This is a 1954 narrative by a British novelist William Golding. The novel focuses on the dark side of the human race, the cruelty that motivates even the most civilized humans. The author envisioned this narrative as a terrible mockery of kids’ adventure narratives, demonstrating human’s inherent wicked nature.
Golding offers the reader with a timeline of proceedings directing a set of young schoolboys from a state of hopefulness to that of calamity as they try to endure their remote, unsupervised, inaccessible setting until freed (Cliffsnotes 1). The narrative starts in the centre of a nuclear war where some British schoolboys find themselves deserted having no grown-up supervision on an isolated Island. The boys are alienated into two groups roughly based on age. The first group is that of around the age of six-year-old (littluns) and that between the ages 10-12 (biguns) (Cliffsnotes 1).
In the beginning, the boys try to create a culture similar to that which they had left behind. As a result, they choose a leader by the name of Ralph. Ralph under the counsel and support of Piggy attempts to develop rules for housing as well as sanitation. However, Ralph is challenged in the leadership role by his nemesis Jack who also wants to lead. Jack entices the other boys into less tasking chores such as hunting activities which the author uses to symbolize violence and evil (Cliffsnotes 1). In writing this novel, Golding aims to bring out the theme of contradictory human desires toward civilization as well as societal organizations.
Additionally, he depicts the greed for power that humans have like in the case where Jack overthrows Ralph. The theme of pressure between groupthink and individualism between logical and psychological reactions as well as between ethics and wickedness. The novel is so insightful and still very relevant in the contemporary society despite being a 1954 publication. The novel has had a significant influence on the shaping of civilization in the modern society as it acts as a guide.
Works Cited
“Lord of the Flies: Lord of the Flies Book Summary & Study Guide | Cliffs Notes.” Cliffs Notes Study Guides | Book Summaries, Test Preparation & Homework Help | Written by Teachers, 2017, www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/lord-of-the-flies/book-summary.