Just starting the "Lord of the Flies" thread. Please continue commenting on BNW if you so wish. As far as LOTF, I'm not really too sure what to expect. I'm sure it deals quite a bit with the nature of human beings and how they govern themselves. I'm pretty excited to read it!!!
Again, I find these old classics interesting and thought-provoking. A couple of main themes seemed to dominate LOTF, for me: without social constraints, man can not govern himself, and the absence of a leader brings out the competitive need for some people to 'be in charge'. I'm not a real fan of Golding's writing style; sometimes his jump from reality to the boys' minds was not clear, but then I suppose that was his purpose. My maternal nature was piqued at the beginning of the book when 'the littluns' were just brushed off and not nurtured or comforted. I do not think boys are all non-nurturing due to gender. WEll, got to get kids out of the tub, so I'll be looking forward to discussing this further with anyone who's game.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get a copy of BNW, so I went ahead and read LOTF. I don't remember reading this in high school--I probably should have. I was really struck with HOW we choose leaders and how we can quickly turn on each other when we don't like what the majority chooses. Like mom, I was bothered that the boys were so self-absorbed that they didn't look after the littluns. There are always leaders and there are always followers. The problems arise when the leader types don't agree on what matters: should we feed ourselves or should we make fire/smoke? The voice of reason (Piggy) was mocked and ultimately snuffed, leaving the two boys to fight to the death if they would feed themselves or make fire. I thought it was so ironic that in the attempt to track down and kill the boy who wanted fire, the boys who wanted to feed themselves made a big enough fire for someone to see them and rescue them. I think everything in this book is symbolic. Golding is saying there are leaders who want to feed themselves: indulge in appetites and lead in a very self-serving way. And there are leaders who want to make smoke: draw attention to themselves and receive recognition. Ultimately, both are full of hypocrisy and neither can survive. I loved how the book ended--a captain of a ship arriving just in time to save them from themselves. He asks, "So you boys just playing war here?" I imagine this is what God must think of us all--a bunch of self-serving fools trying to feed ourselves, make smoke and play war, all the while ignoring the poor/young/helpless who need to be taken care of.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this book. I thought the writing style was really great and I actually enjoyed the writing style quite a bit more than Huxley's. I think Golding is addressing a few really interesting ideas. The main idea I noticed Golding address was human nature. I have often asked myself how much of what one may consider "natural" is actually just learned or implemented by society. In other words, what happens when you take all of society's conventions away. I think Golding is suggesting that deep down human beings, for the most part, are fairly selfish/self-interested. You do get a few characters in LOTF that seem to want to work as a group and help out, but they are snuffed out by the others pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteI also couldn't help but think about the Adam and Eve narrative in relation to LOTF. First, you have these innocent people on a secluded island with no stable society present (at first). Then, there is the snake or "beastie" that everyone is afraid of, but aren't sure exists. Just the fear of the possibility of a monster that is out to get these boys changes their behavior and ultimately influences the way the act toward each other. So, this kind of reminded of the devil; nobody actually sees it, but just the idea of a devil completely changes the way we act. So, eventually, secluded and without rules, the boys really begin to muck everything up. After killing each other and causing quite a nasty scene, a soldier comes to rescue the boys. When the boys see judgment or accountability, they begin to feel remorse and cry. Perhaps this is like God's judgment from our time here on earth or God's judgment on the actions in the Garden of Eden. So, maybe Golding was using the ancient Eden story to make a point about human nature.
I also really like what Jen and Mom have said about the Mothering instinct for the littluns because it was really interesting to me that no females were present in this novel. Maybe another of Golding's criticism on who has the power in society...
Well, I blew it. There wasn't a copy of LOTF at the campus library ( lame...) so I never got around to getting one from somewhere else. What's next?
ReplyDeleteMrs. Dollaway by Virginia Woolf
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