Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of English boy who get marooned on an island after their plane crashes during war time. None of the adults survive so they are left there to survive on their own. One of the boys, Ralph, is quickly chosen as the chief leader of the group over the book's antagonist, Jack. At one point, while exploring the island, the kids see something they believe is a beast. Later, Jack, Roger and Ralph see something that they believe is a beast, and so, there becomes an emphasis to find out exactly what it is. The fear of the "beast" is probably one of the main issues in Golding's work, because it creates the breakdown of their ability to work towards rescue. Eventually Ralph's authority over the others diminishes, and he cannot control the malevolent tendencies of Jack, who, impatient with Ralph's ideas, eventually breaks off and forms his own "tribe." Two of the boys, Piggy and Simon, stay loyal to Ralph while one by one the others leave Ralph's group. While Piggy is intelligent and Simon is individualistic they both have trouble enforcing leadership, and so Ralph's cause to keep the fire going becomes less and less important to the others. Jack's group gets more and more brutal and rebellious, hunting pigs and using clay to look the role of a tribe. Chaos and disorder ensue, and the brutality of individuals without rules surfaces.While this story is more symbolic than anything else, what was refreshing was Golding's ability to create well-rounded characters. Each of the main characters (Piggy, Ralph, Simon, Jack, Samneric, Roger) are depicted effectively both from the dialogue and writing style. Golding is not the type of author that is just going to come out and tell you something about a character or situation; many times you have to make up your own judgment and inferences about motives and dig for some type of meaning.What also makes this book powerful is the several poignant issues it brings up. First of all, Golding examines the issue of what it would be like to have to survive in a situation where you are surrounded by peers, where laws are not part of the society. He seems to be making a pessimistic inference about how we operate when we let chaos or fear control ourselves, rather than being rational and objective towards common goals. Some of us may have at one point thought of the idea of being stranded somewhere and how we would react: this book addresses that idea and the difficulties that arise when one or more people rebel against individuals. On the surface this book may just seem like a story about kids not getting along, but in an allegorical and symbolic sense, there is something much deeper taking root which displays the darker side of human nature in individuals.I found that this book was more meaningful and enjoyable the second time I read it. I admittedly wasn't that much into it the first time, but the parts that we a bit unclear made more sense the next time I tried reading. If you can get past some of the British slang and keep pushing yourself, the book's second half is well worth it, especially Simon's experience with the "Lord of the Flies."

Slow start but the end is haunting

My students had mixed feelings, but I love it! I suggest you research adventure novels from the time of publication before you read.

Great quality book. Love this cover. Bought it as a gift for my sister.

Perfect book for teenagers!