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What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

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Original poster

Lord of the Flies

36 replies

speedymama · 22/08/2006 10:57

I have just started reading this and I can already sense that Piggy is going to suffer at the hand of the others. Children can be very cruel about others who are different or who don't conform to some artificial standard.

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chestnutty · 22/08/2006 14:59

This was a set book at my school.
We spent a couple of months analysising it to death.
Good story but I can not imagine reading it again.

SherlockLGJ · 22/08/2006 15:00

Brillilant book.

suzywong · 22/08/2006 15:01

Piggy has it coming good and proper

SherlockLGJ · 22/08/2006 15:01

SuzyWong.

eidsvold · 23/08/2006 06:57

oh yeh - that scene is incredible - one of my favourite books to teach to a class of senior English students!!

eidsvold · 23/08/2006 06:58

what about Batty Simon?!?!?!?!

schneebly · 23/08/2006 07:08

I also did this in school and felt quite disturbed by it! It is a good book but but not a 'nice' read.

chocybickie · 23/08/2006 08:04

I read this as a child and remember it being a very important book that shocked me.
I re-read it this year and along with all the Golding books I have read I found it dull and odd in places.

Original poster

speedymama · 23/08/2006 08:26

I can't wait to finish it. I'm finding it quite disturbing to be honest.

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janeite · 24/08/2006 22:34

Fantastic book - teenagers love it. Simon one of my favourite characters in literature I think.

Original poster

speedymama · 23/09/2006 07:54

Well, what can I say? Intriguing, exciting, mesmerising, disturbing, sad all come to mind but my lasting impression is what can happen when a society exists without a framework of rules based on strong moral conduct of respecting others. Also, to ensure that a strong moral framework is enforced requires consistent, inspiring,fair, objective and at times forceful leadership.

I was really shocked and sad by the way Piggy met his fate. He may have been irritating but he demonstrated more clarity of thought, insightful intelligence and prescient deliberations than Ralph but unfortunately, he did not have the aplomb, popularity, charm and looks in order to be taken seriously or to become leader.

Do they still read this in schools? I went to a girl's school so this was not on our reading list unfortunately.

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mummyhill · 23/09/2006 08:06

Excellent book. We had it as a set book at school as well.

On talking to friends with older children they do indeed still read this at GCSE level in the "higher ability set"

eidsvold · 23/09/2006 08:07

yup speedy mumma - here in Aus and in the UK where I taught English to high schoolers.

eidsvold · 23/09/2006 08:08

I think Simon suffers more than Piggy and possesses a greater depth of understanding of the human character and frailties.

eidsvold · 23/09/2006 08:08

I found Simon's end more disturbing. Real insight into true mob mentality and how it can take away any rational thought.

Original poster

speedymama · 24/09/2006 23:00

Eisvold, you are right about Simon and how he met his tragic death was horrific. He came across to me as a contemplative and fragile soul.

I need to read the book again because I'm sure there are many subtleties that I missed but can someone explained to me why the book is called "The Lord of the Flies"? The Lord of the Flies was mentioned but was it also used as a pseudonym for what was going on with the boys or am I over-analysing it?

OP posts:

moondog · 24/09/2006 23:01

Sppedy,I went to a girls' boarding school.We did it (and loved it.)

Bink · 24/09/2006 23:03

"Lord of the Flies" is a traditional translation of "Beelzebub". (Not sure if it's a correct translation, but that's not relevant.)

It's referring to the pig's head that they turn into a demonic god thing ... and therefore the devil within the boys, and therefore us all .. etc.

I met Golding once, he was a poppet.

clerkKent · 25/09/2006 12:21

I read all William Golding's novels - if you liked Lord of the Flies, try Pincher Martin next.

Original poster

speedymama · 27/09/2006 08:31

Clerkkent, which Pincher Martin book would you recommend as a starter?

TIA

OP posts:

clerkKent · 27/09/2006 08:53

Pincher Martin is the name of a book by William Golding. It is about a sailor who is shipwrecked and what happens next.

I came across another book with the same name. Pincher Martin is a traditional name for a sailor. This version was written during the 1st World War as a recruitment aid for the Royal Navy.

Marina · 27/09/2006 09:01

And I'd also recommend the To the ends of the earth trilogy of sea novels - brilliant read and recently dramatised really well by the BBC.
We did Lord of the Flies at an all girls' school too!
Dh studied Golding at university and his favourite is The Spire.
I can well imagine he was a poppet actually bink - didn't he and his wife build their own boat and sail off round the world on it or something?

eidsvold · 27/09/2006 09:11

Bink is right - lord of the flies is another name for beelzebub. It was to do with the evil that exists within us all if we are not bound by societal rules and standards.

ShowOfHands · 27/09/2006 09:26

I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on the representation of the child in modern Gothic literature and used LOTF as one of my texts. It is a very good book to teach because of the numerous motifs running through it. It is also worth remembering as you read it that a lot of the thematic content is a relection of its time (1954, postwar Britain and the sheer horror of what humans can do in an unnatural situation).

ShowOfHands · 27/09/2006 09:27

reflection

doh! pg brain!

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