Rating: 
Summary: The Lord Of the Flies
Review: Chris Herbert
The Lord Of The Flies
Period 4
Book Review
I had just recently read the novel The Lord Of the Flies. I thought it was a very good book. The author did a good job of making you feel like you were actually there with characters. I don't really like to read but with this book I was able to get into it and finish the book.
The novel the Lord Of the Flies was about a bunch of kids that are flying across an island during a war. Then the plane had been shot down. The kids end up landing on an abandoned island. As they hit the island they all get separated. Then a little bit in to the book they had all found each other and they decided to make a type of government to keep control on the island. Now as they go on in the book you got to think that they are all kids and they don't want to live under other kids rule. So as the story goes on they all start to turn on each other and start making their own organizations. As the book starts to develop there are a lot of different symbols that you start to realize. The symbols represent a bunch of different things the book and how some of the characters act. Then the book starts to get a little violent as they start to kill each other. Towards the end of the book they have completely all gone wild and turned against each other.
I thought that the book was very good. I liked the whole idea of the book. I think that it is a good book and I recommend it to anyone that likes to read. It was a short and easy to read. I liked how the author had described the book in detail. that's what made it a book good. The book had a good theme and I liked how they had kids trying to start their own type of government to maintain control. It was a good idea because you really don't know what kids would do if their were no parents around.
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Summary: Chapter 8 Lord of the Flies
Review: In my view chapter 8 is definitely the central chapter of the novel. In this chapter Jack leaves and the boys split into two camps; Jack and his hunters become increasingly savage; and we finally understand the true nature of the Beast as well as understanding Simon's role in the novel.
The chapter begins with every boy on the island finally accepting the existence of a Beast; even Ralph, who was once so sceptical ("But there isn't a beastie!") believes there is one and convinces Piggy, who also used to be a cynic.
Jack calls a meeting amid the growing tensions between himself and Ralph. We also recognise Ralph's growing maturity in the face of Jack's childishness. Jack's language is childish: "He isn't a prefect". Jack confronts everyone at the last meeting all the boys have together, and criticizes Ralph: ' "He just gives orders and expects people to obey." ' At the end he challenges them as to whether they think Ralph ought to be Chief, and is humiliated when none of the boys agree with him: 'The humiliating tears were running from the corner of each eye'. He 'blundered' away and 'dived' into the forest.
Simon then makes a suggestion: that they should climb the mountain, where the Beast is, because there seems nothing else to do. Simon is viewed as being 'crackers' by the rest of the group and is not taken seriously, especially by Piggy, in who he had at first trusted. Piggy changes here from being a shy and socially incompetent but intelligent boy, into someone gaining confidence by Jack's absence, but also by scoring points off others.
An ominous mood is then set after the choirboys vanish, to go off with Jack. Jack imposes himself as leader and the choirboys accept it: ' "I'm going to be chief." They nodded'. This leadership is enforced later in the chapter when Maurice and Robert announce that "The Chief has spoken" when Jack encourages others to join him after stealing some fire. However, they are reluctant to make this announcement; maybe they still feel that Ralph is the real leader and Jack in the wrong.
We are reminded of how much the boys have changed: 'ages ago they had stood in two demure rows and their voices had been the song of angels'. Now they are hunters, dirty and uncivilized, about to kill a pig. We also realise that, for all their tough talk, they are scared of the Beast as well: ' "We shan't dream so much down here. This is near the end of the island." They agreed passionately out of the depths of their tormented private lives.' The island also has a psychological landscape: at the end of the island, they are near the 'castle' rock.
Kill is ritually left for the Beast, a chilling reminder of their progression towards primitive savagery. The pig's head on the stick represents a manifestation of the Devil; therefore it is significant that Jack and Roger are the boys who put the pig's head on the stick.
Roger 'sharpens a stick at both ends' on which to put the pig's head. He sharpens a stick at both ends again when hunting down Ralph at the end of the novel. Roger features more in this chapter and becomes more important throughout the book; in the end he kills Piggy. In this chapter he is the most bloodthirsty of the boys: 'Roger found a lodgement for his point and began to push until he was leaning with his whole weight.'
Ralph and Piggy call a meeting; during this, the idea of rescue becomes even fainter. Ralph's hair which falls over his eyes becomes a 'shutter'. Long hair is uncivilized; as Ralph's hair becomes longer so he can't see, the idea of rescue gets fainter as Ralph becomes less civilized.
As the novel' title shows, this is the central chapter. Simon is a saintly character; a prophet who sees things. During one of his 'times' (faints, which prophets are meant to have) he sees a pig's head on a stick come alive and turn into the Lord of the Flies, a manifestation of the Devil, hence the 'ancient, inescapable recognition'. Through Simon's confrontations with the Lord of the Flies we come to understand the true nature of the Beast- it is the Lord of the Flies ("And I'm the Beast") but it is also psychological: "I'm part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it's no go?" However, Simon is not allowed to tell the others about his discovery "We'll forget the whole thing" and is threatened "You're not wanted. We are going to have fun on this island!" (see pages 45 and 95) and is warned that if he tells the others, and stops them having fun, "we shall do you". Simon does try to tell the others and is killed; the prophecy comes true.
Since it is in his imagination that the Lord of the Flies warns him that he will die if he tells, and the Lord of the Flies is part of him, in effect, like Jesus, he predicts his own death.
I had to study this book for school, and unlike other school books, I did not find myself hating it after a couple of days. I'd read it before, but thought no more of it than a sinister boys' adventure story. Studying it (I think it's one of the few books meant to be read into) really made me take an interest and now it's in my top 5 along with "Discworld", "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", "The Day of the Jackal" and "empire of the Sun".
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Summary: THIS IS ONE TO HEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN!
Review: It's often a distinct pleasure to listen to an audio book read by the author, as the writer of a story can bring an added depth, a richness that eludes voice performers. Such is certainly the case with this reading by the incomparable Cornwallian William Golding, the recipient of the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature. "Lord of the Flies" has become a contemporary classic since its publication in 1954. Who can forget this thrilling adventure of British school boys marooned on a tropical island? After their plane is wrecked on a deserted spot the boys must manage to survive. Initially, the boys use their only resources - themselves, as there is no adult supervision. They make their own rules and way of life. But camaraderie is short lived as some of the boys follow Jack who would rather swim and play, while others are drawn to Ralph as he attempts to bring about order and delegate responsibility. Throughout the years "Lord of the Flies" has been called a lesson in politics, a parable, and even a myth. Whatever the delineation it is timeless. William Golding recorded his tale in a London studio in 1976. We're fortunate it has been remastered and re-released for our listening pleasure today. It is not a recording to be played and tossed aside; it is one to hear over and over again. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Kevin Brady
Lord of the Flies is a very enlightening book. It shows that with to much power people go crazy and do things so out of the ordinary. I enjoyed the book. Being a person who does not like to read, and is very picky about the books that I do read, this was a very good one.
Due to the violence of a raging war, an airplane carrying a groups of English students is shot down. The boys of the plane find themselves to be stranded on an island. After they gather all of the boys on the island they start to make plans. Two of the oldest boys Ralph and Piggy find a conch shell, they decided to use it in order to summon the rest of the group. They Ralph as their leader, Ralph appoints another older boy Jack to be in charge of the choirboys who are in charge of hunting and getting food.
The older boys set out and explore the island. They decide that they will light large torches to get the attention of passing ships. They gather wood easily, there is more than enough wood to have several fires. They use the glasses of piggy to focus the sunlight onto the wood and create fire. The problem is the boys were more focused on playing rather than monitoring the fire. The fire quickly gets out of control and burns a bunch of dead wood. The youngest of the boys disappears and they presume that he burned to death in the fire. The boys are very immature. They enjoy the loss of no adults and spend most of their time splashing and playing in the water. Ralph complains that nothing is getting done. They also fail in catching a pig, Jack the leader becomes more intent on catching a pig.
An approaching ship passes by, but does not realize anyone is on the island because the rescue fire was out. Ralph rushes to the fire immediately only to find that Jack and the rest of the hunter's have caught their first pig. They gather around a fire and reenact the hunt. Ralph quickly blows the conch shell to call a meeting to restore order. At one of the meeting one of the "littluns" tells that he is haunted by the thought of a monster on the island. The older boys gather and tell each other to think logically and figure out where this monster would hide during the daytime. They come to some conclusion that he might live in the water.
The boys that are responsible for watching the fire at night think they see a shadow of the beast, when they actually just saw the shadow of a dead parachutist, they rush back to the camp and tell everyone that they saw the beast. They organize a hunting party and go up the mountain, they see the shadow of the parachutist and run down the mountain. Jack criticizes Ralph of being a coward and says that he should be removed from power. The boys agree that they will never vote Ralph out of power. Jack runs down to the beach and tells all the hunter's to follow him. Jack declares himself the leader of the new tribe. Simon falls upon the dead parachutist, and runs back to the beach to tell everyone. Before he can open his mouth he is trample and beaten to death. The boys saw the shadow of Simon and thought it was the beast and killed him.
The next morning Jack's tribe of hunters attacks Ralph and Piggy. They steal Piggy's glasses and run back to their camp. Ralph and the boys from his tribe go to Jack's camp to try to reason with Jack. Jack order's that Sam and Eric be tied up, and one boy rolls a boulder down the mountain killing Piggy and shattering the conch shell. Ralph hides for the night, but in the morning Jack sends out a search party looking for him. As his hunters try to track him down, Jack sets a forest fire trying to smoke Ralph out of his hiding spot. Ralph is forced to the beach, and collapses in exhaustion. When he wakes up there is a naval officer standing over him. Ralph weeps when he feels that he is safe, but thinks about everything that has happened. The other boys reach the beach and also start to sob. The naval officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their composure.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Flies
Review: Lord of the Flies is an imaginative novel that I recommend to all patient readers. I believe in this novel, like others I have read published in this period, has a slow paced plot that does not have incredible amounts of action. In this book, it is sometimes necessary to read two chapters before something exciting accure. For this reason I feel the book may leave something to be desired among the new generation of readers. However, I feel that William Golding does a great job of creating the beautiful, yet traitorous terrain and characters on the island. Overall, this book deserves its crown as one of the best books of its type in the 20th Century.
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Summary: William Golding's Lord of the Flies
Review: Plane wrecked English students make their attempt at starting an orderly civilization on an uninhabited island. They were doomed for tragedy from the beginning. The main character, Ralph, a lad with fair hair and a boxer-like body shape, blows a conch shell and rallies the boys to the "platform". At this platform the stranded boys have their first meeting; they declare Ralph the `chief' or their leader to guide them through there days on the dreadful island. The runner up to the throne, Jack, is appointed hunter, to provide the inhabitants with meat. Ralph helps built shelters, and starts a fire so ships would see the smoke. The relationship between Ralph and Jack starts positive but slowly goes down hill. Jealously and anger between the two leaders eventually leads to a split of power between them. Now that there were two Chiefs and each Chief owns their own clan. Eventually everyone switches over to Jack's side of the island and betrayed Ralph. Jacks hatred for Ralph begins to push its limits. Jack wants Ralph to be no more, and with no grown-ups on the island to stop him, Jack...I guess you'll need to pick up the book to find out. You wouldn't be sorry.
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Summary: Lord of the Flies
Review: The book takes place in the middle of a furious war, with a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down over a deserted island. After the plane goes down the boys realizing they will be their for a while and set up a government. They also elect a leader and, make a plane to be rescued. They choose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appoints Jack to be in charge of food.
Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon , set off on an expedition to explore the island. When they return, Ralph says that they should light a signal fire to attract the attention of passing ships. The boys ignite some dead wood by reflecting sunlight through the lenses of Piggy's eyeglasses. The boys are playing rather than monitoring the fire, and the fir engulf the forest. One of the youngest boys in the group disappears during the fire never returning, presumably having burned to death.
One day a ship passes and, Ralph and Piggy notice, that the signals fire which, had been the hunters' responsibility to maintain has burned out. Furious, Ralph accosts Jack, but the hunter has just returned with his first kill. Piggy criticizes Jack, who hits Piggy across the face. Ralph blows the conch shell and scolds the boys in a speech intended to restore order. At the meeting, it quickly becomes clear that some of the boys have started to become afraid. The littlest boys, known as the littluns have had nightmares from, the beginning, and more and more boys now believe that there is some sort of beast or monster on the island. The older boys try to convince the others at the meeting to think rationally, asking where such a monster could possibly hide during the daytime. One of the littluns suggests that it hides in the sea. Not long after the meeting, some military planes battle high above the island. The boys, asleep below, do not notice the flashing lights and explosions in the clouds. A parachutist drifts down on the mountain. Sam and Eric are responsible for watching the fire at night, they are asleep and do not see the parachutist land. When the twins wake up, they see the enormous shadow of his parachute and hear the strange flapping noises it makes. Thinking the island beast is at hand, they rush back to the camp in terror. Jack and Ralph, travel up the mountain.. The group holds a meeting at which Jack and Ralph tell the others of the sighting. Jack says that Ralph is a coward and that he should be removed from office, but the other boys refuse to vote Ralph out of power. Jack angrily runs away down the beach, calling all the hunters to join him. Ralph rallies the remaining boys to build a new signal fire, this time on the beach rather than on the mountain. They obey, but before they have finished, most of them have slipped away to join Jack.
Jack declares himself the leader of the new tribe of hunters and organizes a hunt of a pig a violent, slaughter followed by sowing the head to a stick as a offering to the beast. Later, encountering the bloody, fly-covered head, Simon has a terrible vision, during which it seems to him that the head is speaking. The voice, says that Simon will never escape him, for he exists within all men. Simon faints. When he wakes up, he goes to the mountain, where he sees the dead parachutist. Understanding then that the beast does not exist. Simon travels to the beach to tell the others what he has seen. But the others are in the middle of a chaotic revelry when they see Simon's shadowy figure emerge from the jungle, they fall upon him and kill him with their bare hands and teeth.
Ralph hides for the rest of the night and the following day, while the others hunt him like an animal.. Ralph collapses in exhaustion after being chased out of the forest, but when he looks up, he sees a British naval officer standing over him. The officer's ship noticed the fire raging in the jungle. The other boys reach the beach and stop in their tracks at the sight of the officer. Amazed at the spectacle of this group the officer asks Ralph to explain. Ralph is overwhelmed by the knowledge that he is safe but, thinking about what has happened on the island, he begins to weep. The other boys begin to sob as well.
I enjoyed reading this book it was very interesting and had a lot of action in it. I liked how the ending began with the plane going down and the boys being stranded on the island. Another favorite part of the book was towards the end when all the boys break up and they are fighting. Overall this was a good book to read and I would recommend it to anyone.
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Summary: Macro and micro
Review: This book captures the tension and anxiety of being a teenager among peers. Golding skillfully plays envy, rage, and fear off of one another both between and within the characters. The sense that none of the strife is warranted or deserved is set against the larger context of war at the end of the story. The reader is then left to cross the conceptual bridge between the micro and macro, and I suspect that many do not without the aid of a post-read analysis or critique.
Rating:
Summary: A+
Review: This book is kind of confuseing and one has to somethimes read a part more than once. However the way William Golding writes teaches many of lifes lessons in an realistic adventure. I would not recomed this book to someone eho dosen't read a lot and/or wouldn't put in the effort to re-read.
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Summary: english 12 Saverio
Review: Title: The Lord of the Flies
Author: William Gerald Golding
I read the Lord of the Flies for a summer reading book for school. At first the overview that my teacher gave me, it sounded like it was a real interesting book, however once I got reading the book, I found that it was at all as interesting as it had sounded.
Here is a little overview of the book; a group of British schoolboys survive a plane crash and end up on a desert island with no adults to watch over them. They soon create rules about how to run the group and who should be leader. They divide tasks among themselves and even use a conch shell to determine who has the right to speak to the group at large gatherings. They soon create their own society based on the values they have been taught. They manage to collect enough food and even to keep a fire going in the hope of being able to attract attention from would-be rescuers. Later on in the book, the order in their society starts to break down, as their situation becomes more desperate and as alliances between different subgroups start to build. The group begins to turn on each other; a war begins between two divided groups with two completely different leaders. Some boys begin to kill off the other boys in the divided groups. The officer's ship noticed the fire raging in the jungle. The other boys reach the beach and stop in their tracks at the sight of the officer. Amazed at the spectacle of this group of bloodthirsty, savage children, the officer asks Ralph to explain. Ralph is overwhelmed by the knowledge that he is safe but, thinking about what has happened on the island, he begins to weep. The other boys begin to sob as well. The officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their composure.
The main characters of the book are,
Ralph - The novel's protagonist
Jack - The novel's antagonist
Simon
Piggy
Roger
Sam and Eric
The Lord of the Flies
I really did not like this book, when I was reading it; it seemed to be drawn out. Everything just to long to explain. At first it sounded like an interesting book, however when I got into reading it was not at all. It is just one of those books that I can not read with out falling asleep. It just didn't catch my attention form the beginning. There was nothing that interested me in the book at all. I found in many parts of the story, wondering what I had just read, I would have to reread that section over again, before I could understand what had happened. There were many sections of the book that I found myself confused. The scene of the book jumped from place to place making it hard to follow. Overall I just did not like the book at all, it just did not answer me from the beginning.
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