Lord of the Flies

By William golding
Book Review

Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-

winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a
group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited
island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves.
Themes include the tension between group thinking and
individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and
between morality and immorality.
The novel, which was Golding's debut, was generally well
received. It was named in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels,
reaching number 41 on the editor's list, and 25 on the reader's
list. In 2003, it was listed at number 70 on the BBC's The Big
Read poll, and in 2005 Time magazine named it as one of the
100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and
2005, and included it in its list of the 100 Best Young-Adult
Books of All Time. Popular reading in schools, especially in the
English-speaking world, Lord of the Flies was ranked third in
the nation's favourite books from school in a 2016 UK poll.
This book is a perfect recipe for adventure; a parody of children
adventures’ stories. The book explores the savagery that’s
contained even in the most civilized human beings and explores
the dark side of humanity. The book’s storyline takes place in
the middle of an unknown nuclear war with a predictable
storyline where schoolboys are shipwrecked and stranded on a
deserted island without the supervision of adults.

In order to set the rules and boundaries of what is fun, the boys
elect a leader. Golding had not sugarcoated his novel and instead
turned it into a horrifying story of survival and loss of
innocence. The two faces of humanity are represented by Jack
and Ralph who both fought for the leadership position. The
voice of reason was represented by Piggy who was bullied and
tormented by everyone.

I think the best bits of the book were definitely the

commentary and the way the two groups are pitted against
each other. I think reading this really puts into perspective
how easy it would be for our society to slip into savagery
with the right justifications.

One of the experiences that spoiled my reading of the text

was the sheer volume of characters. The author often fails to
mention who is talking. This makes following the dialogue a
challenge at times. This, in turn, can obstruct characterization,
so we do not always fully understand a character’s progression. I
would say this is an area where the novel falls short.
In conclusion, Despite the dialogue being occasionally difficult,
I think that‘”Lord of the Flies”‘is a must read and an absolute
modern classic.