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| '''''Lord of the Flies''''' is an allegorical novel by the ] winning author ], first published in ] and made into a film in ]. It depicts the transformation into savagery of a group of schoolboys stranded on a desert island without adult supervision in the aftermath of a plane crash. | |||
| It has been said of the author's view on society is such that civilization is merely a thin layer, and that we're really all savages underneath. If the checks and balances of civilization fall away, the 'real', savage nature of humans surfaces. One can see such examples in the real world, e.g. ] in ] or mob behaviour during the ]. This is illustrated in the book, as once arriving on the island most of the boys quickly lose their civilised behaviour and form tribal groups. ''Ralph'', the hero, remains to the end of the book the only boy to have retained his original behaviour. For this, he becomes hunted by the rest of the group, a tribe led ''Jack''. Throughout the book, Golding had each character represent a different aspect of civilisation. Ralph can be thought of as representing democracy - initially he acts by taking votes - whereas Jack depicts savagery. Another central character nicknamed ''Piggy'' (we never learn his real name) probably represents science and knowledge, because of his clear methodical thinking. The fact that Jack kills Piggy and hunts Ralph could be seen as Jack's (and implicitly the savage human nature's) rejection of civilised society. | It has been said of the author's view on society is such that ] is merely a thin layer, and that we're really all savages underneath. If the checks and balances of civilization fall away, the 'real', savage nature of humans surfaces. One can see such examples in the real world, e.g. ] in ] or mob behaviour during the ]. This is illustrated in the book, as once arriving on the island most of the boys quickly lose their civilised behaviour and form tribal groups. ''Ralph'', the hero, remains to the end of the book the only boy to have retained his original behaviour. For this, he becomes hunted by the rest of the group, a tribe led ''Jack''. Throughout the book, Golding had each character represent a different aspect of civilisation. Ralph can be thought of as representing democracy - initially he acts by taking votes - whereas Jack depicts savagery. Another central character nicknamed ''Piggy'' (we never learn his real name) probably represents science and knowledge, because of his clear methodical thinking. The fact that Jack kills Piggy and hunts Ralph could be seen as Jack's (and implicitly the savage human nature's) rejection of civilised society. | ||
| '''See also''' '']''. | |||
Revision as of 12:35, 2 November 2002
Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel by the Nobel Prize winning author William G. Golding, first published in 1954 and made into a film in 1963. It depicts the transformation into savagery of a group of schoolboys stranded on a desert island without adult supervision in the aftermath of a plane crash.
It has been said of the author's view on society is such that civilization is merely a thin layer, and that we're really all savages underneath. If the checks and balances of civilization fall away, the 'real', savage nature of humans surfaces. One can see such examples in the real world, e.g. cultural revolution in China or mob behaviour during the French Revolution. This is illustrated in the book, as once arriving on the island most of the boys quickly lose their civilised behaviour and form tribal groups. Ralph, the hero, remains to the end of the book the only boy to have retained his original behaviour. For this, he becomes hunted by the rest of the group, a tribe led Jack. Throughout the book, Golding had each character represent a different aspect of civilisation. Ralph can be thought of as representing democracy - initially he acts by taking votes - whereas Jack depicts savagery. Another central character nicknamed Piggy (we never learn his real name) probably represents science and knowledge, because of his clear methodical thinking. The fact that Jack kills Piggy and hunts Ralph could be seen as Jack's (and implicitly the savage human nature's) rejection of civilised society.
See also The Beach.