BOOK REVIEW

“Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’, said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?’” the laughter shivered again. – page 143.

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The Lord of the Flies has a dramatic narrative plot, but don't be fooled, it is not an action story. William Golding's novel was written to make us think about human nature and the origin of evil. 

 

Stuck on an island without any adults, a group of boys tries to create their own society. The quote above is a reference to the Lord of the Flies,  a mysterious dead body that the boys imagine as a real beast lurking around the island. Eventually, this imagined monster destroys the incipient society when some of the boys use it as an excuse to act like savages, killing and stealing from one another. 

 

In the end, the beast is not some sinister evil out there. It is something inside each one of us and  it doesn’t matter if we create a new society because the evil will still be inside of people.

 

The main protagonist, Ralph, is a natural leader and he tries to make sure that the boys are able to leave the island. Jack, the antagonist, is the opposite of Ralph because he doesn’t care about the society and slowly tries to sabotage it. 

 

The Lord of the Flies is a great book with many allusions to our society. It shows how a few bad people can ruin a good functional society and how even in a new society the same mistakes would be repeated. It is a good read if you want to ponder about civilization and the true nature of human beings.