Lord Of The Flies – William Golding

This was a prescribed reading in my first year at school. I’ve never found this to be a hugely popular book, whenever I have asked people, and I’m not sure why.

I think it is an excellent insight into the human condition, the thin veneer of civilisation, and how “for evil to prosper, good men must do nothing”.

Summary:

A plane carrying British public school boys crashes on a deserted island in the early 1950’s. Very much groomed to be the inheritors of Empire, the survivors (aged between 6 -12) set up their own democracy (of sorts), but things gradually go awry and the island descends into nightmare.

Main Characters:

Roger: He is the evil one. He starts by destroying sandcastles, and ends by dropping rocks on children’s heads, laughing all the while.

Ralph: He is the Empire poster-boy – brave, calm under pressure, and a leader. He supports the rule of law. However, he has a dark side too, which we glimpse throughout the book a his mental condition deteriorates, and maybe his becoming savage saves him at the end.

Jack: The head of the school choral society, he is the opposite to Ralph, and although shares some of his traits (wants the leadership, charismatic), he quickly dispenses with civilisation, splitting the unity of the group, organising a barbaric pig hunt, and has no compunction about killing.

Minor Characters:

Piggy: He is the traditional whipping-boy, the outsider that no-one claims (we never learn his real name, in fact). He is the smart kid with glasses. He represents the system of law and order, as  demonstrated by his defence of the conch speaking system, which enables lesser voices to be heard. He represents the importance of science e.g. his glasses are used to start a fire. But things do not end well for him, or the conch.

Simon: Simon is the sensitive thinker of the group, who embodies all the good in decent human society (compassion, sharing, etc.). He becomes a little bit mystical, but retains his civilised self. He tries to bring his insights and logic to the group, but by then it is too late, as the blood-lust has taken hold.

The Beast: This “being” is made up by the small ones, and represents all the dark side of humanity, but the thought of it infects the group, and assists their slide into savagery, and fear of it leads directly to murder. By fighting the Beast, the boys themselves become beasts.

Plot:

In the midst of a World War, a passenger plane crashes onto a deserted island, leaving British public school-boys stranded. There are no adults in this group, so they set up their own society, where possession of the conch shell allows you to speak and be heard.

Swiftly though the groups splinter acrimoniously, one to continue to defend “civilisation” and looking to get themselves rescued, the other being more active, hunting pigs and generally having a wild time.

A parachutist is seen by the boys, and the second group organise a massive search-and-destroy mission, believing it to be The Beast (traces and markings of which they found around the island).

This is the true turning point in the story, as most of the boys give in to their savage side. Jack has become increasingly deranged, Roger is his able assistant, while Ralph and Piggy struggle to retain order. At the pig feast, over which Jack presides, there is a bloody re-enactment of the pig hunt, which leads to the deaths of two characters, and a third being put in grave danger.

The novel ends with a very stiff-upper-lip British officer Deus Ex Machina, who arrives on the island and rescues the boys.

What I Liked:

• The language is still vibrant and relatable, albeit the book was written in 1954.
• Golding’s take-down of anyone’s notion of being superior, showing how easily we can be stripped back to primal nature.
• Written in the post-colonial era, his reverse-racist approach – showing that highly-educated, privileged white children are ultimately no better than the savages they vilify.

What I Didn’t Like:

• The inherently negative view of people – but for rules, we universally would essentially tear each other apart. I cannot believe this is the absolute truth – for every Stanford prison experiment there are stories of humanity in the midst of terrible events (e.g. post the earthquakes in Japan).
• The premise of the inevitable collapse of civilisation – people are innately a social grouping, and most are good people who find a way to work together.

Themes:

Power: We see absolute power corrupting absolutely – Jack’s autocratic approach is solely driven by his love of power, and the ‘freedom” it gives him. Ralph’s rule is more limited, so he needs to be more inclusive, and ultimately a better leader.

Civilisation v Savagery: How deep-rooted is our civilisation, and what does it mean? Do you need to be a little bit savage to defend your civilisation (the iron fist within the velvet glove)? How much is a little bit, and how is it controlled?

Loss of Innocence: As we see the boys degrade from law-abiding children to ruthless, bloodthirsty savages, innocence is lost. The peaceful glade where Simon first meditates is forever contaminated by the bloody head of the sow which he finds when he returns there later in the book. For me, the author is implying that, whatever veneer we overlay on it, our true nature is evil and savage, and circumstances can unleash it.

Overall:

I really loved this book. There is so much to be learned from it, insights into group behaviour, our ability to control our fear and our self, the importance of identity. Even from this reading, I was left wondering if Jack really IS that insane, or being a child did he just get too caught up in his game, illustrated by his quote “I’m not going to play any longer. Not with you”, uttered when leaving Ralph’s group?

I think it is a must-read, especially now when modern society seems to be fragmenting into a collection of special-interest groups (see also Fahrenheit 451). It is important that people retain an idea of what they want their society to be, and be reminded of how hard we have to work to keep it that way.