William Golding’s debut, Lord of the Flies, was first published in 1954. It is a classic tale about a group of boys stranded on an island, who quickly transform from civilised schoolboys to bloodthirsty savages. The author skilfully outlines the circumstances allowing this to happen: fear of the unknown, reliance on the group, mob mentality, the need for a strong leader in a scary and uncertain situation.
The message seems to be, that humans – under the “right” circumstances – will return to a primitive and brutal state of mind. I can’t say, I disagree. The story was uncomfortable to read, not because it felt farfetched, but because it felt exceedingly realistic.
In the novel, Golding let the behavioural patterns observed on the island be a direct reflection of the outside world, where a devastating war is going on. Apparently, savagery and violence is what humans default to under pressure, not just on the island, but in the world at large.
Allegorically, the group dynamics between the boys are also a commentary on modern society, with each boy representing a specific role and set of values.
Ralf is the democratic leader, who tries to plan and initiate activities, which will help the group overall, such as lighting a fire to facilitate rescue and building shelters for all of them. He relies on Piggy to come up with ideas, though. Piggy represents the intellectual, who isn’t much valued by the group overall. Jack is the dictator, who goes up against Ralf and promotes a more brutal approach to leadership. Finally, there is Simon who in some respect is the strongest of them all. He alone maintains a rational approach to the ongoings on the island and doesn’t let himself be affected by the gruesome mob mentality or the unfounded fear mongering prevalent amongst the rest.
Judging by who comes out on top, the author doesn’t have a very positive outlook on humanity. And maybe we have the leaders, we deserve? What a depressing thought.
As is often the case with very conceptual novels, I struggled to connect with the characters. Despite the dramatic events, I didn’t really care what happened to any of them. Still, I am glad to have (re)read Lord of the Flies. Filled with direct messages and more or less subtle symbolism, the story provides plenty of food for thought. Here is what I personally took away. Spoilers included.
1. Taking responsibility in modern society – something the others do?
It quickly becomes clear, that the boys on the island – with a few exceptions – would rather eat fruit and swim in the ocean than building shelters. Having fun hunting pigs also seemed more appealing than the tedious work of keeping the fire alive. This doesn’t have serious consequences, because the island is a relatively safe and accommodating environment. And in any case, some of the others do the work, so they still get shelters to sleep in. Without generalising, there are clear parallels to modern society. A well-functioning society takes away a lot of our responsibility in daily life and provides some sort of safety net. Whilst on balance that is a good thing, it doesn’t necessarily prepare us step up and take responsibility, when needed. And some people may choose the easy way out, getting through life with a minimum of work and responsibility.
2. Without an obvious need to work, job satisfaction is required (or a strong leader)
“But you enjoy it”, Ralf interjects, when Jack points out, that hunting is also a job. He’s got a point. In a world, where the benefit from doing hard work may seem limited to some people, motivation has to come from elsewhere such as enjoyment. Ralf certainly has no luck getting things done based on a democratic approach and sense of obligation. Jack’s violent and dictatorial method proves much more successful in making people do, what he wants them to.
3. Mob mentality can be scary
One of the most terrifying scenes is, when the boys in a frenzied and excited state of mind make their first human kill. Gradually, they have become more like a warrior tribe, painting their faces and chanting war cries. Again, the terrifying thing is, it didn’t feel unrealistic. You could easily follow, how they fed on each others fears and how the frenzy spread like a wild fire amongst them. Even Ralf and Piggy, who had been against the attitude of Jack and his hunters, were caught up in this almost unavoidable mob fever.
4. The beast within is the biggest of them all
Throughout the novel, the mythical beast becomes more and more real, with several boys convinced they have seen or heard it. But it only ever exists in the imagination. The real beast is the beast within, which also becomes more and more real as events escalate. All the evil, all the violence originate from the boys themselves.
5. With our selfishness and proneness to war, we cause ruin around us
When the boys first arrive on the island, it resembles a paradise. Tropical temperatures, plenty of water supply and food sources and no external dangers. At the end, the boys have managed to transform the beautiful island to a burning inferno. Ironically, it is this destruction, which leads to their eventual rescue. It seems like the author believes in forgiveness. I am not so sure. Does the human race deserve to be saved?
Title: Lord of the Flies [1954] Author: William Golding Format: Audiobook, narrated by Martin Jarvis Genre: Classics
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I’m commenting via the Reader – you know why! I should read this book again. I was a teenager when I first got acquainted with this book, and I’m sure much of it passed me by. Sadly, all Golding writes about has come to pass…
I know – hopefully I have solved the problem by now. Fingers crossed. I can’t say it was a pleasant reading experience, but the book has certainly earned its status as a classic, seeing how relevant all the themes are today.
Indeed. And well done on Solving Those Problems,
I was required to read this at school and found it brutal and very distressing. I have no desire to read it again but I very much appreciate your thoughtful analysis, Stargazer, which has helped me to see the merits of the novel. Sadly, the bleak and dispiriting image it presents seems frighteningly close these days.
I can see, how it would be distressing to school kids. In some sense, I am not sure it is suitable to read at a young age, on the other hand – seeing the mob mentality, which sometimes take place in the school yard – it may be a good eye opener and starting point for discussions. Yes, unfortunately it seems that the themes continue to be relevant today.
It was interesting to read about this book again. I marked GCSE essays about it for a few years, so I have quite a few memories of it. It’s interesting to note that Golding wrote it in response to ‘The Coral Island’ by R M Ballantyne, in which two British boys are marooned on an island and do pretty well for themselves (defeating native cannibals, amongst other things, thereby demonstrating the ‘benefits’ of colonialism, lol). It’s worth a look online to check out that angle. One thing that occurred to me and that never got addressed in the essays I marked, is why Ralph and Piggy got drawn in to the mob violence–and the fact that they’d just eaten the meat of the pig that the hunters had killed and cooked. Vegetarianism was gaining supporters around the time Golding was writing, and apparently vegetarians regarded themselves as more ‘civilised’ than meat eaters. Thanks for the memories! π
That is so interesting! Are you a bit fed up with the book, having read loads of essays about it? I didn’t know it was a response to The Coral Island. Actually, I haven’t even heard of the latter. I can see from Goodreads, it isn’t as popular as Lord of the Flies. Interesting, that Golding even used the same names for the boys.
I guess, vegetarians are more civilised in the sense they don’t kill animals. Whether eating meat causes a less civilised behaviour in general is debatable, but it is a great point, which didn’t occur to me when reading the novel. Seeing it was a pig’s head, which came to represent the violent and uncivilised life style, it all fits!
Thanks for such an interesting comment. π
You’re welcome, and thanks for your own comments. I didn’t get fed up, fortunately, because some of the essays discussed aspects of the book that I hadn’t thought about too much. I remember ‘The Coral Island’ from school, a very long time ago, but don’t remember much about it, although I think it was given to children to read to ‘condition’ them as good citizens of ‘the British Empire’. I rather liked Golding’s book as a response to that, as in we can be just as savage as anybody else. If you watch ‘The Simpsons’ you might remember an episode when Bart goes to summer camp, where events take a downturn and a pig’s head on a stick appears on screen at one point, lol. Good talking to you. π
What you say about Coral Island doesn’t exactly make me want to read it, but it’s interesting how it inspired such a well-known classic. Haha, you know you’ve made it, when you get a reference in The Simpsons.
Your review made me also want to reread the classic because it sadly reminded me whatβs going on in the world today.
It certainly seems still to be relevant, which is rather disconcerting. I am glad to have reread the book, even if the experience wasn’t exactly a pleasant one.
Thanks for such a thoughtful review, I did read this years ago but it’s not a book you forget, and I was reminded of the mob mentality when I read Sarah Moss’s Ghost Wall; it’s so easy to get caught up in the moment and forget yourself.
The mob mentality might have been one of the scariest thing in the book. Yes, I guess there was some of that in Ghost Wall as well. In real life, it seems to take place everywhere from the school yard to social media and geopolitics. Maybe that is why the book has remained a classic.
Good discussion. The book seems to pertain to today’s modern world so directly. It is unnerving. I hope humanity will be saved but perhaps we sometimes don’t always deserve it. If we can’t even agree on wearing masks during a pandemic then how will we do anything as climate roils the planet. Hmm it doesn’t seem it will happen. I have never read the book but have heard much about it.
Thanks Susan. Lord of the Flies is indeed still relevant. The essence of human nature doesn’t really change, I suppose. I often despair about how we treat each other and our planet, but yes, hopefully we will be saved in the end. Thanks for stopping by. π
It’s been years since I’ve read this one, but it’s fun revisiting it through your recap and lessons learned! Definitely not a book that I thought of as “fun” to read (I didn’t connect to or care about the characters either), but it does have a lot to say about human nature that makes it interesting to mull over on an intellectual level. Shocking how very true some of the points feel even 70 years later. Great post.
The literary qualities weren’t that great (in my opinion), but I can certainly appreciate what the author was trying to say. Also, he captured many aspects of human behaviour, motivation and weaknesses extremely well. Thanks!