Lord of the Flies (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
by William Golding
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Book Summary Information
Author: William GoldingEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-10-01
ISBN: 0140283331
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Lord of the Flies (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
Book Review: Wasted on schoolkids
Summary: 4 Stars
William Golding's first novel has been read, most probably by most people, when they were at school as Lord of the Flies has long been a staple text of GCSE English classes. As a result many people read it at an age where they are filleting its pages for 'symbols' to be reprocessed in exam answers, and sniggering at innuendos such as blowing the conch.
All of which is a shame, as Lord of the Flies articulates a theme of the innate savage just under the surface of civilized man. A trope that has spawned a thousand imitators in films and books since, but Golding's novel was probably the first. Beginning as a deceptively simple fable about some well educated British schoolboys stranded on an island after a plane crash, the allegorical story traces their descent into frenzied barbarisim.
Golding himself was a schoolmaster for a number of years, and he knows exactly what boys are like. If they are not strictly regulated and controlled, chaos is the inevitable result.
Summary of Lord of the Flies (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
These deluxe editions are packaged with French flaps, acid-free paper, and rough front."This brilliant work is a frightening parody on man's return. . . to that state of darkness from which it took him thousands of years to emerge. . . Superbly written." --The New York Times
Other Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
My Antonia by Willa Cather
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
White Noise by Don DeLillo
William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition. --Jennifer Hubert
Golding, William Books
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