Lord of the Flies; Post 3

Lord of the Flies
By: William Golding
Post 3

And another book bites the dust. Lord of the Flies was quite an... interesting read. It was a quick, relatively light, and not too difficult read that I fairly enjoyed. The ending was a little bit strange, and may require some analytical "picking apart," so let's get down to business!

SPOILER ALERT
The aforementioned "beast" is both real, and not real. The original one, which was claimed to have been a monster, does not exist. However, a figure that two boys see on he mountain at night, a dead pilot (who had been parachuted down from an dogfight high above the island), is real, though the two boys over react and believe that he is the beast.

Meanwhile on the beach area, chaos reaches its tipping point. After several arguments between Jack and Ralph, Jack takes his hunters, and a most of the other boys, to a different side of he island. He encourages the chaos and savagery that fueled his own actions, which are contrary to Ralph's hope for order. The new tribe, led by Jack, kills a sow, and places its head on a stake, possibly symbolizing their savagery. A boy named Simon sees this head, and is assaulted by a hallucination, in which the pig head, also called the Lord of the Flies (for the large mass of flies that surrounded the pig head, which chases Simon after the hallucination), and "the beast," talks to him. Following this episode, Simon runs down towards where all the boys from both tribes have converged to feast, where he is brutally murdered by the other boys, showing what uncontrolled savagery can look like. The two tribes once again separate, and Jack's tribe steals Piggy's glasses, which had been used to create fires for the boys (bonfires, cook fires, signal fires, etc.). When Piggy, Ralph, and two other boys go to confront Jack, another boy rolls a rock down an incline, hitting and killing Piggy. The two other boys are captured and later join Jack's tribe, leaving Ralph all alone to be hunted by the group.

Ralph is eventually found, but before he can be killed, a British Naval Officer finds the boys, who all begin to cry as well. They cry at the loss of comrades, and for descending to such a level of savagery.

And that's how the book ends. A little strange, a little anti-climatic, but at the same time, very deep and thought provoking. After reading further into this book, I believe that Golding is trying to convey the idea that there is savagery in everyone. The pig's head hallucination lends some insight to this. It is a symbol of savagery, and at the same time, it is characterized as a real beast. Perhaps, Golding is attempting to convey the idea that the beast is not a physical monster, but a personal, demon, specifically one of savagery. Many of the boys release this demon and let it control their actions throughout the story, starting with Jack and his tribe. For example, their bloodlust drove them to create a rather morbid phrase to chant while killing pigs, or in the case of this quote, Simon. "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!" (Golding 154). I guess the final message is that savagery exists within all people,  as Golding is implying.

Well, it was a really good read, and it was especially fascinating to see the boys descend into chaos. I can understand why this book is a classic. It tells a story that is fascinating, conveys a message of deep significance, and is easily understood by all ages (it's not a super difficult book).

You can look forward to more content coming up soon!
Until next time,
Josh C.