Lord of the Flies

Bibliography:Golding, W. (1954) Lord of the Flies. New York, NY:Perigee.

Genre:Fiction/adventure

Reading Level/Interest Age:15+yrs

Reader's Annotation:Stranded on a non-inhabited island, a group of young British school boys struggle to survive against the elements and the savage nature that dwells inside them.

Author:William Golding (1918-1993) is most well-known for this novel, Lord of the Flies. Following service in WWII, he enjoyed a successful career as a writer, winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983.

Plot Summary:During WWII, a plane is shot down over an island. The only survivors are a group of British school boys. They explore the island and find they are alone. The boys elect Ralph as their leader, and Ralph in turn selects Jack to be the main hunter. Ralph also orders a fire built to signal planes or ships. Life on the island soon turns political: Ralph and Jack battle over authority. The younger boys are more and more frightened. They are convinced that there is a monster on the island. The boys' frustrations and anger flare; some of the boys are killed in the aftermath. Fire rages in the forest, and it seems as though the boys are destroying themselves in their rage.

Critical Evaluation:Even though this novel is relatively short, it should not be underestimated. Students who chose this book because of its length should know that there is a lot to this book. Although the characters are children, their behavior quickly mirrors that of the adults (fighting WWII). The two main leaders, Ralph and Jack, have opposing governing strategies and, predictably, they clash with each other. There is a surprising amount of violence exhibited by the boys. This makes their situation on the island that much more dangerous. This violent behavior could be interpreted as the boys mimicking what they see happening around them. They have been exposed to the violences of war and, therefore, extend that to their own small world of the island. Students reading this book need to know the setting; it matters that the novel takes place during the worst political situation that Great Britain had known in centuries. This is not a typical survival story; it is not Robinson Cursoe. To treat it as such would be to ignore the important allegory that Golding employs. He intends for readers to see his story as an example of what was happening around the world.

Curriculum Ties:WWII, study of political systems (e.g. monarchy vs. democracy), mob psychology

Book Talk Ideas:Overview of WWII from the British perspective, tell one side of the story from one character's point of view (Piggy might work well because he is the rational one.)

Challenge Issues:violence, warfare

Why was this text included in this project?I included this book because it is often read by high school students, particularly high school boys. They often pick this one because it is short, but there is much more to the novel.