Lord of the Flies by William Golding review

[Sebastian]

While Lord of the Flies may have been a spectacle when it came out back in '54, in the eyes of my generation I would say this book is pretty dry. In a world of novels with gripping intense story-lines and colorful characters, blockbusters with gorgeous affects and fantastically written plots, I found that this book, in comparison to everything I've ever known, boring. My main frustration with the novel is it being a required reading. I found it incredibly frustrating being forced to read, memorize, and excruciatingly study a book that did not fascinate me or enrich my mind with any powerful themes. The theme, by the way, is the human impulse to resort to savagery vs. the rules of civilization that contain it. This theme is not touching to me, and I'd say not to many people. Civility has dominated humanity, the world in fact, for centuries. Not to mention, the story-line the book contains falls flat. All of the conflicts between Ralph and Jack, both of whom represent savagery vs. civility, boil into this final conflict, where Piggy is murdered by Jack's savage tribe and Ralph has to flee and fight for his life. These few pages were the only segment of the book I found interesting, but instead of the resolution being meaningful, the gripping tension and conflict grinds to a halt when Ralph stumbles upon a naval officer, and the boys simply stop fighting. I can understand why Lord of the Flies may be beloved by some, but everyone is different and personally I found this book lacking structure and a meaningful resolution to atone for all of the tragedies that ensued during the time Ralph and the other boys spent stranded on the island.