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Lord of the Flies

by William Golding, Edmund L. Epstein (Noted by)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 908,815 ratings · 13,810 reviews

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...more

Paperback, 208 pages

Published 2006 by Perigee / Penguin Group (USA) (first published 1954)

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Feb 13, 2008 Silvana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, dark-haunting

This book is horrifying. I'm scared like hell. Totally.
I was expecting an adventure book telling about some children who got stranded in an island, but ended up with goosebumps.

A bit of synopsis: A number of English school boys suffered from a plane accident causing them to get stranded in an uninhibited island. The period was maybe during the World War II. Trying to be civilized, they elected a leader for themselves as well started the division of tasks (hunters, fire-watchers, etc). Things tur...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Scribble Orca added it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-or-mature, psychology, teens-above-12, political, murder, literary

UPDATE: I was very saddened to read this Guardian article about Golding's manipulation of the classroom as a means to inform this work. Here is the dichotomy between contextual analysis and the reading of a book in isolation. It's of no consequence to anyone but me that my previous rating is reduced to no stars, but a writer searching for plot events or people on which to base characters has a moral obligation, particularly when dealing with children, not to indulge in the seductive siren call t...more

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Oct 25, 2008 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction

Lord of the Flies is one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. It was required high school reading and since then, I've read it four more times. It is as disturbing now as it was then. Using a group of innocent schoolboys stranded on an island, the author very realistically portrays human behavior in an environment where civilization no longer has meaning.

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Sep 28, 2007 Nora rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those who don't need a plot or characterization to enjoy a book.

I read this book a long time ago, long enough to where I barely remembered anything past the basic premise. So I picked it up again, only to wish I hadn't. There's a reason why they teach this book in middle school--in order to enjoy this book, one's intellectual cognizance must be that of a child, because otherwise you'll spend the entire time picking out everything that's wrong with the book. And there's a lot to pick out.

From what little of the story that is actually coherent, I can see why t...more I read this book a long time ago, long enough to where I barely remembered anything past the basic premise. So I picked it up again, only to wish I hadn't. There's a reason why they teach this book in middle school--in order to enjoy this book, one's intellectual cognizance must be that of a child, because otherwise you'll spend the entire time picking out everything that's wrong with the book. And there's a lot to pick out.

From what little of the story that is actually coherent, I can see why this book has had a lasting effect on social commentary since it's initial publishing. The overlying illustration of how easily man can devolve back to his feral instincts is striking, yet could have been infinitesimally more effective in the hands of a decent writer.

See, I would have cared a bit more about the little island society of prepubescent boys and their descent into barbarism if you know, any of the characters had been developed AT ALL. Instead, we're thrown interchangeable names of interchangeable boys who are only developed enough to conform to the basic archetypes Golding requires to hobble his little story along: The Leader, The Rebel, The Fat-Kid, The Nose-Picker, etc. Were he born in this time, I believe Golding would have done brilliantly as a scriptwriter for reality TV.

And the plot? There's a plot? I'm guessing so, since things seem to happen, but it's kind of hard to tell since he spends pages describing irrelevant events that are never incorporated, characters that possibly exist yet probably don't, and using words that don't mean what he thinks they mean. And as the main characters are a bunch of kids not worth caring about, thus goes the way of the story.

And the prose? Dear God, the prose! Get it away! It burns us!

So yeah, this book sucked. It had potential. There were even a few parts I internally squealed at in hopeful anticipation. But whatever potential it did have was hopelessly squandered by a man who wrote like he'd never written anything before in his life. Don't waste your time.(less)

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Aug 27, 2008 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was tempted to give this five stars, since in so many ways it strikes me as the kind of masterpiece, like Heart of Darkness, that I imagine will retain its horror and readability for centuries. The prose veers (or as Golding would say it, "tends") from plain to painterly. The story is well known: a sort of allegorical morality play set in modern times -- fancy English boys left to their own devices don't so much as revert to darkness as discover primitive outlets for the darkness reflected in...more I was tempted to give this five stars, since in so many ways it strikes me as the kind of masterpiece, like Heart of Darkness, that I imagine will retain its horror and readability for centuries. The prose veers (or as Golding would say it, "tends") from plain to painterly. The story is well known: a sort of allegorical morality play set in modern times -- fancy English boys left to their own devices don't so much as revert to darkness as discover primitive outlets for the darkness reflected in their greater society. This is what I love about Heart of Darkness: try as one might, Kurtz cannot be pigeonholed into good or evil. He is excellent at what he does, and what he does is evil. Kurtz is a true reflection of what excellence was to Colonial Europe, and in so far as Colonial Europe was good, cultivated, honorable, and esteemed, so is Kurtz. Kurtz isn't good or evil; he is true.

Golding's version is darker. It centers mostly around the corrupting power of urges to overwhelm social order. Freudian criticism abounds, but the parallel I kept coming back to was Rome. I found that Piggy, no matter how truly annoying he is (another brilliant stroke by Golding is to make Piggy strangely unsympathetic), recalled those numerous Republicans of the Early Empire who advocated in a shrill but useless manner for a return to Senate rule but were shunted aside and usually killed by deranged sociopaths who behaved quite like like Jack. But be it Freudian or historic, any framing of this book feels cheap and hollow because the story has such a complexity of primal urges that it feels almost biological.

Golding said he came up with the idea of book after reading his children "Treasure Island or Coral Island or some such Island" in the years of the hydrogen bomb and Stalin and asked his wife, "why don't I write a children's story about how people really are, about how people actually behave?" To me that's a chilling question and it reveals an architecture not based on rigid Freudian or historical or symbolic parallels. Its portrait of sadism could have been lifted out of the newspapers; its struggle for dominion over the weak is an almost sexual frenzy recalls everything I know about torture in the dungeons of Argentine or US military prisons. In this respect, I think the book, like Heart of Darkness, is timeless.

But I chose not to give it five stars because at the center of Golding's book is a kind of rigid Christian iconography, like that you find in the Poisonwood Bible, that offends me, perhaps because it reminds me of the way I wrote my Freshman year of college, or perhaps because that rigidity, that allegiance to a=b symbolic logic insults my intelligence. The martyrdom of Simon, I felt, demeaned the human quality of Simon. I liked him best because he struck me as the most shrewd and practical. Reducing him to an icon transforms him into a variable: Simon = Paul or Peter or whomever, but ergo facto Simon ≠ Simon. When he comes down to the beach mutting "something about a body on a hill" Simon ceases to be a reflection of human complexity, or biological completeness, and instead becomes a rehashed precedent from Sunday school.

I've often felt that Heart of Darkness' genius was that it somehow reflected the effect of Darwin and modern thinking on the antiquated ideas of Colonial Europe, ie Kurtz isn't good or evil because good and evil are artifices that wilt beneath analysis. When Golding adheres to this materialist perspective, the book is masterly. When he swears allegiance to worn out Christian parables, that complexity is reduced to slips of paper.(less)

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Abram Martinez Great review. I can see how you chose to give it 4 instead of 5 because of the religious iconography, but I'm glad you clearly stated it as an opinion...more
Jan 06, 2013 11:10pm

Richard Sometimes a trope is just a trope. But I do agree that Simon became more than just another boy with a child's idea of how people worked. When he sudde...more
Feb 13, 2013 12:20am

Andrew I don't know. The Lord of the Flies is Beelzebub after all. Golding goes a long way towards identifying "the Beast ... latent in all the castaways" as...more
Feb 26, 2013 01:08pm

May 10, 2008 Yulia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: criminal-intent

I was Piggy (well, in personality at least, though not in portliness). I hated everyone who picked on him. I still do. Should people be forgiven for what they do on a deserted island? That depends on whether you think their true nature has revealed itself, or their humanity has been corrupted by circumstance and stress. In a world where almost every human trait is now considered a product of both nature and nurture, would Golding have written his tale differently today? No, I don't believe so. H...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Tanu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, all-time-favorite

Rating: 3.5

A group of British boys get stranded on an island after their plane crashes. At first, the kids revel in their freedom, and lack of an authority figure. But slowly, these well educated kids turn into savages, and give way to their natural animalistic side. The political and biblical undertones of this novel are very interesting. So is symbolism of the conch shell and lord of the flies. It has a deeper meaning than what meets the eye.

I think the characters, and their development thro...more Rating: 3.5

A group of British boys get stranded on an island after their plane crashes. At first, the kids revel in their freedom, and lack of an authority figure. But slowly, these well educated kids turn into savages, and give way to their natural animalistic side. The political and biblical undertones of this novel are very interesting. So is symbolism of the conch shell and lord of the flies. It has a deeper meaning than what meets the eye.

I think the characters, and their development through out the novel, makes the book what it is. We have a reasonable and calm Ralph, a violent and impulsive Jack, the overweight and intelligent Piggy and the spiritual Simon. No villain or heroes in this novel; we only have perfectly civilized pre-adolescents, who in the lack of an authority figure and a society, react, in different ways. Golding’s portrays Ralph as someone not completely immune to violence, has self doubt and is uncertain about the presence of the "beast". He makes mistakes, is a bit vain, and very very real.Similarly all the other characters too have a lot of depth. Their actions (though horrific) don’t seem so incredulous. They add the real charm to the book and keeps it from being unrealistic.

Now coming to the things that I didn’t like. First would be the abruptness of the ending. Feels like, Golding suddenly had something very important to do, and wrapped up this incredible story, terribly hastily. I as a reader feel cheated about it. We at least deserved a final confrontation between Ralph and Jack. You can’t make so much happen in the last 4 chapters and then end a book like this. Not fair at all!

Secondly, 200 something pages are not enough to have so much happening at the same time. I have come across several novels which have exasperated me with their length, unnecessary information and their detailed descriptions of the scenery. This would be the first novel which has made me crave for more pages (not in the good way, in the necessary way). Golding may not have made it LOTR long, but a minimum of 500 pages is required to do full justice to a topic like this.

Finally, my recommendation would be to read this novel at your own risk. I can understand how many people wouldn’t like it a bit, so I am not taking any responsibility. As for my opinion, I thought that this book offers a very authentic, disturbing and convincing portrayal of man’s descent to savagery and his inherent lust for violence.
(less)

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Apr 19, 2012 Zaki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What happens when a group of school boys get marooned on a desert island following a plane crash?

They've got no adult authority.

They all descend into savagery.

Golding highlights our edgy similarity to the spirit of wild beasts.

This is replete with biblical motifs.

15 likes · like · see review

Apr 30, 2013 Cecily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: miscellaneous-fiction

A hard book to rate as although its well written and is very thought provoking, the content gets unpleasantly graphic and some aspects are awkwardly dated (eg the assumption the British boys should be jolly good chaps - “we’re not savages, we’re English”).

PLOT
It starts off as a conventional adventure: a mixed group of boys (some know each other; many who don’t) survive a plane crash on a desert island and struggle to survive. It is somewhat confused and confusing at first – perhaps to make the r...more

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Mar 07, 2008 Mk rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Mk by: required high school reading

I hated this book. First off, as I remember, it talks about humans failure to govern ourselves, or more broadly the failures of human nature. There are a few reasons why I think simply dropping a group of kids on a desert island does not in fact prove anything.

1) These kids were raised in a capitalist, nominally demcratic society. The first thing they do is appoint leaders. As someone who spends my time working in consensus based groups seeking to challenge hierarchical structures, I have a stro...more

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Mar 08, 2009 Josephine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Luna Lovegood and people who can connect with her

Shelves: male-protagonist

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 02, 2011 Riku Sayuj rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This tends to me among the top five books I recommend to anyone who cares to ask

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Apr 15, 2013 [P] rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This programme contains dramatic reenactments and material that may be disturbing to some audience members.

Ah, these words, spoken in a robotic monotone American accent, are more likely to excite me than any others right now, because they are intoned prior to the commencement of this tv show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGIDTo...

I Shouldn’t Be Alive is perhaps, on oh so many levels, the most aptly named programme ever to make it onto tv. I think its run has ended now and that no new episodes...more This programme contains dramatic reenactments and material that may be disturbing to some audience members.

Ah, these words, spoken in a robotic monotone American accent, are more likely to excite me than any others right now, because they are intoned prior to the commencement of this tv show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGIDTo...

I Shouldn’t Be Alive is perhaps, on oh so many levels, the most aptly named programme ever to make it onto tv. I think its run has ended now and that no new episodes are being made, so you may have missed it. Each episode is a mix of interviews and dramatisations of the stories told during the interviews. These stories are apparently true yet almost unbelievable accounts of survival. I’m pretty obsessed with the show, for numerous reasons. I like that each episode is in some way an exploration of man’s desire to conquer the natural world, how he treats it like a foe, and how each proves, without exception, just how magnificently disinterested the natural world is in man’s desire to conquer it; in every episode the mountain, the ocean, the desert, etc, rolls its eyes and wipes the floor with each hapless adventurer. I love that. The insanity of man! The will to power! I also love how the programme shows how insignificant we really are and, more importantly, more hilariously, how masochistic; the stars of each episode all deliberately put themselves in danger and through extreme pain, they, in fact, exacerbate this danger and pain by making stunningly reckless decisions. Some of my favourites include the insufferably middle-class English guy who gets lost in a jungle and, malarial, half starved and dangerously dehydrated, decides to eat the mutt [I wasn’t happy about this] that has befriended him, only to find that he can’t keep it down [you couldn’t drink juice without throwing it back up, but you reckon you can keep down a dog? Great thinking, Batman]; then there are the two women who, although neither is an expert, decide, rather than turn back when they hit a dead-end, to try and free-climb a 600ft high sheer cliff and end up trapped on a small ledge during a rainstorm for about a week. All of them are brilliant. However, something has been niggling at me, as I have worked my way through each series. Being an almost relentless pessimist, for my money, there hasn’t been quite enough evidence of, or confirmation of, my belief that given opportunity humanity will succumb to their basest impulses or that, at the very least, the moral code by which one would live in ideal or ordinary circumstances would be cast to the wind. In fact, almost the opposite has been the case; what has characterized many of the episodes that feature more than a single person is the desire to help each other, to console or look after each other; the worst you could say about these groups is that some members let their egos get the better of them and that they have threatened to sacrifice either everyone else or themselves for the sake of that. I guess the reason for this is that there is no power to exert, no control to take [most often no rations, no water, not even any land], that each person is united, as they, say, bob along in the middle of the ocean, by their powerlessness. Praise be, then, for Lord of the Flies! The cynical, coal-hearted, misanthropes may rejoice as civilisation breaks down and man’s Calibanity takes over! (less)

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Aug 04, 2011 Angus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-and-blogged, all-time-100-novels, modern-library-100, radcliffes-rival-100, nobel-laureates, 5-stars

Original post at Book Rhapsody.

***

Intro

This is the book that me and my friend call “The Book That Cannot Be Named.” It is currently in my Top Ten Books of All Time, although it is now standing on shaky grounds because my current read is impressing me big time.

Anyway, why is it that we gave it that name? A better book title? No. It’s for the simple reason that my friend hates it to the bone. He can’t believe that I love this book. He thinks it’s an utter waste of time, lacking any literary aspira...more

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Apr 10, 2009 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: also-saw-the-movie

Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is about a large group of private school boys that end up stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Due to the war that is happening in reality at the time of the crash the boys wonder if this was a crash, or an attack. Either way, one thing becomes clear to them rather quickly. They are without any adult supervision which they find frightning and exciting all at once.

Though there are many different characters in this story, four main...more Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is about a large group of private school boys that end up stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Due to the war that is happening in reality at the time of the crash the boys wonder if this was a crash, or an attack. Either way, one thing becomes clear to them rather quickly. They are without any adult supervision which they find frightning and exciting all at once.

Though there are many different characters in this story, four main boys stood out for me. Ralph, the born leader, likable and well spoken. He was the most logical of the boys. Though at first he too was thrilled to be stranded without adults, he quickly put things in perspective and knew what had to be done to acclomplish their quick rescue, and that was to keep a fire burning for any in coming ships to see their smoke. Ralph, as elected leader, did not relish in his authority, but geniunely cared about the group of boys and had their best interest at heart.
Piggy had their best interests at heart as well. Another senisible boy, even more intelligent than Ralph. He was able to think quicker than Ralph. However Piggy lacked respect for his poor social skills and for his outward appearrence of a portly boy with specticles, "ass-mar", and an annoying habit of constant whinning. Though Piggy annoyed Ralph as well, Ralph was able to see the good qualities Piggy had as well and valued his opinion on just about everything, actually relied on it most of the time.
Jack, not exactly a born leader, except in his own eyes. Jack felt he should have been elected the leader and when he wasn't he announced he was in charge of hunting for meat. In this new role he had given himself, he put the boys at risk for making hunting the top priority instead of getting rescued. This was one of the first events that would put the boys against each other.
Simon was the most innocent of the boys. A sensitive boy who cared about their safety and unification. A boy with alot to say, but unfortionatly had an awful time speaking to the group because of his shyness. An event that takes place between the other boys and Simon signifies the true loss of innocense and humanity amoung most of the boys.
I thought this was a great book, though very sad and terrifing at times. Being a mother I couldn't help thinking about how these boys parents felt about their missing sons. Ironically Golding did not have these boys pinning for their parents, but had most of them(with the exception of Ralph and Piggy)adjusting to the island as though they were never to be rescued and converting back to uncivilized savages in a matter of weeks.
I wonder if the characters were girls, how different the story would have been. I personally would like to think we would have remained more civilized. On second thought, as viscous as young girls can be, the number of casualities would probably have been doubled.(less)

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Mar 25, 2008 Karson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just read this book actually. Didn't read it in school growing up. I must have skipped over it or something. I was drawn in very fast by the exciting premise. Kids on an island! No adults! Kind of like that movie Camp Nowhere except more morbid. I was carried through the book quickly until somewhere in the middle I began to lose steam, but then i was drawn back in towards the end of the book by the profundity of the statement Golding was trying to make. I was trying to figure it out. It asks the...more

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Jun 01, 2007 Gothadh rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I absolutely hated this book. That's my over-riding memory of it I'm afraid. I had to read it in secondary school when I was about 12 and I never remember disliking a book so much which was surprising as I was a voracious reader.

I just remember having absolutely nothing in common with the characters - a group of English upper / middle class school boys whereas I was a Scottish working class girl. I just could not relate to the story at all and just wished they would all kill each other as soon a...more

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Aug 02, 2007 David rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: cynical, pessimistic people, and students in English boarding schools

I just don't buy it.

This book is famous for unmasking what brutes we are, just under the surface, but, well, for all the hype, it just isn't convincing. People--even teenage boys--just aren't as savage as Golding seems to want us to believe, and nothing in this book persuades me otherwise.

Perhaps if I'd gone to English boarding school I'd feel differently--but then that's the real irony of this book, that the brutality from which the British Empire was supposed to save so many people and culture...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Joshua Nomen-Mutatio rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: from-ages-past, fiction

BOYS WILL BE BOYS THERE'S A PIG'S HEAD.

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Jan 26, 2012 Henry Avila rated it 4 of 5 stars

A British airplane crashes on a deserted South Sea's island, in the middle of an atomic war.All the grownups are killed and only children 12 and younger survive.How are they to cope? (Basically an allegorical story of what is human nature , good or evil ?)Ralph is chosen leader,"Piggy", the intellectual sidekick.This beautiful tropical coral isle ,with a lagoon,palm trees and plenty of bananas and other fruit.Wild pigs in the forest,fish in the ocean, so no worries,right?Wrong!Ralph has a rescue...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-literature, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die

I remain convinced to this day that The Lord of the Flies as a controversial classic is one of those books that depends upon how you read it. I think that at the surface it appears to be a text which is simple and a little dull. When I read it back in 2007 or so I found it incredibly dull. The richness and life I saw in other classics were not apparent. However now that I think back and reflect upon this novel I see it as a grand story, one that extends beyond whatever the perversities of the au...more
I remain convinced to this day that The Lord of the Flies as a controversial classic is one of those books that depends upon how you read it. I think that at the surface it appears to be a text which is simple and a little dull. When I read it back in 2007 or so I found it incredibly dull. The richness and life I saw in other classics were not apparent. However now that I think back and reflect upon this novel I see it as a grand story, one that extends beyond whatever the perversities of the author may have been.

On the surface it could be read as a simple moralistic tale - a portrayal of what happens when you take people away from society. However I view the book differently. I don't think of it as a portrayal of what happens when individuals are separated from society. I think it is a portrayal of what exists deep down within societies and the propensity towards evil. My particular world view sees the world is both simple and complex (a mix of wonder and logic if you will). People are both good and evil mixed together, by which I mean people are, in my view, as capable of good as they are of evil (at least our human vision of good and evil). To sum down humanity into science, chemicals and hormones is something I disagree with and I'm certain many scientific theories exist about whether such things like Lord of the Flies could ever happen. I have no doubt that they could because the mind is such a complex device, a mortal engine that with the right conditioning could snap. I believe however that people don't want to think about it and don't want to reflect on what perhaps they could be capable of.

My favourite way to read and think about Lord of the Flies is as allegory. The boys representing 'sinful' man, that particular mixture of good and evil (which I perceive as more subtle than we realise - if we were to look at the world from a more eternal perspective would it not be a simple 'evil' even to ignore the homeless person asking for food? Perhaps we commit a lot more evil than we realise, even if it is out of ignorance.) And the ending of the book of course in a Christian sense represents the return of true order.

Lord of the Flies is an impossible book to rate from the point of view of enjoyment. There is simply little within it to enjoy. There is however hidden depth and meaning that create a dilemma for the reviewer. Despite me being unable to like the plot I can appreciate the brilliance of how Golding explores the reality of the darkness of men's hearts. And how he subtly alludes to the Christ story through his dark themes reveals his incredible insight. Therefore despite finding the tale itself gruesome I must give this novel five stars for its ability to unnerve and evoke questions of what is the true darkness behind men. Are we really all simply captives of the Lord of the Flies awaiting a saving sailor? (less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Rita rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

William Golding, Prémio Nobel da Literatura em 1983, escreveu a sua primeira obra em 1954, “O Deus das Moscas”, que se tornou desde o primeiro momento um sucesso e que ainda nos dias de correm é uma das suas obras mais aclamadas.

Tendo em consideração todas as opiniões que tinha acompanhado sobre esta obra, que inclusive me levaram a adquirir a mesma, foi com grande expectativa e curiosidade que iniciei esta leitura.

Com a Inglaterra a enfrentar uma guerra nuclear são enviadas várias pessoas de a...more William Golding, Prémio Nobel da Literatura em 1983, escreveu a sua primeira obra em 1954, “O Deus das Moscas”, que se tornou desde o primeiro momento um sucesso e que ainda nos dias de correm é uma das suas obras mais aclamadas.

Tendo em consideração todas as opiniões que tinha acompanhado sobre esta obra, que inclusive me levaram a adquirir a mesma, foi com grande expectativa e curiosidade que iniciei esta leitura.

Com a Inglaterra a enfrentar uma guerra nuclear são enviadas várias pessoas de avião para outro local, de modo a conseguir escapar ao flagelo, contudo o pior acontece e o avião onde viajam despenha-se e os únicos sobreviventes são várias crianças, tendo as mais velhas 12 anos. Inicialmente tudo corre como esperado. Um grupo de crianças, sem a protecção parental, que usufruem da sua liberdade, elegendo um chefe que, com a ajuda de um rapaz diferente, mas muito inteligente, tenta chamar à razão o grupo e tomar decisões para a sustentabilidade do mesmo. Contudo um dos elementos do grupo deseja igualmente ter esse cargo de poder, o que leva a desentendimentos e mais tarde a que se formem dois grupos distintos.

Confesso que inicialmente me custou um pouco embrenhar na história, por ser retratada por pré-adolescentes e alguns mesmo crianças, que se expressavam e agiam como crianças que eram. Contudo, à medida que fui avançado na história fiquei rendida por todas as mensagens patentes na obra.

É uma obra em certa medida arrepiante e até assustadora, por utilizar como personagens crianças. A imagem que temos das crianças e aquilo que desejamos sempre que elas tenham é alegria, conforto e essencialmente segurança. Nesta ilha estes meninos vêem-se confrontados com uma realidade extrema, de medo e desespero, que os leva a tomarem decisões que poderão para sempre redefinir o que são e atormenta-los para sempre.

Demonstra essencialmente o que é viver em sociedade, o que se tem de dar e ceder para que a relação seja positiva e sustentável. É visível também que quando nos encontramos num ambiente diferente, a linha entre a inocência e as trevas é muito ténue. Neste caso específico, estas crianças, que ainda não tinham a sua personalidade definida, vêem-se num local desconhecido e hostil, que as atemoriza e sem terem uma figura parental que os guie, o que as leva a terem de sobreviver por si mesmas.

Esta obra fez-me reflectir até que ponto um acto por muito horrível que seja aos olhos da sociedade, não é justificável quando a pessoa que o comete se encontra inserida num ambiente desconhecido, onde o medo e o desespero são uma realidade.

Uma grande obra literária, que todos deveriam ler em alguma altura da sua vida. Fez-me reflectir bastante sobre os mais variados temas, misturando duas áreas que me são especiais, a psicologia e a sociologia. Sem dúvida, que aconselho e recomendo a sua leitura.

(http://magia-livros.blogspot.pt/2012/...)(less)

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May 08, 2008 Verónica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Simply, it is such an excellent and influential novel of adventure with a story that is incredibly interesting and entertaining, which is also dramatic and emotional. It takes place in a very unusual setting and explains and shows what we can become if we do not have respect, rules and order which could cause deadly and irreversible chaos.
The author, William Golding, describes the novel in a deep and detailed manner not wanting to leave out any insignificant detail; so it makes the story more r...more Simply, it is such an excellent and influential novel of adventure with a story that is incredibly interesting and entertaining, which is also dramatic and emotional. It takes place in a very unusual setting and explains and shows what we can become if we do not have respect, rules and order which could cause deadly and irreversible chaos.
The author, William Golding, describes the novel in a deep and detailed manner not wanting to leave out any insignificant detail; so it makes the story more real and authentic. His writing style is simple but the thematic matter is deep. Golding does a good job showing the emotional states and fully developed personalities of each character throughout the story and he makes the story come alive with significant use of symbolism in the characters and in simple objects. Also he describes each of the points of the island as well as the cruelest moments. For this reason the way he describes things are amazing, genuine and powerful.
During the middle of World War II, a plane crashes on an unknown island, abandoning a group of British schoolboys. The boys are all young, the oldest ones are not more than twelve years, and the island is apparently peaceful and beautiful. At first, there are no adults there; so their freedom and independence is something they celebrate and enjoy. This far from civilization they can do anything they want without being scolded and punished.
But as order collapses and terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far removed from reality as the hope of being rescued.
It is a story that definitely makes you think about society, the integrity of people and reveals the evil and cruel component of humanity. It reveals how we can become at times if we do not control ourselves or our impulses, whether or not we are the person who imposes order and how it can change or transform us into something dangerous, frightening and unknown, which makes us do things we never dared or imagined.
It is a great book, entertaining, exciting and easy to read. I greatly enjoyed this book and I liked the story because it is thrilling and fast-moving; how it shows the kids on an unknown island and the things they do and dared to do in order to survive and be rescued. Each chapter has something exciting and interesting; and the more I read it, the more I got into it. For this reason, I would definitely recommend it.

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Jan 27, 2013 Jannatul rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, love-hate-relationship, young-adult, horror-thriller-mystery, what-the-fish-surprised-me, classics, psychological, realistic-fiction

NOT TO BE READ FOR THE FAINT OF THE HEART!!!
( I say this because this book is completely messed up.)
Characters:

Raplh: He is a handsome boy with the need to keep everything in order. The most important thing to him is fire and the possibility of being rescued. (view spoiler) He is what mostly keeps most of the boys from losing order and turning into inhumane creatures. Later, even he can't seem to control them.

description

Simon:...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Carol rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Inicialmente dei apenas 4 estrelinhas, mas após refletir verdadeiramente no seu significado e na mensagem que nos transmite, optei por atribuir 5 estrelas! :)

Achei "O Deus das Moscas" um livro deveras impressionante: tem como cenário uma ilha deserta, onde se despenhou um avião que transportava crianças na tentativa de as dispensar dos horrores da guerra, mas, em vez disso, atirando-as para os horrores da luta pela sobrevivência...

No início tudo corre bem: pode-se dizer que os rapazes eram feliz...more

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Nov 06, 2008 Marka added it · review of another edition

I HATE THIS BOOK!!!

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May 03, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've got the conch now, so listen up!

In Lord of the Flies Golding deconstructed civilization, wiping it out and showing us our world in chaos. It's not pretty. Man without governance is apt to slide into savagery. At first the castaway children on this deserted isle set up rules and leadership, but law and order is overwhelmed when the majority discover there is no immediate consequence if they give in to their wants and desires. In the place of civility, a brutal world is born in which might is...more

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Feb 10, 2010 K.D. Oliveros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jillian Joy

Recommended to K.D. by: 501 Must Read Books and 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Shelves: 1001-core, dystopian

This book is one of those that I regret not reading earlier in my life. There are just too many lessons that one can learn and apply at various stages of one's life. Wikipedia says that there have been two movie adaptations of this classic novel originally published in 1954: the first one in 1963 and the other one in 1990. However, they did not count its Tagalog movie adaptation in 1976 entitled Alkitrang Dugo directed by Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara starring, among others, the young Roderick Paula...more This book is one of those that I regret not reading earlier in my life. There are just too many lessons that one can learn and apply at various stages of one's life. Wikipedia says that there have been two movie adaptations of this classic novel originally published in 1954: the first one in 1963 and the other one in 1990. However, they did not count its Tagalog movie adaptation in 1976 entitled Alkitrang Dugo directed by Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara starring, among others, the young Roderick Paulate as Andy. That is the version that I tried remembering while reading the book.

When I watched the re-run of that movie in Channel 5 during my college days, I took it as fantasy-thriller. I did not pay attention to the strong message that the novel tried to impart. I only remember the chant: "Patayin ang halimaw! Gilitan ng leeg! Padaluying ang dugo! Dugong alkitran!" which was based on the actual chant in the book as Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!. The tagalog sound kept buzzing in my mind while I was trying to understand the Krebs Cycle during my second year in college.

Now that I am a father, I take the novel more on the perspective of somebody who could have told the children what to do in the island. It is so depressing to read about the "littuns" who at the tender age of around 6 were left by themselves playing and trying to survive together with the "bigguns" who were still children themselves. The story did not tell us what happened: were they in their way to attend a Boy Scout Jamboree from England to Australia so when their plane crashed all the grownups perished and they ended up in one of the islands in Micronesia? However, it is a fiction and you don't need to question all the events rationally for you not to enjoy a work of art as brilliant as this novel. One would just have to sit back and be mesmerized by a tragic yet provocative, vivid and enthralling novel only somebody like William Golding can write. With this novel, his first but his most famous, I can say that he truly deserves his Nobel prize for Literature that he won in 1983.

This is also a good story for leadership lesson. Ralph could have saved his position as a chief had he not let Jack make a separate sub-group, i.e., the hunters. He should have made sure that Jack reports to him every step of the way. He should have been more sensitive to his subordinates so he could have seen the futility of keeping the fire that made the children so tired and disappointed. However, again, they were just but children and they needed to have grownups to tell them what to do.(less)

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Aug 04, 2010 Jason Pettus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called "classics," then write reports on whether or not they deserve the label

Essay #46: Lord of the Flies (1954), by William Golding

The story in a nutshell:
First published in the beginning years of Mid-Century Modernism but not a bestseller u...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction, 2x-read, read-in-2012

Well, this is my 2nd reading and I'm sorry to say, it's not getting any better. I made a pact w/ my sons that I would read anything and everything with them that they read for school. And for the most part, I am thrilled to keep my word. Unfortunately, there are a few exceptions....and this is one of them. I seriously wonder if it's because I'm reading from the point of view of a "mom" and I just want to shake these kids and how badly they behave. I understand what the author is saying about soc...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Lord of the Flies	12	55	May 18, 2013 11:10pm
Ralph's forgetfulness?	2	24	May 18, 2013 08:32pm
Do you that children are really capable of such evil?	148	728	May 17, 2013 07:31am
This book was GREAT?	52	440	May 16, 2013 04:47pm
Alternate ending(s)	7	146	May 16, 2013 04:46pm
Would it happen today?	11	129	May 16, 2013 04:43pm

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About William Golding

Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, and playwright best known for his 1954 novel Lord of the Flies. He was awarded the Booker Prize for literature in 1980 for his novel Rites of Passage, the first book of the trilogy To the Ends of the Earth. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983 and was knighted by the Queen of England in 1988.

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Rites of Passage (To the Ends of the Earth, #1)

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