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o1eander 's review for:
Lord of the Flies
by William Golding
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Reading this for the first time, I can see why it's endured. Experiencing this as a psychological drama/thriller makes it easier to bear, compared to (idk) a dip into the literary canon as a student. Being a bit older helps, and in that sense, it becomes a sorry sorrowful parallel for the abandoned/neglected child.
...or just growing up, in general, with all you were conditioned to believe in.
Who is supposed to protect them if the systems in place don't hold, if there is no love or stability at home? Where does violence come from, and what springs someone to do so? Survival hardens the heart, doing away with unnecessary weaknesses. We cling to roles in isolated situations to have a sense of control, repressing, killing the inherent innocence of 'being a kid'. Oh, the conversations to be had!
///
Privileged kids get into a situation on an island. Order is established, but isn't maintained as everyone doesn't have the sense to cooperate. Ralph as the fair person is our induction to the fragile order. He's our everyman. The guy we don't want to crack because he's got the common sense to be adult-ish, an adolescent that can see himself slipping into unsavory 'savage' behaviors. He has the trust (though initially tenuous) of Piggy, and later, Simon. Both outcasts for having attributes ill-suited for survivability---mentally and physically; they, essentially, are Ralph's better angels, helping maintain that sense of propriety as everything they've clumsily built burns to the ground.
Crazy, crazy book I wouldn't mind revisiting in it's original and various iterations.
...or just growing up, in general, with all you were conditioned to believe in.
Who is supposed to protect them if the systems in place don't hold, if there is no love or stability at home? Where does violence come from, and what springs someone to do so? Survival hardens the heart, doing away with unnecessary weaknesses. We cling to roles in isolated situations to have a sense of control, repressing, killing the inherent innocence of 'being a kid'. Oh, the conversations to be had!
///
Privileged kids get into a situation on an island. Order is established, but isn't maintained as everyone doesn't have the sense to cooperate. Ralph as the fair person is our induction to the fragile order. He's our everyman. The guy we don't want to crack because he's got the common sense to be adult-ish, an adolescent that can see himself slipping into unsavory 'savage' behaviors. He has the trust (though initially tenuous) of Piggy, and later, Simon. Both outcasts for having attributes ill-suited for survivability---mentally and physically; they, essentially, are Ralph's better angels, helping maintain that sense of propriety as everything they've clumsily built burns to the ground.
Crazy, crazy book I wouldn't mind revisiting in it's original and various iterations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Excrement