12 replies to this topic

[WhiteCoffee]

Hello guys, i've read the book Lord of The Flies recently and would like to see how you guys view this book! It could be anything (eg: Motifs, Themes, Characters, Feelings, Emotions, etc, etc)! I actually do enjoy the book a lot not only for its simplicity but William Golding's ability to convey deep implications of darkness in one's heart using just such simplistic words.

This things i love about the book:
-Language: Simple, yet profound and seeped with plenty of implications.
-Theme: Savagery, Anarchy, Dystopia
- Characters: Many say that Ralph and Jack are the more important characters but in my personal opinion i feel that Piggy and Simon play the biggest parts in the novel, especially when Simon is killed and Piggy tells Ralph to use the conch.


Please feel free to discuss about anything above in greater detail or add more of your own findings for the benefit of everyone!

[U Mirin' Braahhhh?]

What I would like to refer is the contradiction the story gives to the "good savage" theory. Well, I mean, it was just a story but in reality, that's what really happens in today's societies but in a different environment. Those who are good morally, they tend to fall apart from a collective because between teenagers, the most rebel = most famous and so, everyone wants to stick with them.

It's a wonderful story about man's nature which with these london riots just proved to be right :/

Still though, isn't it piggy who gets killed?? o.O

[WhiteCoffee]

Apolo, on Aug 13, 2011 - 17:41, said:

What I would like to refer is the contradiction the story gives to the "good savage" theory. Well, I mean, it was just a story but in reality, that's what really happens in today's societies but in a different environment. Those who are good morally, they tend to fall apart from a collective because between teenagers, the most rebel = most famous and so, everyone wants to stick with them.

It's a wonderful story about man's nature which with these london riots just proved to be right :/

Still though, isn't it piggy who gets killed?? o.O

In fact, they both get killed. However, Simon's death signifies the release in anger and the total mayhem and disruption on the island without the presence of civilization.

[U Mirin' Braahhhh?]

Oh yeah, I know now! It's been so long since I last read the book and watched the film lol

I also like it when in the end, the "rebels" don't even try to reach the rescuers in an attitude of possibly guilt and recognition that they did wrong. Or it may even be interpreted that they had forgotten what others were like because they even started speaking another "language"...

[WhiteCoffee]

Apolo, on Aug 13, 2011 - 18:17, said:

Oh yeah, I know now! It's been so long since I last read the book and watched the film lol

I also like it when in the end, the "rebels" don't even try to reach the rescuers in an attitude of possibly guilt and recognition that they did wrong. Or it may even be interpreted that they had forgotten what others were like because they even started speaking another "language"...

Great point that they actually did start to speak another language. Yet another piece of evidence that they have separated themselves from the society they were born in and created another identity for themselves!

[U Mirin' Braahhhh?]

Exactly that's why I'm not saying that they were regretful of what they did. But from what I remember, and at least in the film, they seem a bit sorry and seem to realise what they did...

[Trololol Marf]

I've always wondered if Jack knew there was a beast or if he was just saying there was a beast to control the boys...

Great book.

[ShootingStars]

Always liked how when Simon dies, its as if "all innocence" dies as well.
And the end seems to have stuck with me as well, when the naval officer asks who is in charge and Ralph says he is and Jack stays silent.
The lack of girls also always puzzled me.
And how the boys slowly become more and more savage...it made me feel slightly uncomfortable.
Good material for TOK, definitely.

Edited by ShootingStars, Sep 03, 2011 - 13:01.

[Trololol Marf]

Golding wrote a hell of a book. Even though it was so simple, he succeeded in conveying something about our deepest impulses, when no rules were present. Perhaps he was getting at the nature of boys/men?

[Jaymi]

I loved this book because it gave me insight as to how society is actually run. The symbols were my favourite. Who knew that such things were soo sumbolic!

Here are some meaning of the main symbols in the novel. If you want good chapter to chapter notes on the book i'll post them..just let me know

THE CONCH -> civilization, authority, democracy. The shell is a symbol of law and order in the adult world. When it is destroyed, anarchy quickly insued.

THE SIGNAL FIRE -> Civilization and hope of home

PIGGY & PIGGYs GLASSES -> Intelligence, wisdom, knowledge, logic. Piggy finds solutions, he thinks things through and his glasses lit the fires.

THE FACE PAINT -> A disguise or a screen which allows the beast "evil" to become a part of us.

THE DANCE -> Symbol of the loss of reason or thought. Symbolic of the need for a sense of belonging.

THE LORD OF THE FLIES -> THE PIGS HEAD - It symbolises the ability or capacity for evil inside every human being. It is this violence we are all capable of that Golding wants us to recognize.

Edited by Jaymi, Sep 03, 2011 - 16:35.

[WhiteCoffee]

ShootingStars, on Sep 03, 2011 - 13:00, said:

Always liked how when Simon dies, its as if "all innocence" dies as well.
And the end seems to have stuck with me as well, when the naval officer asks who is in charge and Ralph says he is and Jack stays silent.
The lack of girls also always puzzled me.
And how the boys slowly become more and more savage...it made me feel slightly uncomfortable.
Good material for TOK, definitely.

I'm actually very interested in Simon's death too. What dyou think led up to his death and what were the after effects?

[Trololol Marf]

WhiteCoffee, on Sep 03, 2011 - 23:17, said:

ShootingStars, on Sep 03, 2011 - 13:00, said:

Always liked how when Simon dies, its as if "all innocence" dies as well.
And the end seems to have stuck with me as well, when the naval officer asks who is in charge and Ralph says he is and Jack stays silent.
The lack of girls also always puzzled me.
And how the boys slowly become more and more savage...it made me feel slightly uncomfortable.
Good material for TOK, definitely.

I'm actually very interested in Simon's death too. What dyou think led up to his death and what were the after effects?

It was the progression of the boys' savagery that became of the death of innocence and good. Without the presence of rules, Golding suggests that the boys are without limits.

[Simon]

This was hands-down my favorite book that I read in High School. I agree completely with the statement regarding the depth within the simplicity of the novel; I believe it was written extremely well. For me, Simon as a character and Simon's death was the most captivating. I remember in grade 9 I wrote an essay about Simon as the symbol of Christ, and how he was the oracle of the novel. As mentioned above, I also believe Simon's death and many other aspects of the book relate to our ruthless society extremely well. I think the element which makes it so enriching is the confinement of the story which enables Golding to really elaborate upon the characters and their relationships. I love this book man