Lord of the Flies

William Goldberg’s novel Lord of Flies tells the story of a group of British boys who are involved in a plane crash and find themselves deserted on a stranded island during World War II. The boys rejoice in their new-found freedom since no adults survived the crash; however, they soon realize that chaos is never a good thing. Without order or civility, the true colors of the boys begin to show, and they realize that social order is crucial to their survival. Needing a sense of structure, the boys elect one of the boys, Ralph, as the chief of the group. Ralph then assigns roles and duties to each of the other boys to survive until they can be rescued. This seems like a good solution to their problem until rumors begin that a monster is residing on the island with the boys. The boys decide to give a sacrifice to the monster in the form of a bloody boar’s head, which in time decays becoming “Lord of the Flies.” This unknown monster “fear” ultimately lives inside each of the boys causing it to consume every moment of the boys’ days and nights turning the boys against one another. Their make-shift society quickly begins to unravel creating a conflict between the need for order and the savage nature of human beings. The novel delves deep into the four main characters showing how chaos can truly change a person and make one do things that he never imagined he could do. The first character is Ralph, who is elected chief of the group. Ralph is determined to maintain order within the group. When the boys first arrive on the island, Ralph blows a conch shell like a make-shift horn signaling all the lost boys from the island to descend upon the group. The second character is Piggy, who is smart and insightful. Piggy becomes the most mature of the group; however, he is soon mocked by the other boys due to his physique. Another character Jack is the hunter of the group and delights in hunting for wild pigs on the island. Jack slowly develops a following of other boys who want to hunt, and this leads to a power struggle between Ralph’s followers and Jack’s group. The last of the boys is Simon, the quiet type who likes to venture into the jungle to find solitude away from the others. However, Simon’s solitude becomes his downfall when he starts to become crazy leading to the other boys killing Simon thinking he is the monster of their dreams. The climax of the novel begins after Piggy is killed, and Ralph, Jack, and one of the island’s lost boys named Roger set fire to the entire island. Knowing he is the next to be killed by the group of savages, Ralph runs away and straight into the arms of a British naval officer signaling the end of the haunting journey for the remaining boys. When the boys realize that they have been rescued, they burst into tears realizing what the evil that they have become. Human nature, the struggle between good and evil, and the ultimate darkness of man are central themes throughout the story detailing how even good people can be savage if it means survival. The haunting story is a scary reminder that human depravity makes people do things unimaginable. The struggle between savagery and civilization is something our own society has dealt with since the beginning of time. The novel is a classic story that bleeds over into our world today and details how fear can be used as a weapon when needed to achieve a desired outcome. Goldberg’s novel Lord of the Flies is dark and disturbing at times, but it opens the reader’s eyes to how human nature ultimately controls us all.

Lord of the Flies is one of those books everyone should read no matter what kind of books you like. The story will stick with you for a long time and there is a timeless message hidden within the pages. Even though I never read this in high school, this is defiantly a high school level book. The reading is quick and easy once you get into it, just the plot might slow you down. Everyone should read though if you want to understand great usage of motifs, foreshadowing, allusions to mythology, and get certain references from several books, movies, and television shows. The main reason I started this book now was one I never read it before and two I have read all the Hunger Games. Yes, Hunger Games is like Battle Royale, but they are both extremely close to Lord of the Flies as well. Another reason I read this was that I heard Fables refers to it in the Animal Farm story arch, not just the pigs head on a stick, but the fact only one person can hear the “Lord of the Flies” talk to them. So, I went all Fables Fangirl at that part of the book. I must say I also was constantly thinking about the Simpsons’ episode were the kids are stranded on a disserted island. Overall, I really liked the book. It was somewhat predictable at times, but I think that was mainly due to the fact the book has been referenced so many times. Not to give anything away but there is a lot of talk about Piggy’s glasses and how if he ever lost them. At times, the dialogue was a little difficult to follow, but I just had to figure out who was talking when. This is more of a personal issue, but authors need to stop stereotyping twins so much. We are not the same person and makes it hard for me to follow books when they make them Samneric all the time. I think my favorite character in the book was Piggy. Right away, you just get a sense of feeling for him and you just want him to stand up for himself. Ralph you get the feeling he is a complete jerk and you know he is going to be the main villain of the story. I mean he calls Piggy by his nickname, when Piggy tell him not to call him that. Although, Piggy was stupid for even trusting Ralph in the first place, as most innocent kids when they meet bad friends. Clearly, Piggy just wanted a friend. This is the type of book I could go on and on with in my review, but I’m not going to or I know I give away spoilers to those who are living under a rock and never even heard about this book. As I previously said before, this is a book everyone should rad no matter what types of books you like to read. I very much recommend it to those who read Battle Royale and Hunger Games though. This is a great book too for a horror aspect of bullying and the flaws a government with too much authority. You don’t just read this book, this book makes you experience!

Lo compré de segunda mano. Vino en perfecto estado excepto algunas anotaciones a lápiz que fueron fácilmente eliminables con una goma. El libro en sí es una gran lectura. Historia tensa llena de analogías con la vida real y simbolismos que llevan a posarse preguntas desde el ambito político hasta el antropológico. No es un libro infantil o juvenil. Recomiendo su lectura a alguien que quiera leer un libro más serio.

Nice book and excellent edition. I really enjoyed it. Thanks

As expected and advertised

The book was an exercise for the mind, the vocab is way too advanced and made me search for the meaning of every word, got me tired but also taught me many new words. Excellent book but the advanced vocab got me way too tired.

Muito bom o livro. Recomendo!