Cheap Lord of the Flies (Book) (William Gerald Golding) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Bookshelf
In the novel "The Lord of the Flies" by William Gerald Golding, a group of English schoolboys get deserted on an island after a plane crash, left alone with no adults. This book follows the day to day life on the island, cooking, hunting, and the desperate struggle to keep their smoke signal going. However, as civilized as these children appear at the start of the book, the call of their savage, human, inner soul is too strong for them, and the instinct to survive forces them to undergo a a shocking and terrible change. The book, using dramatic imagery and a disturbing plot drew me into its fast paced world, where I discovered shocking and horrifying secrets about the human spirit let loose. The book was severely disquieting, yet its strong and bewitching plot made me read on. Ending with a roar, this masterpiece alarmed me greatly, yet I still recommend it to a young adult reader who is willing to let a gripping page-turner sweep them away to a land that they have never dreamed of.

---

TonighT, in the ArenA its ... Id versus Superego!
Anybody know what my title's about? Basically, this: In the battle between your impulsive, selfish side and your rational, moral side which would ultimately win?

The plot of this novel is misleadingly simple. Some shipwrecked British lads must fend for themselves on an island while waiting to be rescued. Their only hope for returning to civilization is to keep a fire burning in the hope that a ship will see the smoke. A leader is chosen. The society is well organized and, intitially, works. Then the "littlun's" confess their superstitious fear of a mysterious "beast" lurking in the woods. Disputes concerning priorities and leadership divide the boys. Gradually, the wilderness in them all possesses them wholly. This is the tragedy in Golding's eyes. Everything natural is condemned, while things of intellect are placed on a pedestal.

This book is nothing if not symbolic. Jack is selfish desires (Freud's "Id")while Piggy is intellect (Freud's "Superego"). Piggy's glasses represent reason. Remmeber this when anything happens to them, and what Piggy is like without them. Ralph is Mr. Inbetween (AKA: Freud's "Ego"). He's the closest to you and me. The conch represents order in society.

Pay close attention to the physical appearances of the characters as well. It indicates how well adapted they are to the island. The trick is that those most suited to the island are those most in tune with their instincts and animal desires. THey are the ones who give up on the fire. THey are the ones whom commit the injust acts. THey are the inhumane consequences of total submission to human desire.

---

Humanity tooth and nail
If not for anything else, William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES (1954) is remarkable for having come out at a time when Western society was being bombarded with visions of totalitarian nightmares. The Nazis were gone, but still in modern memory. Russia's totalitarian state was a constant threat. McCarthyism hovered over everyone's privacy, as did J. Edgar Hoover. And recent fiction, like Aldous Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD and, especially, George Orwell's 1984 presented world views where the human spirit is all but squelched by governments and technologies.

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.