El libro es un gran clásico pero no me ha convencido. Me ha resultado bastante aburrido y lo único que se salva es que se desarrolla en una isla desierta y es de aventuras.

La trama es sencilla. Un grupo de niños queda varado en una isla deshabitada y necesitan descubrir cómo sobrevivir. En cambio, se desmoronan y se comportan violentamente por diferencias de prioridades y problemas de liderazgo.

El autor Golding nos ofrece una visión sombría de la humanidad. Entiendo que por mucho que esperemos que los humanos siempre se comporten de manera humana, nuestra especie muy a menudo no lo logra pero yo sigo creyendo que hay que intentarlo.

Es un gran clásico y me hizo pensar.  Pero al final, no estoy de acuerdo con la visión de Golding sobre la humanidad y tampoco me pareció entretenido.

 Pinchazo gordo, me esperaba otra cosa y me he encontrado con una mezcla de la serie Perdidos con Los Goonies de protagonistas.

Might be for some, was not for me

"We did everything adults would do. What went wrong?"

You did everything adults would do. That's what went wrong.

There is much to be said against this novel, and it has been said, eloquently, poignantly, many times. Let me make a case for keeping it on the curriculum despite the dated language, the graphic violence, the author's personality...

There are two myths about adolescents, and this novel does away with them in a - admittedly - drastic way. First of all, there is no general innocence in adolescents. They do what grown-ups do, but in a less mature and experienced way. That means they cheat, lie and steal, and use violence to achieve their goals, and they are vain and interested in dominating and manipulating others. But they are also caring, loving and resourceful, and willing to serve the community in which they participate.

The second myth regards the helplessness and general dependence of adolescents, which is also only true as long as they have grown-ups around. Leave adolescents alone, and they will organise themselves. The best example of what happens to a group of teenagers left alone is shown if a teacher in a (civilised) school in a (civilised) country leaves for just a couple of minutes.

If you have never experienced the amount of destructive power that is possible in that short time-span, you might think Golding exaggerates. Unfortunately, I can see any group of students turning into the characters in The Lord Of The Flies if they are put in the situation. I even know who would be the leaders, who would fight, who would bully, who would play along, and who would go under. Add teenage girls to the mixture and hell breaks loose.

Reading this novel with teenagers - if it is done with a big heart for their developmental stages and their hormonal glitches - gives them an opportunity to discuss a topic they already know everything about from their own lives but often keep hidden from naive, romantic grown-ups: the heart of an adolescent has dark corners, and it is important to shed light on the pain young people are able to cause each other if they are under the impression that they are not seen by the higher authority of the grown-up world.

Teenagers are grown-ups in training, and they make all the beginner mistakes without having the perspective to see the end of the tunnel.

Reading offers perspective!

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

Questioning and undermining Rousseau's 'noble savage' was one of its essential goals (as Alan mentions below), hence the positioning of a classic dystopia in an idyllic setting and the choice of 'boy-scout' perfect protagonists. It is as good a dystopic novel as they come. And essential because most dystopic novels were set in urban settings, giving the illusion that extreme control leads to dystopia. Golding shows that extreme freedom can too.

It is a great work because it speaks so truly of the human tendency away from organized civilization. To me, the one fault is the ending -- the time scale given to the thought experiment was too narrow, allowing only one swing of the societal pendulum.

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 to experience an authenticity in life with the intent of reproducing it on the page. It's one thing to write a book on previous experiences garnered as the unconscious evolution and transition from state of naivete to worldliness, it's another, and entirely reprehensible, to create situations for the purpose of observation and recording and insertion in a novel, without the consent and knowledge of the subjects forming the experiment. Worse, Golding's work has been lauded as commentary on the nature of political and social structures, as I mentioned in my review proper. That he used school children, innocent of and incapable of denying his intent, constitutes no less of an emotional dishonesty than that to which I have ascribed other authors, indeed the one to whose work I have compared his.

The original review appears at www.abookwithaview.com

الرواية تحكي عن مجموعة أطفال يجدون أنفسهم في جزيرة نائية بعد أن سقطت بهم الطائرة. انقسم الأطفال إلى قسمين، قسم يريد الصلاح والقانون ليتمكنوا من الحياة وإشعال النار لربما تمر سفينة صدفة فترى الدخان وتنقذهم بقيادة رالف، وقسم آخر آثر التوحش والتعجرف البُدائي حبًّا في السلطة بقيادة جاك.
الهدف والمغزى من الرواية عميق جدًا. تستحق القراءة.

اقتباسات:

“إذا ما خفت من شخص فإنك تكرهه من دون أن تتمكن من التوقف عن التفكير فيه. تحاول إيهام نفسك بأنه شخص لا ضير منه، لكن حينما تراه بعد ذلك يصبح الأمر أشبه بنوبة الربو ولا تعود قادراً على التنفس.”

“أيها أفضل .. أن يكون لديكم قوانين وتوافق بينكم، أم أن تصطادوا وتقتلوا؟”

“أيهما أفضل، القانون والإنقاذ، أم الصيد وتقويض كل شيء؟”

“كان رالف يبكي نهاية البراءة، وظلامية قلب الإنسان والسقوط المريع في الهواء للصديق الحقيقي العاقل المسمّى بيغي.”

‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، این کتاب از 368 صفحه و 12 فصل تشکیل شده است... از آن دسته از داستانهایست که تا ساعت ها شما را به فکر فرو میبرد و در رویدادهای بیان شده در داستان اندیشه خواهید نمود.... عده ای دانش آموز و کودکان پنج الی شش ساله و بزرگترهای آنها ده تا سیزده ساله.. در جزیره ای بی نام و نشان سقوط میکنند... هیچ بزرگتری در میان آنها نیست... یکی از این بچه ها که به نوعی شخصیتِ اصلی داستان است، رالف نام دارد، او پسری تا حدودی بی باک و همیشه امیدوار است.. به همراه پسر بچه ای چاق، امّا باهوش به نامِ خوکه.. صدفی پیدا میکنند و با دمیدن در آن و جمع کردن بچه های دیگر، اولین اجتماع بچه ها را تشکیل میدهند و در رأی گیری نخستین، رالف به ریاست بچه ها در جزیره انتخاب میشود
‎در میان بچه ها شخصیتی چندش آور و وحشی خوی به نام جک وجود دارد که رقیب رالف است و حسادت و وحشی گری در او موج میزند.... همه چیز در آرامش پیش میرود و بچه ها در جزیره میوه میخورند و بازی میکنند و کم کم به جزیره عادت میکنند... رالف با استفاده از عینک خوکه که همچون ذره بین عمل میکند، آتش روشن میکند و قانونی میگذارند تا همه کمک کنند و آتش همیشه روشن باشد و دود کند.. چراکه دود و آتش تنها راه نجات آنها از جزیره است.... در این میان در بین بچه ها ترس از هیولایی ناشناخته در جزیره شکل میگیرد و این موضوع آغازی است برای برهم خوردن آرامش و اجتماع انسانی و دور از توحشِ این کودکان
‎دوستانِ گرامی، چنانچه بخواهم داستان را توضیح دهم از جذابیتِ آن کاسته میشود.. عزیزانم تا همین اندازه بگویم که نویسنده نشان میدهد چگونه خوی وحشیگری انسانها و غریزهٔ آنها بر همه چیز پیروز میشود و چگونه میلِ به خونریزی و شکار در انسانها شعله هایش روشن و روشنتر میشود و چه آسان انسانها کمر به کشتن یکدیگر میبندند
*************
‎لازم است بگویم که مقدمهٔ مترجم را نخوانید، نخست آنکه داستان را به نوعی لو داده است و دوم آنکه سرشار از چرت و پرت است و نوشته هایی دور از خرد، که پشت آنها هیچگونه دلیل خردمندانه و پژوهشی، وجود ندارد.... نویسنده در پایان نشان میدهد که بچه ها انگلیسی هستند.. امّا مترجم میگوید، وحشی گری بچه ها نماد آلمان در جنگ جهانی دوم است و جک که رئیس وحشی هاست نماد هیتلر میباشد!!... مشخص است که مترجم بیسوادی است که هیچ از تاریخ نمیداند و فقط یک چیزی شنیده و ابلهانه تکرار میکند و آلمان ستیز است
‎کسانی که هیچ از تاریخ جنگ جهانی نمیدانند، فریب نویسندگانِ انگلیسی و آمریکایی و حتی یهود را خورده و هیتلر و آلمان را وحشی قلمداد میکنند
‎پس بهتر است مقدمه را نخوانید... چون داستان هیچ ارتباطی به سیاست و جنگ و فاشیست و کمونیست و اینگونه مسائلی که مترجم بیان نموده است، ندارد و تنها مسائلِ روانشناسی و روانشناختی انسانهاست که ریشه های آن را زنده یاد فرویدِ بزرگ، کشف کرده بود و نویسنده با ذوقِ بالایِ خویش برایِ نوشتنِ این داستان از آنها بهره برده است.... یادِ زنده یاد فروید همیشه گرامی باد
-----------------------------------------
‎امیدوارم از خواندنِ این داستان لذت ببرید
‎<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>

“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”

Lord of the Flies is now one of those books I WISH I had studied in school, I’d have loved to have delved deeper into the symbolic meanings and themes, instead of just having my basic reader experience! There’s probably so much I’m missing... it almost makes me want to read through the spark notes for the novel!

It really provides a fascinating insight into how quickly chaos can ensue once civilisation ceases to exist. And it’s somehow even more terrifying once you consider the fact that these are young boys. In a way it made me think of Under the Dome - it’s definitely possible that this was its inspiration given how much King loves this one!

Speaking of King, I was MAJORLY geeking out at the stone formation being called Castle Rock - I quickly darted to google to confirm that yes, King named his town after the fictional mountain fort in Lord of the Flies. Somehow I didn’t know this - but it does make complete sense given the glowing introduction King has provided in this edition.

Unfortunately I found the writing a little dry at times and I also got quite frustrated as well as it wasn’t always clear who was speaking? This is one of my major pet peeves in books - GIVE ME SOME INDICATION. A few of the characters felt interchangeable which didn’t help - even now I can only really distinguish Jack, Ralph and Piggy.

But otherwise I really enjoyed this and some of the imagery will stay with me forever - particularly when it came to the beast and their “gift” for it!

Really glad I finally read it! 4 stars.

A British airplane on fire crashes on a deserted isolated South Sea's island, in the middle of an atomic war set in the near future . All the grown-ups 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" his intellectual sidekick he wears glasses, this beautiful green tropical coral isle with a blue lagoon magnificent palm trees, better yet coconut trees too and plenty of yellow bananas, other fruits are seen. Wild numerous pigs in the forest, plenty of fish in the ocean so no worries right...Wrong! Ralph has a rescue fire set which goes sadly out of control , and one of the boys is never seen again, Jack doesn't like playing second fiddle to Ralph. He takes his group of choirboys followers and leaves, to form a new fierce warrior tribe on Castle Rock, painting their faces and becoming great hunters....Since Piggy's eye glasses are the only way the kids can start a fire, Jack raids Ralph's shelter and steals it, the poor helpless boy can't function without them, blind as a bat ( I know it's a misnomer, but it sounds great). Complicating the situation is the mysterious "Beast," on the mountain is it real? Or just a legend...Earlier Simon sees the evil head of a large boar on a stick , in the middle of the forest (Lord of the Flies). He has a haunting vision and flees towards the children, scaring them all. In the darkness they believe it's the beast and have to defend themselves, with whatever weapons they possess ..a tragedy occurs. Later the two" tribes" struggle for supremacy on the island....Will the wicked inherit the Earth? And maybe the last outpost of civilization left is here... This novel is a superb narrative of today's nations wars of conquest, anything is good as long as your side wins...

”They accepted the pleasures of morning, the bright sun, the whelming sea and sweet air, as a time when play was good and life so full that hope was not necessary and therefore forgotten.”

So this was a book many people had to read when they went to school and in some way this already says a lot about “Lord of the Flies”. Like so many of the books that are required to be read during people’s educational careers this one wasn’t only full of serious topics but also dealt with ethical values.

I mean we have boys between the ages of 6 and 12 who are stranded on an island after they had a plane crash. There is no adult who would force them to stay in line; there is no authority that would tell them what's right or wrong. They are left to their own devices and even though they were doing as good as you would expect schoolboys to do, they still were fairly decent at the beginning of the book.

“I agree with Ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English; and the English are the best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things.”

Oh, how often I thought back to this quote when I read on with horror, every new chapter revealing another aspect of the dark abyss of human kind. The morale dilemma of Ralph and Piggy was so intense that I couldn’t help but feel with them whenever something bad and terrible happened. They were the only ones that tried to get order into the chaos but on an island without any rules only the strongest remain.

”I got you meat!”
Numberless and inexpressible frustrations combined to make his rage elemental and awe-inspiring. “I painted my face – I stole up. Now you eat – all of you – and I –“

The fight of savageness vs. civilisation was so tangible it hurt and I constantly found myself sitting at the edge of my seat hoping against all hope, that civilisation would actually win. It doesn’t take a genius to know that it didn’t. Why hold on to moral standards? Why listen to reason if you can have a kingdom of your own? Why should you accept someone else’s opinion if you’re stronger and can force them to obey your own rules? You know it better than the others, right?!

”If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.”

I know I’m being provocative here but it is how it is. The strongest will always try to rule the weak. It’s been done for centuries and I doubt that it will ever stop. It’s as much a part of human nature as breathing and let’s face the bitter truth: There’s darkness in all of us. We can only decide if we fight it or let it in. ;-)

”Look, Ralph. We got to forget this. We can’t do no good thinking about it, see?”
“I’m frightened. Of us. I want to go home. O god I want to go home.”

”The thing is – fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream. There aren’t any beasts to be afraid of on this island.”

If you ask me there certainly was a monster on the island or should I rather say that there were monsters? n  Plural.n It weren’t monsters that had been there all along though. No, it were the monsters that had fallen from the sky, claiming the island as their own, doing as they pleased because they could do so without anyone to stop them. The monsters on the island came from the outside and despite their claims to want to get off of the island they all knew that they actually wanted to stay.

”I’m scared of him,” said Piggy, “and that’s why I know him. If you’re scared of someone you hate him but you can’t stop thinking about him. You kid yourself he’s all right really, an’ then when you see him again; it’s like asthma an’ you can’t breathe.”

So in the end things took their natural course and got worse and worse. The descent into savageness was inexorable and the book ended on a heavy note. I can only speak for myself but the ending was brilliant. Brilliant and shocking and so very, very realistic that it caused me to ache even more. Those stupid boys... those stupid, stupid little boys. *shakes head*

Anyway, if you want to read a really good book which will haunt you days after you finished it, this should be your choice. *lol* After all I finished “Lord of the Flies” almost a week ago and I’m still thinking about it. ;-)

Happy Reading! I hope you’ll enjoy it as well!

Those are two quotes that were perfect and moved me so damn much when I read the book. Because they would spoil too much and would give away some crucial parts of the plot I didn’t write them down in the actual review though.
Anyway if you read the book already you might as well enjoy them now:

”Piggy.”
“Uh?”
“That was Simon.”
“You said that before.”
“Piggy.”
“Uh?”
“That was murder.”

”And in the middle of them, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.”

Read and enjoyed this in high school amazed how well i remember this after almost two decades! i'll skip the summary since you probably know what this is about and will skip my unqualified interpretation since I'm only a butcher from Georgia!

A group of boys of all ages crash on a island. Each boy represents a ideal or personality in society Ralph is the ideal English male. piggy is the democratic ideal. Jack is the military, Simon is the religious institution. and Roger is the violent classes. not really sure what the "littlins" represent maybe British holdings around the world. i don't know why when i read that the littin with the mark disappeared i thought he must represent India. well, probably not! I'm out of my element here ask your professor. i think this represents English society boiled down to the simplest quantity a group of boys. that being said it's still a easy story to follow. even without the symbolism. so, let's talk about it without the symbolism because this is not 9th grade English class! the boys elect ralph as leader and they begin to have meetings two things are important to ralph being rescued and having fun. but soon everything starts to unravel and civilization on the island turn to savagery. everything is really well laid out and that allows for the reader to install his own beliefs which is why it's taught is school! I'm always impressed how english authors write stories allowing you to add your beliefs. this is a great book to discuss like The Giver. so, if you have not read it do so and feel free to discuss it! but don't let anyone downgrade your views!

one random thought kept sticking me as i read this. these boys went savage and they were British. what would happen if they were american. would they have even tried to work together or split from the start. one thing for sure there would be more religious representation!

4.5 stars!
I was considering giving this book 2 stars at about halfway through. I was bored. And more bored, and I just couldn’t understand why people liked this book so much. Then I read the second half and woah it took me by surprise. I had so many feelings reading this book; sadness, anger but also happiness and at many points yes, I was confused but it only made me want to read on to know more.

I’m glad I read this as it’s on the ‘fifty books to read before you die’ challenge and also as I really enjoyed the book overall even though the beginning was a bit difficult to trudge through. I highly recommend trying the classic out if you haven’t yet!