Hey everyone! In my English class right now we are reading the book "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding. It is a very controversial book with alot of underlying meanings that I don't completely understand. Maybe some of you can help me understand better what it all means and how it is supposed to be affecting my life. Also state your opinion of the book and how you feel about the real message he was trying to get acrossed. Thanks!

Golding won the Nobell Peace Prize for this book first of all, it is one of the best books I've ever read. Anyone who says that they thought it was stupid is ignorant of its meaning and ignorant of literature.

The book has three allegorical meanings; a political one, a religious one, and psychological one. The political interpretation, which was most accepted at the time, is the most obvious, as Golding himself claimed that he wrote the book in response to aome of the things he saw in WWII. It is simply that political systems have their faults and no political system is perfect based on the the fact that individuals run political systems. Depending on those individuals' natures, a political system can be bad or good. In the book, Ralph represented the democratic nations of the world who seemed rational but could not get things done. Jack, obviously was the dictator who instituted harsh rules and laws and would stop at nothing to accomplish what he wanted done. The religious allegory of the book assumes that Simon is a Christ figure. He is a martyr in the way. He goes to the top of the mountain, like Jesus, to face the "beast". He returns to the children to tell them that the beast is nothing, and he is killed. Also, like jesus, Simon goes off for long periods of time to be by himself. When Simon confronts the pig's head, the Lord of the Flies, this is similar to jesus' confrontation with the devil in the bible. He is tempted, yet he ignores the temptation. The psychological allegory in the book relates to Freud's id, ego, and superego.

It is also a commentary on human nature obviously. The children develop a fear of a beast on the island, which pushes them to become more and more savage. As the fear grows, the children become restless and want something to be done about the beast. They slowly begin to ignore Ralph and gradually begin to prefer Jack, perhaps because they believe he will keep them alive and safe - he's a hunter. Simon is the first one that realizes the truth about the beast. He speaks out at one of their assemblies, that the beast is within all of them. It's their dark human nature. Eventually, he is confronted by the Lord of the Flies, which is basically Beelzebub in Greek. The Lord of the Flies is the devil. The children become more and more savage after they join Jack's tribe. They come to the point where they are willing to kill Ralph. Not long before, they had already killed Piggy. When the children are saved, golding cleverly points out that Ralph notices the naval ship out in the distant. The fact of the matter is all that has passed on the island is sort of a mini-model of what the outside world of man was. They will leave the hell of the island for another hell - the world in an atomic war.

Whilst reading the book, it can be taken any way, but the basic idea is how human nature and society is faulted. The three allegorical meanings above are the three most prominent interpretation that scholars have adopted, and the book can be read according to any one of them.

The island that the boys are lost on is actually a microcosm of their homeland. The boys seem to think that if the adults were there then it would be a lot more civilized yet there is a war at home, so it just shows how civilized it really is for the adults. There is a lot of irony in the book. Like Jack setting rules and stating the importance of following them yet he becomes the one that breaks them the most. They started out being very civilized, and showed good mannerism but by the end of the book they were all just savages.

"The theme of Lord of the Flies is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature"- William Golding

I thought this was a very good book, if you understood the comparisons and the irony throuhout it.

It was naive. I found it hilarious, which is why I liked it. It was so stupid it was funny.

I fucking HATE Romeo and Juliet. What a piece of crap play that is.

I loved Macbeth, Caesar, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet.

It was okay. I'm not a big fan.

I don't think I've truly enjoyed ANY book we've had to read for school. Except maybe Macbeth, A Doll's House, and A Handmaid's Tale.

I hated Huck Finn. It sucked.


But I loved Lord of the Flies. I thought it was pretty good.

It's still not as bad as Huck Finn.

im sry but i had to read it in english and it had a good meaning but i thought it was completely a stupid book i didnt like it ive read better. but ithink the meaning is it takes alot og gutts to stand up for whats right no matter the consiquiences but i also think it represents the world and how cruel people r.

-----"""If you think this is one of the best books ever you are retarded."""---

-----"""its actually pretty funny when piggy gets smushed by the rock"""---

-----"""And by "read" I mean stared at the pages untill my eyes went crosseyed, because that was better than actually reading it"""---


Hahaha. Mad props times three, divided among you all.


-----"""That made my day Ice"""---

Good. The day is my specialty. One of my favorite dishes to make.


-----"""I really really hated it for about a week, and then suddenly found it good. I have never read it again, but nonetheless..."""---

I know what you mean. I was actually mad at the characters for being such stupid brats. I would totally have strangled that bastard Ralph with my bare hands if given the opportunity. Poor Piggy and his "ass-mar". Overall, it's good in how it's disturbing and shows how all humans, including kids, can be vile creatures. It shows that humans need to work to try and do good and take care of others...because if we let the people who only take advantage of others win, the world goes to hell. Also, it shows the danger in people grouping up and taking sides, forming their own little isolated and hostile groups. Perfect messages for highschool kids...except that the ones who probably need to understand them won't.

We watched it for social justice. It was compared as a sort of struggle for government and moral issues. Simon was the sort of "God" person, Piggy "the motivator for Ralph. He sort of guided him. His glasses gave hope with the flames it created, and symbolized clearity. But as times grew worse and they broke and were stolen, it was like Piggy's mind itself was clouded in judgement." It kind of brings out the "what would you do" kind of thing. Would you stay by your friends in a weak government or ditch them to stay in a strong, but deadly one. I love social justice.

When I finished reading that book, I was shaking for the next two hours. I really really hated it for about a week, and then suddenly found it good. I have never read it again, but nonetheless...

Yeah. It isn't in my top ten, but it is good.

It was okay. I liked A separate peace better though. We read them both in 10th grade english.

quote:

Originally posted by Jenos:
If you think this is one of the best books ever you are retarded.

Well, thank you kindly for your opinion Jenos! I appreciate the fact that people will tell me straight to my face I'm odd. But It is still in the top ten of my books. I most enjoy the part where Simon talks to the Lord of the Flies. Also the way it was given to us made it interesting. And I can relate myself most to PIGGY. Fat, smart, ignored and half blind.

quote:

Originally posted by charlieismydog:
I "read" this book last year.

And by "read" I mean stared at the pages untill my eyes went crosseyed, because that was better than actually reading it.

Ha ha, oh come now, it's not THAT bad. But it definitly is NOT one of the best books ever, not even in the top ten. It does have some pretty good underlying meanings though (none of which I can remember at the moment, except the ones already mentioned).

quote:

Hey that's a good book. It means children are evil. All of them should be killed immediately.

That made my day Ice, thanks!

I "read" this book last year.

And by "read" I mean stared at the pages untill my eyes went crosseyed, because that was better than actually reading it.

It is def. not the best book ever. I think there is a movie...its actually pretty funny when piggy gets smushed by the rock

If you think this is one of the best books ever you are retarded.

All righty, ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS EVER! It was an excellent book about humans ability to revert back to their primital state, and are forced to divide into rebuilding hunmanity. I'll type more later