This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 190.53.244.230 (talk) at 15:55, 11 November 2010 (→Printed works). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:55, 11 November 2010 by 190.53.244.230 (talk) (→Printed works)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For other uses, see Lord of the Flies (disambiguation). | This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Misplaced Pages editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lord of the Flies" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 The original UK Lord of the Flies book cover | |
| Author | William Golding |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Pentagram |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Allegorical novel |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Publication date | September 17th, 1954 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
| Pages | 248 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-571-05686-5 (first edition, paperback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 47677622 |
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding. It is about a group of British schoolboys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results. Its stances on the already controversial subjects of human nature and individual welfare versus the common good earned it position 68 on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–1999. In 2005, the novel was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005 and was awarded a place on both lists of Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching #41 on the editor's list, and #25 on the reader's list. Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first novel, in response to The Coral Island. Although it was not a great success at the time—selling fewer than 3000 copies in the United States during 1955 before going out of print—it soon went on to become a bestseller, and by the early 1960s was required reading in many schools and colleges. It was adapted to film in 1963 by Peter Brook, and again in 1990 by Harry Hook.
Plot summary
In the midst of a wartime evacuation, a British plane crashes on an isolated island. The only survivors are all male children below age 13. Two boys, the fair-haired Ralph and an overweight, bespectacled boy reluctantly nicknamed "Piggy" find a conch which Ralph uses as a horn. Two dominant boys emerge during the meeting: Ralph, and Jack Merridew, a redhead who is the head of a choir group that was among the survivors. Ralph is voted chief, losing only the votes of Jack's fellow choirboys. Ralph asserts two goals: have fun, and work toward rescue by maintaining a constant fire signal. They create the fire with Piggy's glasses, and, for a time, the boys work together.
Jack organizes his choir group into the group's "hunters", who are responsible for hunting for meat. Ralph, Jack, and a black-haired boy named Simon soon become the supreme trio among the children. Piggy, the most sensible of the bunch, is quickly outcast by his fellow "biguns" (the older boys) and becomes an unwilling source of mirth for the other children. Simon, in addition to supervising the project of constructing shelters, feels an instinctive need to protect the younger boys.
The original semblance of order imposed by Ralph quickly deteriorates as the majority of the boys turn idle. At one point, Jack summons all of his hunters to hunt down a wild pig, including who were supposed to be maintaining the fire. A ship approaches, but passes by because the signal fire has gone out. Although the hunting of the pig turns out to be the hunters' first successful hunt, Ralph is infuriated that they have missed a potential rescue. Around the same time, many of the young people begin to believe that the island is inhabited by a monster, referred to as "the beast". Jack gains control of the discussion by boldly promising to kill the beast. Later, Ralph envisages relinquishing his position, though Piggy discourages him from doing so while the two of them and Simon yearn hopefully for some guidance from the adult world.
After Sam and Eric report possibly seeing the beast atop a mountain christened "Castle Rock", Ralph and Jack investigate; they encounter the corpse and the open parachute of a fighter pilot who has landed on the island and mistake it as "the beast" asleep. Jack assembles the children with the conch and confirms the beast's existence to them. The meeting results in a schism, splitting the children into two groups. Ralph's group focuses on preserving the signal fire. Jack becomes the chief of his own tribe, which focuses on hunting while exploiting the iron-clad belief in the beast. As Jack and the hunters have already slain their first pig, they offer promises of meat, fun, and protection from the beast. Jack's tribe gradually becomes more animalistic, applying face paint to liberate their inner savages while they hunt. The face paint becomes a motif which recurs throughout the story, with more and more intensity toward the end.
Simon, a part of Ralph's tribe, who had "cracked" and went off looking for the beast by himself, finds the head of the hunters' dead pig on a stick, left as an offering to the beast. Simon envisions the pig head, swarming with scavenging flies, as the "Lord of the Flies" and believes that it is talking to him. Simon hears the pig identifying itself as the real "Beast" and disclosing the truth about itself—that the boys themselves "created" the beast, and that the real beast was inside them all. Simon also locates the dead parachutist who had been mistaken for the beast, and is the sole member of the group to recognize that it is a cadaver instead of a sleeping monster. Simon attempts to alert Jack's tribe that the "beast" is nothing more than a cadaver. While trying to tell Jack's tribe of this fact, Simon is caught in a ring during a primal dance and Jack's tribe beats him to death, with Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric in the ring also. Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric later try to convince themselves that they did not take part in the murder.
Jack's tribe then raid Ralph's camp to steal Piggy's glasses. Ralph's tribe journeys to Jack's tribe at Castle Rock to try to get back Piggy's glasses. In the ensuing confrontation, Roger drops a rock on Piggy killing him and the conch is shattered. Sam and Eric are captured and tortured into joining Jack's tribe. Ralph is forced to flee.
The following morning, Jack leads his tribe on a manhunt for Ralph. However, the fire and smoke attracts the attention of a nearby warship. Then a naval officer lands on the island near where Ralph is lying, and his sudden appearance brings the children's fighting to an abrupt halt. Upon learning of the boys' activities, the officer remarks that he would have expected better from British boys, initially believing them only to be playing a game. In the final scene, although now certain that he will be rescued after all, Ralph cries.
Allegorical relationships
Ralph
Film adaptations
There have been two film adaptations:
- Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook
- Lord of the Flies (1990), directed by Harry Hook
Influence
Many writers have borrowed plot elements from Lord of the Flies.
Television
The "Das Bus" episode of the animated television series The Simpsons is based on this book: schoolchildren are alone on a remote island, there is a presumed "monster", Milhouse's glasses are used to light a fire, and many other references are present. Another episode, "Kamp Krusty", has several elements from Lord of the Flies as well: a pig's head on a spear, children using primitive weapons and wearing war paint, and a burning effigy.
The TV series Lost draws many of its initial plot devices and themes from Lord of the Flies, most notably being based on a plane crash on a deserted island, the existence of a 'beast' and the emerging tensions between two leaders, one of whom happens to be named Jack. The overweight Hurley occasionally serves as the voice of reason, much like the novel's Piggy. The initial similarities between the stories are openly commented on by the show's characters, such as Sawyer.
In the animated television series South Park episode "The Wacky Molestation Adventure", the town's children are left alone and quickly devolve into two savage tribes: one benevolent, led by Stan Marsh; and the other brutal, led by Eric Cartman.
Music
- A song from the American band The Offspring, "You're Gonna Go Far Kid", is mainly about Lord of the Flies.
- The English heavy metal band Iron Maiden composed a song about the novel, with the title "Lord of the Flies".
- The final song, "Shadows and Tall Trees", on U2's debut album, takes its title from the novel's chapter of the same name. Additionally, some printings of the book's cover are similar to the cover of the album.
See also
References
- "100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999". American Library Association. 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
-
Grossman, Lev (2005). "The Complete List: TIME Magazine – ALL-TIME 100 Novels". TIME. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) -
"Lord of the Flies: Plot Overview". Literature Study Guides. SparkNotes. Retrieved 2 February 2010 big fat piggy.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Bailie, Stuart (1992-06-13). "Rock and Roll Should Be This Big!". NME. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
External links
- Chapter 1: The Sound of the Shell of the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding on eNotes
- Lord of the Flies student guide and teacher resources; themes, quotes, characters, study questions
| Works by William Golding | |
|---|---|
|