Golding, William - Lord of the Flies - Informal Buddy Read; Start: January 27, 2015

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This topic is open for discussion of Lord of the Flies by William Golding




Book Synopsis
William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first, it seems as though it's all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious & life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic & death. As ordinary standards of behavior collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket & homework & adventure stories—& another world is revealed beneath, primitive & terrible. Lord of the Flies remains as provocative today as when it was 1st published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought & literature. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies has established itself as a classic.

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Tonya]

I have finished the first two chapters. I keep picturing Lost, with little kids.

[Renee]

I have an old paperback of this. I don't even remember where it came from. Mine is the Educational Edition, boring cover . I've thought I should read this, so I might join in. I have a few other books going, so I'll take my time.

@ Shinjini - I had always avoided Stephen King books, because I didn't like horror. I read recently and really enjoyed it - not scary, more time travel. My intro is by Ian Gregor and Mark Kinkead-Weekes of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Kent at Canterbury. ( I think that sounds scarier than Stephen King....)

[Renee]

Shinjini wrote: "I'm going to have to take this one slow as well, Renee. I am a bit of a scaredy cat and don't usually venture into the genre. 11/22/63 is probably the only Stephen King book in my TBR.

Does your c..."

Mine does have additional notes at the end.

[Dani]

Oh man. I must have been 11 or 12 the last time I read this book. I'm finishing a book today, and if I can get this one from the library, I will try to join yall this weekend

[Renee]

@ Tonya - I've only seem the first season of lost and read the first chapter of this. I see the similarity.

[Dani]

Renee wrote: "@ Tonya - I've only seem the first season of lost and read the first chapter of this. I see the similarity."

Oooh I have to agree on this. Coincidentally, I'm watching LOST right now on Netflix. Just finished season 1. I guess that's part of why I jumped on this BR. :)

[Tonya]

I finished, I loved it. Seriously kept thinking of Lost, now I want to go back and watch again. Delightfully creepy, well maybe delightful Isn't the best choice. Disturbingly creepy. Looking forward to hearing others thoughts!

[Renee]

I've finished the first three chapters.
I feel a bit sorry for Piggy, he tries so hard to stand up for himself, but just can't get any respect.

[Renee]

Just finished chapter 5.
(view spoiler)[ I wonder if there really is a beast that crawls out of the sea. I'm impressed by how responsible some of the kids are, but it's quickly turning to chaos. Rules only work if there's some way to enforce them. (hide spoiler)]

[Lesley]

This is a book that was required for my English class back in 9th grade and I remember really struggling through it. But then again, I had a problem reading ALL of the books throughout high school as being told I HAVE to read a book sucks everything out of it for me.

I keep telling myself that I should try to read all of those books, by my choice now that I'm an adult and see if I can get through them AND enjoy them, so I may try to get this one from the library and join in.

[RachelvlehcaR]

I just finished reading this.

I read this when I was in middle school. It was required reading for 7th grade. I only remember a few of the major parts in the book so I'm glad a revisited the book.

I read about some of the stuff William Golding said while interviewed for this book. I wasn't pleased about some of his comments, especially his view of male vs. female and who he found more superior. He he sure sounding like Lovecraft. :/

This book is just so sad.

[RachelvlehcaR]

Shinjini wrote: "I am creeping very slowly with this one. Horror is not my genre.

The Stephen King introduction in my book was nicely written. But if Stephen King was inspired by this book, I fear for my sanity af..."

Stephen King isn't scary at all. He really doesn't have much horror in his books. He is more of a fiction writer. His books focus more on character build up and setting. It isn't much horror at all, just some elements.

This book is more sad because of how people can lose themselves. What William Golding really wants to focus upon is how important it is to have rules and laws in place to help people in place or you get anarchy. These boys sure went wild, not all of them. It's pretty much how the elect keep the rest of the mob in control. ;)

[RachelvlehcaR]

Dani *~Glamrenel~* wrote: "Renee wrote: "@ Tonya - I've only seem the first season of lost and read the first chapter of this. I see the similarity."

Oooh I have to agree on this. Coincidentally, I'm watching LOST right no..."

Oh, now that is something. Watching Lost while reading this. :P

[RachelvlehcaR]

Renee wrote: "I've finished the first three chapters.
I feel a bit sorry for Piggy, he tries so hard to stand up for himself, but just can't get any respect."

While working on my MA in Human Development my focus was on urban adolescences. I focused more on the boys. My main reason is because I have a son and because the majority of the children I work with are boys.

I've read a great deal in the pecking order of boys and it is really harsh. I kept thinking about it when reading this book. For sure Piggy was targeted. Boys do this. One of them, normally a boy on the top of the pecking order will pick on a weaker boy. If this boy that is picked on shows it bothers him, he enforces the role. The other boys want to be higher on that pecking order so they pick on the boy as well. Some of them because they want to feel more powerful and show their status but the others are doing it because it keeps the heat off of themselves.

This is very clear with Piggy. The younger boys will pick on him to seem tougher and because they don't want to be picked on. Once Piggy is out of the picture they will soon find another target.

I just noticed a lot of this happening in the book.

[Jaclyn]

I just started this and right now I don't like the wording/dialogue. There are times when I don't know what they even mean. For example they are exploring and keep repeating "wacco" "like a bomb" "waaeee"?? What is the point of that? And Piggy doesn't speak in complete sentences which drives me a bit crazy. I wish I knew more about how they got to the island. They mentioned an atomic bomb, so I'm assuming it's during WWII? But they are all school boys, so where did they come from?