Classics: Lord of the Flies

Bibliographic Data

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.

Summary

A group of English boys find themselves stranded on a deserted island when their plane crashes. They decide they need to have rules with which to live by to be civilized, just like adults would do. However, the rules and civilized manner with which they had planned to live by quickly falls away as they splinter into two groups. What follows is their adventure as they try to stay alive while waiting to be rescued.

Critical Analysis

Lord of the Flies is a classic piece of fiction that can be used as a cautionary tale for civilization versus chaos. Because there is no date given to the story, just a mention that a war was breaking out, the story could take place any time as a different take on what could happen if civilization were to start over (even if that civilization is a group of kids stranded on an island). Many current books have been published with a dystopian background (The Hunger Games, Maze Runner) which makes this story feel more modern.

One weakness is the language used could confuse younger readers. The characters use British slang, and some of the terms used could confuse readers that aren’t good at making inferences. Because of the way the characters speak and the words that are used, this would be better suited for high school students who have had more practice inferring and working their way through difficult conversations or passages.

This book would be a great start for classrooms to discuss government, its place in our society, and the pitfalls of having a government, and not having any government at all. Those interested in dystopian stories, as well as those that are interested in survival stories would enjoy this take on what could happen if you were stranded on a deserted island.

Creative Activity

While on the island, they use Piggy’s glasses in order to start their fires. They don’t ever try a different method, even after one of his lenses breaks. One activity that could be done in science class is students could research different ways to start a fire in the wilderness. They could then use the information they have about what they boys had at their disposal to see if it would have been possible for those boys to create fire without his glasses. Students could even try to make fire using those methods.

In social studies or history class, students could have a discussion about the different types of government and how they relate to the different groups that were formed on the island. They could create a venn diagram comparing the different types of “government” on the island and discuss which one they view is the best for long term success.

Related Resources

Beautiful Darkness is a take on a fairy tale in graphic novel form. The characters are thrown into a wild forest and are left to fend for themselves. Similarly to Ralph, the main character Aurora struggles to keep morality and order together while they figure out how to live in this new land.

Vehlmann, Fabien, Kerascoet, Marie Pommepuy, and Helge Dascher. Beautiful Darkness. Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly, 2014. Print.

You could visit William Golding’s website to learn more about him, the books he has written, along with a timeline of his life and more information about his books.

William Golding. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2016. < http://www.william-golding.co.uk/ >

Published Review

“LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding. Kirkus Reviews.” Kirkus Reviews. N.p., 2 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 June 2016.