Book Review: Lord of the Flies

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a tale of misfortune, adventure, and tragedy. It is the story of a group of boys, stranded on an island after a plane transporting them crashes there. At the beginning, they maintain organization. However, as time drags by, they become less and less civilized, and descend continually into savages. By the end of the book, this descent is complete, with three boys dead and a hunt underway for the one boy who clings to the hope of rescue. William Golding lived during World War II, serving in the Royal Navy. His experiences no doubt weigh heavily on his writing. The symbolism in Lord of the Flies is like Golding's commentary on the human state; we are utterly and hopelessly evil.

The most obvious symbolism in this book is man's inevitable baseness, and inability to do good. The story opens with two boys, Ralph and Piggy, who blow on a shiny white shell called a conch, to call the other surviving boys to an assembly. At this first assembly, the boys elect a leader from the two most obvious choices; Ralph, the one who called them together, and Jack, the leader of a boy's choir. Ralph is chosen, and gives jack and his choir the duty of hunting for food, in order to appease jack (who was very disappointed at not being elected leader). Ralph then works toward establishing some order, and is backed up by Jack.

"We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything."

This quote serves as a measure of "civility" that was present at the beginning of the book. However, as time goes on...

"Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law."

As the decent into savagery continues, it is obvious that "the old life" is having continually less and less of an influence on their actions, only holding them back in certain instances...

"Surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea."

This is the aftermath of a scene towards the end of the book, in which one poor boy is caught up in the middle of what has become a ritualistic pig-slaughtering dance performed by the hunters. In the book, each time this dance is performed, it gets more and more out of hand. In this chapter, it reaches its climax, with the hunters killing the boy caught in the center of the dance as if he was a pig. Finally, in the climactic scene of the book, Ralph, the last surviving member of the group who had held on to the hope of rescue has been hunted, flushed from his hiding place, and is in the process of being run down by the tribe of savages. Fire has spread all over the island, uncontrollable. Finally, at the last second, Ralph trips, and when he looks up, a naval officer is standing there. After explaining things, the book ends on a somber note, summing up Golding's view of man's state of affairs.

Tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body… …Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend piggy.

Golding’s writing is rampant with such symbolism as this, however, for a book with such mature content, it's not a very tedious read. It is easy to understand, well organized, and captures the readers interest from the very beginning. Golding also is bold enough to make a statement, that readers may or may not agree with, concerning man's moral state of affairs. Overall, this was an intriguing book, and an excellent commentary on the sad affair of man's inherit evilness.