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| Image Source: Los Angeles Times |
About the Author
William Golding was an
English author who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1983, for his
excellent depiction of the human condition. He built a cult following
especially for the post-World War 2 generations of youths.
Summary
The Lord of the Flies explored
the dark side of humanity, even the foundations of the most civilized human
being. William Golding used this novel as a tragic parody of adventure stories
for children, explaining the inherent nature of humanity's evil. He showed the
reader the chronological sequence of events that led a group of young children
to survive in an uncivilized environment, unsupervised and isolated until they
were rescued, from hope to disaster.
During a nuclear war, a group of British children found themselves trapped on a tropical island without adult supervision. The group is roughly divided into "little ones" (children around six years old) and "big ones" (between ten and twelve years old). Initially, the boys tried to form a culture similar to the one they left behind.
They selected a leader, Ralph, who, with the advice and support of Xiaozhu (an intellectual of the organization), worked hard to establish regulations for housing and sanitation. Ralph also issued a fire alarm signal, which is the team's top priority, and hopes that passing ships can see the smoke signal and rescue them. Jack is a big challenge for Ralph's leadership, and he wants to lead too.
Jack leads a group of hunters turned
around by the choir boys, who sacrificed their responsibility to take care of
the fire to participate in the hunt. Jack slowly alienated the other children
from Ralph's influence, because they naturally liked and liked adventurous
hunting activities, which symbolized violence and wickedness.
The conflict between Jack and Ralph, and the barbarian and civilized forces they represent, is compounded by the boy's fear of the mythical beasts that roam the island. One night, there was an aerial battle over the Island. Casualties from the battle fell with the parachute that opened and finally landed on the top of the mountain. The breeze sometimes expands the parachute, making the body appear to be sitting up and then sinking again.
When the children mistook the corpse for the beast they feared, the
sight made the children panic. In response to this panic, Jack formed a divided
group, and eventually, all but a few of the children joined in. The boy who
joins Jack seems to be seduced by Jack's fierce protection and the prospect of
playing a savage role: face painting in disguise, hunting, and performing
ritual tribal dances. In the end, Jack's team euthanized the sow as a sacrifice
to the beast, placing the sow's head on a stick.
Among all the boys, only the mysterious Simon
has the courage to discover the true identity of the beast seen on the
mountain. After witnessing the sow's death and offering a gift to the beast's
head, Simon began to hallucinate. The head of the tied sow became the king of
the flies and transmitted to Simon what he had suspected: the beasts are not
loose animals but hidden in the mind of each child. Simon was weakened by his
terrifying vision and lost consciousness.
After recovering later that night. He fought
to the top of the mountain and found that the beast was just a dead
pilot/soldier. To spread the news to the other boys, he fell into a
tribal frenzy of dancing. The boys regarded him as a beast and beat him to
death.
Soon, only three older children, including the pig, are still in Ralph's camp. Jack's team stole Piggy's glasses and began cooking, causing Ralph to be unable to hold the fire signal. When Ralph and his team asked Jack's tribe to return the glasses, one of Jack's hunters dropped a huge rock at Piggy and killed him.
The Horde captured two other Biguns
prisoners, while Ralph was alone. The tribe carried out a raid to hunt down and
kill Ralph, opened fire, and removed him from one of the hiding places, setting
wildfires across the island. A passing ship saw smoke from the fire, and a
British naval officer ran to the beach in time to save Ralph from being killed
by the hand of a savage.
If you are keen to read
literature where the different problems of human life are depicted then
this is the perfect book to start.
You can buy this book easily from Amazon: Lord of the Flies
Written By - Nachiket Kekre
Edited By - Anamika Malik
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