Lord of the Flies (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)

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Lord of the Flies : (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)

by William Golding
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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's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and... see complete book description

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  • Rated 3.802927 stars

Amazon:

  • Rated 4 stars

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  • Vincent W

    vincent w says

    Well, mark h, I'm not sure this is the only message of this book.
    (I've read it when I was a pupil in France)
    Thus, I can't deny the fact that it can be interpreted as an hymn to the adulthood(!), but I prefer to consider it as a simple adventure book, and it is in any case worse than the cruel tales children are told from the very beginning of their life (not thinking of the "W.Disney(c)'s versions" of these tales, of course)!
    "Lord of the Flies" may deal with matters like domination, basic (yes) social interactions, but this reading may be of some use to the children who wouldn't have thought about these subjects from that point of view, which is an interesting and original one, I think.

    posted 1 day ago

    (read vincent w’ review)

  • Jim H

    jim h says

    no see vicky tongue. how c when tongue in cheek? piggy no c when glasses break. poor piggy. oink oink! simon c. simon climb mountain, c monster. monster dead parachutist. simon mystic. piggy intellectual. roger sadist. who u fu? who vicki? vicki no c u, fu. what happen to picture? manchu, so careful not to bite tongue!

    jim h

    posted 1 day ago

    (This is a response to a previous comment)

  • Fu Manchu

    fu manchu says

    jim h make Fu Manchu smile Piggy reminds him of good ole days and bamboo water torture Piggy not so piggy eh

    posted 2 days ago

  • Jim H

    jim h says

    vicki c,

    Yes! Just a bunch of British boys out for a frolic. An alternative title might be "Fun with Roger and Piggy."

    : ) JH

    posted 4 days ago

    (This is a response to a previous comment)

    (jim h previously rated this book 4 stars)

  • Fu Manchu

    fu manchu says

    Vicky c tongue in cheek no vicky c read book like story and leave out righteous toning Upland may see point when he stop joking

    posted 5 days ago

  • uplandpoet

    uplandpoet says

    vicky, i am pretty sure that wasnt mr. goldings point! are you joking?

    posted 5 days ago

  • Vicky C

    vicky c says

    I think this book is very adventurous. What a way to learn how to be brave and solve problems by ourselves! This book is a couragous book. Don't you love it!!!

    posted 6 days ago

    (read vicky c’ review)

  • Mark  H

    mark h says

    This is indeed an outrageous list, if true, of books challenged or banned from public libraries:
    http://www.oclc.org/research/top1000/banned.htm

    Lord of the Flies is taught in school in the Uk, and it does seem objectionable in its thesis that children will revert to savagery if left unsupervised. Not a very positive message to feed to our children!

    posted Sunday, June 1 2008

    (read mark h’ review)

  • Lisa

    lisa says

    OK, I do have to say that it took me two tries before I ever finished this book. Am I glad I finally did? Yes. Would I read it again? I doubt it. It was well written and disturbing in the fact that I could see how easily something like this could happen. In all I wouldn't say I enjoyed the book, but one I think everyone should read at least once.

    posted Sunday, June 1 2008

    (read lisa’ review)

  • uplandpoet

    uplandpoet says

    actually it ranked number 70 on currently banned books, including schools and libraries.....

    posted Sunday, June 1 2008

    (This is a response to a previous comment)

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