outside to conceal the horror within. But there is more. And by not realizing that there is more, Golding sells everyone short.
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Summary: Golding the allegorical master
Review: When I read this book two years ago in 9th grade, I was like Ohhh great. But, with further reading and understanding of the book, I really came to love it. I wouldn't hesitate in calling it my all time favorite novel. On the surface, Golding seems to be merely telling a tale of a group of boys stranded on an island. However, a closer look reveals Golding's true intentions of depicting the world and war as depraved and corrupt. He has an extremely pessimistic view of human society and this can be seen through some of the actions of the boys. I would also like to say that Ralph is a great character and the movie is one that should not be missed!
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Summary: Tough going, but worth it
Review: Two things make this book tough going: its slow start, and its use of flowery language. You just have to plow through the first few chapters to get to anything interesting, and there are times that you just dread the fact that the dialogue is dying down and you're about to be "treated" to one of Golding's run-on descriptive passages. Nevertheless, it is worth it. When things pick up in the middle of the book, it becomes easier to see how the flowery language is there to create mood, and to show us, not what the island is like, but what it is like to a group of lost, scared boys. Once you start to be able to follow the mood Golding is trying to create, that's when this story about the pulling away of the thin veneer of civilization that humans wrap themselves in and the revelation of the savage with-in really unfolds for you. And that's when you realize what makes this book so powerful and enduring.
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Summary: your idealism will rest uneasy perhaps....
Review: ...after you read this classic tale of shipwrecked boys degenerating into polarizations of acted-out good and evil. "The beast is us."
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Summary: Lord of the Flies
Review: I personally disliked the book except for a few parts. I also do not see any significance from the title to the book. There is only one scene mentioning the "Lord of the Flies", and I dont get it. All it is is a pig head on a stick with flies all over it and a delerious kid thinks its talking to him. It did not make any sense to me what so ever. I might appreciate the book more if I understood the meaning for the title and how it relates to the book.
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