City News

The captivating novel, Lord of the Flies begins with a rather confusing setting in which a
great many boys ranging from the ages of six to twelve are stranded on an island. A large scar
dented the Earth where the airplane once crashed. There are no grown-ups in sight and the
boys put it upon themselves to keep civilization alive like an everlasting, but tamed fire.
Two leaders on the opposite sides of the spectrum rise and conflict between the two continues
through the depths and most “savage” aspects of the book.
The boys welcome the island of “the sounds of bright fantastic birds,the bee sounds”(72)
and “ gaudy butterflies that danced around each other in the hot air”(72).Even though the island
itself bared no rules the boys implemented them. Ralph had come upon a conch,a white
spiraling shell, upon his first day of arrival and the boys “obeyed the summons of the conch,
partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of
authority”(75). They embarked upon building shelters, collected food, and most importantly,
building a fire. This process went well for a few days but burnt out over time because most of
the boys' concept of fun and no grownups outweighed the existing laws that the grownups
would have established if they were present. The fire’s last ember went out leaving no ship to
visibly see there was a form of human life on the island. This was the first cause of a major split
between the newly forming opposing groups creating the question of who will be the true and
suitable chief.
Everyone’s fears begin to settle in which most fears applied to the younger audience
known as the little- uns. They started to think up the unimaginable types of beasts but what the
boys never thought of was the best that lurked within. They would hunt such bests but isn’t the
act of hunting a cruel and beast-like trait? Instead of killing the imaginary beast they completed
the unforgivable act of murder. From this point forward the genuine “beasts” rise from the mind
and the line between civilized and savage is blurred. Some are overtaken by a darker side while
others hide. This frenzy of murder truly demonstrates what it is like to leave impresionable
children with no sense of authority, trust, or true leadership.
I thought Lord of the Flies was an amazing book and I would definitely recommend it to a
mature audience speaking of the gory and uncomfortable imagery. Books that are a part of the
school curriculum generally don’t entice me but William Golding knocked it out of the park with
this beautifully tragic novel.

Check out Lord of the Flies from NBPL!