Lord of the Flies (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)

LORD OF THE FLIES, in its own way, says, "Hold on a second! Humans do need to be regulated. And they do need to protect themselves from each other." His tale is a warning: Humanity, without government, will degenerate into savagery and anarchy. And that is precisely what happens in this book. You know the plot, by now. But what has to be mentioned is that William Golding is a visionary who has the story-telling mastery to convey and do justice to that vision. LORD OF THE FLIES is a remarkable and powerful book, one that should be on everyone's bookshelf.


Award-winning, yet it [is terrible].   June 3, 2002
Ryk E. Spoor (Troy, NY USA)
27 out of 59 found this review helpful

This is one of the few books in my elite "bounce" category -- it bounced off the wall when I finished it. I am aware of all the praise that has been heaped upon this book. This is one of the times at which I must find myself unable to really even comprehend the reasoning (if any) that goes on in the minds of those who have handed out the awards.

_Lord of the Flies_ is, we are told, a novel about human beings and their nature. It's a shame we see so few human beings in the book. Golding seems to see savagery as the natural and instinctive state of humanity, a position that's logically untenable (if this was the "natural" way, exactly how did we acquire civilization at all, let alone keep it long enough to develop the printing press necessary to spread such [negativity]?)

Ignoring the stated literary intent, the book is on the surface the story of shipwrecked children trying to survive, a la Robinson Crusoe and Mysterious Island. However, in this aspect it also fails miserably, with characters not even covering the gamut of behavior one would suspect from children (at least some would have tried making a boat, one would think; while the exact time Lord of the Flies takes place is indeterminate, Kon-Tiki had sailed from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, something the character Piggy, at least, would probably have known), and with one of the most important parts of a survival story -- the survival science -- being gotten dismally wrong. This is most notable in having the NEARSIGHTED Piggy's glasses be used to start a fire, and it's one of the least excusable; even if Golding himself wasn't nearsighted, one would think he'd have one or two acquaintances whose glasses he could borrow for a second to test the idea.

Admittedly, Golding has an excellent grasp of the language and uses it well. The book is well-written in a technical sense. Yet it fails utterly on both its major levels, failing to convince me of its major thesis on human behavior, and wrecking the suspension of disbelief in its overt plotline.

I was personally quite aware of the potential savage nature of young people -- I was one of the bullied types -- yet the level of cynicism necessary to accept Lord of the Flies' ideas never came to me. I think Golding misses an essential streak of optimism that exists in young people, a willingness to try things and a dedication to survive that explains the fact that we're still a civilized species instead of a scattered group of savages barely above the flint-chipping level.


Frightening look at the inner beast in mankind   April 18, 2003
Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA)
21 out of 36 found this review helpful

This is such a meaningful book, with such relevance for our society that it's worth reading, even if you've already read it in school.

The story is rather contrived, yet believable. English schoolboys are stranded and forced to survive in the wilds. The school bully system, endemic in boarding schools and in schoolyards everywhere, devolves into pure savagery and of course, someone gets hurt. Badly.

The subject of bullies is interesting; Golding's depiction of tow-headed little rapscallions turning into real monsters is a metaphor for the lawlessness that lurks under a thin veneer of any society.

If you have kids in school, this is a great book to read at home and discuss with them. How did each character react to violence? How did they justify violence? How did they fight or accept evil? What would you do differently?


One-dimensional   June 2, 2000
Ilana Teitelbaum
19 out of 30 found this review helpful

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.


reminds me of the TV series "Survivor"   April 5, 2001
HollyGoLightly (Upstate, NY)
18 out of 28 found this review helpful

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.