Lord Of Flies

Lord Of Flies

This was one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It is very addictive and very well written. Though I am a slow reader, it did not take long for me to finish it. I spent four days reading this book and on weekends I put it down during meals. Lord of the Flies kept my interest with very little slow moving dialogue and lots of vivid description. The thing I probably liked the most about Lord of the flies was the theme of the story. This topic was very intriguing. It dealt with many flaws and desires of human nature, and how devastating these factors van be to a culture with no directions or rules to follow. I enjoyed how the story showed that even the youngest and most innocent of humans strive for power over everything and will stop at nothing until he achieves that power. The theme shows the greed that has been bred into all humans. The characters were probably the second most interesting element in Lord of the Flies. All British boys in this story portray a savagery and sadistic nature to which all but a few succumb. The other boys are the only symbol of sanity on the island. There is also a very interesting conflict between Ralph and Jack. Actually I might say it was a struggle between good and evil. The beginning of their struggle stems from the very start of the novel when Ralph is elected chief over Jack. Jack and his hunters eventually form their own group apart from the others. Uncivilized to say the least, his savages are totally stripped of what society has impressed upon them. Ralph demands peace on the island but to no avail. The turning point of the novel occurs when Jack and his hunters have a feast to celebrate breaking away from Ralph and forming their own tribe. During the sadistic event, the boys are invited to join Jack and many accept. Everyone begins to dance and lose touch with reality and all civilization, and when Simon crawls out of te forest with his message about the beast, he himself is mistaken for it and is torn apart by the frenzied children. At this point Ralph loses most of his control over almost all the kids, and Jack begins to take over. After the feast, things get worse for Ralph and his remaining followers. Jack and his warriors attack them one night and steal their source of fire - Piggy's glasses. The next day Ralph, Piggy and Samneric journey to Castle Rock to try to talk some sense into the savages, but they don't succeed. Piggy still holding to the conch, desperately tries to be heard over the scuffle but Roger, the most evil of all the hunters, heaves an immense boulder upon him, crushing both Piggy and the symbol of sanity and order - the conch. The next day Jack organizes a manhunt for Ralph. The leader of the savages sets the bushes on fire in an attempt to flush him put. The fugitive is chased across most of the island and finally collapses at the feet of a naval office who was attracted by the smoke. William Golding stated that the theme of Lord of the Flies as "an attempt to trace the defeats of society back to the defects of human nature". The only thing I disliked about this book is that sometimes Golding's writing style was a little hard to follow. The main problem was that the boy's talk was hard to understand. This problem appeared in few spots, however, and for the most part the book was easy to read. There are many themes in the novel: the aspects of social activities, basic needs of society, ecological balance and use of resources, the problem of evil in man. These all themes were very well revealed. Especially the problem of evil in man and the basic needs of society are very well showed. He 3 main characters of the novel to my mind are: Ralph, Jack and Piggy. Ralph is an attractive boy and a natural leader, the sort of intelligent, well-adjusted, athletic boy who easily might become the idol of his schoolmates. We meet him in the first chapter as he leads the way out of the jungle while Piggy lumbers after him. That he is fair-haired suggests that he is a child of fortune, one who is blessed by nature with grace, strength, and luck. There is recklessness to his manner. He seems happy at the prospect of living on a deserted island, away from the influence of adults. The setting fosters dreams of heroic adventure in which he is the protagonist. He will overcome all of the difficulties present in his surroundings, lead a joyously exciting jungle life, then optimistically await a glamorous rescue by his naval-officer father. Unfortunately, his dreams are frustrated when nature and his fellow youths refuse to cooperate with his romantic vision. And, as his dream becomes more difficult of attainment, he loses confidence and calmness and begins to indulge himself in escape fantasies and dreams of the past. Gradually, he forfeits the respect of the other boys. A contrasting characteristic to his tendency to dream is his common sense. He is quick to assess the situation of the boys in realistic terms. He sees what must be done for their survival and rescue and sets about arranging parliamentary meetings, building a signal fire, and constructing huts. He appraises the advice of Piggy according to its practicality. He fights against the superstition and terror of the boys as being detrimental to the organized progress of their society. Ralph is by no means a perfect character. He is often mean to those weaker than himself, particularly the faithful Piggy. Occasionally he performs rash and foolish actions. He even joins in the murder of Simon. He shares in the universal guilt of man. But he does show a clear sightedness that none of the others possess in the same way. It is his common-sense view that prevails at the end of the novel when he graduates from his experience on the island with a more mature knowledge of himself and the world around him. He recognizes the universal presence of evil as a condition of life. He is capable of appreciating the tragedy of the loss of innocence that is the common heritage of man. More than any other character, Ralph represents the outlook of the author-and the outlook that he expects his reader to share. He is not as intellectual as Piggy and he is not as religious as Simon, but he dreams the dreams of freedom and adventure that enliven the progress of western society. He is the most complete, most human, and most heroic of the characters in the novel, and the one with whom readers most readily identify. Jack Merridew: "He was tall, thin, and bony, and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness." A cruel and ugly bully, he early develops a taste for violence. He is a leader of the choir at first, and then of the hunters. His leadership resides in his ability to threaten and frighten those under him. He is always ready for a fight. His victory over Piggy represents the triumph of violence over intellect,