Rating: 
Summary: Powerful comment on human evil
Review: Lord of the Flies was a well-written book, chock-full of symbolism and motifs and themes. However, some of the prose I disliked, and the plot skipped weeks at a time. The setting of the story is an idyllic island. The island is marred, however, by the arrival of a plane of boys that crashes on the island, who were being carried away from wartime Britain. The story probably occurs sometime during World War II. The incident that incites the conflict between Ralph and Jack, the characters who represent pragmatic leadership versus violent evil, is the vote for chief of the island. Jack loses bitterly to Ralph, his only support being his own reluctant choir (he is head choirboy). Ralph, ever the eager diplomat, awards Jack the choir as his to command. Jack declares the choir the hunters, which foreshadows how they will begin to hunt Ralph. The tribe, though, is still firmly behind Ralph and his belief in democracy and rules.
The book progresses into the essential conflict between Ralph and Jack, as several deaths fuel the fire. The book is essentially a social allegory, a comment on the untamable brutality of humankind.The savagery of this book makes some shocking points about human brutality, and forces the reader to look inward and see some of that brutality in herself. The reader must have patience to adjust to the writing style, but the allegory about the inescapable violence of humanity is powerful and disturbing. Overall reading this book is rewarding.
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
Summary: Shocking look at life
Review: Given the current state of the world, and especially current events as of this writing, it's hard to say that LORD OF THE FLIES is shocking. But it is, in its own way, and hopefully will remain so. In this Golding novel, society is held up for us to look at, through the actions of a few stranded boys on an island. Metaphors abound, and for good reason: Golding is trying to teach us something by putting our own society's evils on display via a group of gone-wild adolescents. And it works. The unfortunate thing is that we, as a society, seemed to not have learned the lesson Golding was trying to teach. This is a classic, stellar book with a superb message--if only we would listen. Would also recommend two other books as we read them in lit class: Cannery Row by Steinbeck, and Bark of the Dogwood by Jackson McCrae.
Rating:
Summary: Human Spirit
Review: Vivid and mysterious Lord of the Flies is one of those uncommon books which is susceptible to several levels of interpretation and analysis. It has this characteristic because it deals honestly and profoundly with human beings under stress, and because its author, William Golding, has a sympathetic and intense vision of the problems facing modern man, the varied reactions of different types of people under similar conditions, and the internal tension experienced by human beings forced to face new a difficult situations. Through its portrayals of human beings and human problems, this novel illustrated important general principles of human behavior and human relations. Lord of the flies is a thought-provoking novel. The book describes in detail the horrific exploits of a band of young children who make a striking transition from civilized to barbaric. The Lord of the Flies commands a pessimistic outlook that seems to show that man is inherently tied to society, and without it, we would likely return to savagery. Symbolism played had also played an important role in the development of story. This narrative technique was used to give a significance to certain people or objects, which represent some other figure. The following table lists many of the examples of symbolism used throughout Golding's book.
Rating:
Summary: Human Nature through the eyes of William Golding
Review: With this his first novel, author William Golding wrote a novel that he could never surpass in greatness. Lord of the Flies is a novel about our human nature. Too often I think, people jump to quick conclusions about the book and Golding's stand on human nature. "His stance is too pessimistic" or "That books really gross." What these people fail to realize is that Golding tried to paint a picture of human nature as he saw it. He wasn't making things up, I don't think he was particularly angry, he wrote Lord of the Flies to expose people to the atrocities that he witnessed in World War II. One of the largest underlying principles in Lord of the Flies is of course, human nature. William Golding gives the reader three interesting characters to analyze: Jack, Piggy, and Ralph. It's quite apparent as you read the novel that Golding must have read a little Sigmund Freud before writing Lord of the Flies. Let's start with Jack. Jack is the definite Id on the island. He wants to survive but he also wants to eat meat and have fun. Jack is clearly unable to control these urges and in turn has a pretty large influence on the other boys on the island. Piggy is the definite Superego on the island. Piggy is always referring to "well my auntie..." and always finds an excuse not to do something. Piggy has no intentions of satisfying his id, and in turn influences only Ralph and Simon. Ralph on the other hand, takes the middle road. He is clearly trying to find a way to satisfy his id, but he can't seem to find one. Take what he said in chapter eight for instance: "...Without the fire we can't be rescued. I'd like to put on war-paint and be a savage. But we must keep the fire burning..." Ralph is definitely trying to satisfy his id, but those laws of culture still remain with him, telling him it's not the thing a proper English boy should do. Another interesting connection I made while reading, was one between Jack's status of leader and the ideology of Thomas Hobbes. Unlike Hobbes though, Jack's power was used for quite the opposite affect. Hobbes believed that in order for a perfect society to exist, a higher power had to be in charge, in order to keep the other citizens in check. Jack was that higher power on the island. He was in control of everything, however, his power had quite the opposite affect of "keeping people in check." Jack used the powerful persuasion of the id to persuade others. Jack could promise meat and fun, whereas Ralph could promise labor and fruit, something the other boys definitely didn't want. Lord of the Flies is also a novel filled with symbolism. Probably the most important of these symbols was the conch. The conchs represented several things, including freedom and order on the island, and possibly, even for a short time, unity between the boys. One of the most interesting aspects to the conch was the fact that Piggy couldn't use it. This shows a lack of leadership or strength on Piggy's part. The conch became a tool of free speech. Those who wanted to speak at the tribal council had to hold the conch in order to be heard. However, as the story progressed, this practice diminished more and more, until the island was a place of complete chaos and anarchy. In one of the last chapters of the novel, the conch gets completely destroyed. This symbolizes two things. First, it symbolizes the end of order on the island- no more meetings, no more assemblies, none of that, the island was a place of anarchy. Secondly, this destruction symbolizes the end of Ralph's leadership. The boys had become slaves to Jack and his power, their conscience gave in. Finally, about the novel itself. Golding is quite obviously a fan of Joseph Conrad. The writing style is almost identical, and the subject matter is very similar, with Golding opting to use children (young boys) instead of the men of Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The novel moves very quickly and it's rather short (202 pages in my copy.) You'll be immersed in the varying characters and degrees of humanity that they present. Keep in mind, that although Golding's view on humanity may seem very pessimistic, he's writing from his perspective on human nature, something that he witnessed first hand during WWII.
Rating:
Summary: From Civilized to Savage
Review: Believe it or not, I never read this book in high school, which seems to be when most people have read it. Lord of the Flies describes in detail the horrific exploits of a group of young boys who make an alarming transition from civilized to barbaric when they suddenly find themselves stranded on an island with no adults. Ralph is declared chief, and quickly determines that their main goal should be to keep a large fire burning so that passing ships will see the smoke and rescue them. There is a power struggle between Ralph and Jack, who is head of the hunters and obsessed with killing the pigs on the island. Jack finally wins and the majority of the boys decide to follow him, abandoning the efforts of the fire. There were spots in which I found myself re-reading, trying to understand scenes being described. This book is written in the view of a young boy so the reader needs to understand that as a youth, his view of the world is somewhat limited; thus forcing the reader to imagine what the youth is describing with limited terms. There are many passages that require some adult interpretation and imagination. After adjusting to this style of writing, I became thoroughly absorbed by the story, finding my heart beating quickly near the end as I sympathized with Ralph and his efforts to remain civilized.
Rating:
Summary: I'm 11 years old but Mom said it's ok I review this.
Review: In the innocent childhood of boys, the difference between savagery and society need to not only be learned but used. In the parallels of adulthood and childhood mistakes must be made, which shows the other side of humanity. Boys' contemplation of adults often differ from their intellect but change to their natural instinct. When intellect fails and is replaced by instinct, survival gets lost in the fray of primal needs of power and the hunt.
In this book, intellect struggles to survive amongst the power of instinct. The decision of survival can last only as long as the next idea pierces the thought of those who have any power. This theory proves why those chosen to rule must make decisions carefully, even if he needs to rob the use from a born leader. In this book reason turns into overreaction. The lesser people can still instigate fear among the powerful; an example of overreaction this book has to present. The largest problem is that overreaction has consequences. From fear comes destabilization. Once destabilization comes, uprising follows.
This book shows how conspiracies children think up can show in even the most civilized society in this era. Dissent is common. This book proves that responsibility can be found only among the responsible, and when left to rule the irresponsible make mistakes. If modern society discarded religion, law, technology, and sophistication, what would happen? Would we soon find reason among instinct? No. We are animals; as are every living creature on this planet, and we would act accordingly. Our primal instinct would guide us through another period of time until reason is found and right is separated from wrong.
If we were to go back to a primal state would we be allowed to call ourselves superior to other men? If law is not upheld than man is nothing more than an animal. William Golding probably made this book to enlighten the human race that primal instinct does eventually override every natural human sense.
After a plane full of English children falls onto an uninhabited island two boys rally the children by blowing into a conch shell, making a harsh note that the other kids investigate. After a short assembly the boy who found the conch, Ralph, is chosen to be chief, over Jack Merridew, the leader of a choir. Ralph decides to make Jack and his choir the hunting committee. He did not see the mistake in this. Ralph naturally would be a rebel, because of his natural leadership.
They decide upon a few hunters to maintain a fire so they could signal for a ship or plane to see so they could be rescued. A few days after, the primal instinct takes over ensnaring the bored, scared, unruly, and senseless into a need for the hunt and envy for fresh meat. Almost the only thing the hunters talk about is their own personal lusts of blood. This lust soon carries the hunters to hunt, leaving the fire to flicker out of existence. This was a huge loss because as the fire died a boat passed by and left no one but the hunters to blame that they would not be rescued. After a short shouting match, the tides turn leaving Jack and Ralph to become enemies. Days later Jack becomes unruly and says that he should replace Ralph as chief. The tribes yearn for the hunt and want to become savages and use their primal instinct, but obediently the people vote in favor of Ralph, further angering the already angry Jack causing him to leave to create his own tribe.
A few hours pass and Ralph soon realizes that some people are missing. They take Jack's words to mind and know that the boys have left to join the other tribe. Soon more people leave and he realizes the only ones left in his tribe are Sam, Eric, Piggy, and himself. He knows that not much can be hoped for in the passing dawn and he prepares himself for an eternity on this island. They have too few people to maintain the fire and that means they can't be rescued. He looks on to what his future will be and remains uncertain.
You'll have to read the book to know what happens next. This is an amazingly philosophical book. This outstanding book needs some time to really understand but I found, and hope you will find reason in this book which may compel you to enjoy it as it did for me. I find this book interesting and enjoyable, which is why I rate it a 4.4. If you find interest in intellectual writing you may decide to read this book as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of The Flies by Blair Denney
Review: Lord of the Flies is one of the best books I have ever read and might be my favorite book of all time . This book consisted of everything , it had action , drama and it showed the lack of perfection in the human race . In the beginning of the book the plane is shot down during a war . The plane was evacuating a group of boys from Britian .The plane lands on a deserted island and the protagnist , Ralph , meets up with another boy named Piggy . The boys find a conch shell and Piggy suggests to use the conch shell to gather the rest of the boys . Ralph blows the conch and gathers the rest of the boys and they elect Ralph as their leader . At first the boys like the fact that there are no rules or adults . But you can't live without rules before chaos breaks out . This the boys will soon find out .
Rating:
Summary: Human Nature
Review: William Golding's very first novel, Lord of the Flies, is an intriguing look at aspects of human nature as it explores the thin line between human reason and animal instinct. In Lord of the Flies, Golding tries to accurately portray human nature or at least as he saw it. The underlying theme of this novel is the idea of good vs. evil or order vs. chaos. The most notable struggle in the novel is between man and himself as the children fight with their instinct to live by rules against their instinct to act violently. The story begins when a group of English school boys become plane wrecked on a deserted island. In the beginning the group of stranded boys acts as one and cooperate well with eachother. They attempt to gather food, make shelters and signal fires, and anything else they can do just to survive. The novel's protagonist, Ralph, represents order and leadership. He steps forward as the leader and oversees their efforts to survive as well as maintain some amount of order and decency among the group. His sidekick, Piggy, is a chubby boy with glasses. His glasses represent the power of science and intellect. He also tries to help Ralph maintain order throughout the story. At first they manage establish some rules and some sense of order on the island. However, too many of the kids want to goof off and hunt animals rather than focus on survival or rescue. Ralph's leadership gets ignored and the desire of the boys to fool around and live in chaos leads to the splitting of the boys into two camps. Jack, the antagonist, represents savagery and the desire for power. He manages to lure most of the boys away to join his camp of savages. Ralph's camp represents good and Jack's camp represents evil. Ralph's camp focuses on the rescue effort while Jack's camp decides to hunt, feast, and lie around. The situation gets progressively worse as the values and morals of everyday civilization are lost. What happens next makes this classic novel a must read for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Human Nature
Review: William Golding's very first novel, Lord of the Flies, is an intriguing look at aspects of human nature. In Lord of the Flies, Golding tries to accurately portray human nature or at least as he saw it. This idea of human nature is the main theme of his novel. The story begins when a group of English school boys become plane wrecked on a deserted island.
In the beginning the group of stranded boys' works together and cooperate as a whole. They attempt to gather food, make shelters and signal fires, and anything else they can do just to survive. The novels protagonist, Ralph, oversees their efforts to survive and tries as best he can to maintain some order and decency on the island. His sidekick, Piggy, a chubby boy with glasses tries to help Ralph maintain order as well. However, too many of the kids want to goof off and fool around. Ralph's rules get ignored which leads to the splitting of the boys into two camps. Jack, the antagonist manages to lure away most of the boys to join his camp of savages. The situation gets progressively worse as the values and morals of everyday civilization are lost. Eventually, Ralph and Piggy become hunted by Jacks band of savages. This story shows how people. Lord of the Flies is an interesting novel that explores the thin line between human reason and animal instinct. It is a wonderful book and I would recommend it to any reader at the high school level.
|
