the Lord of the Flies

I never regretted buying the book ‘Lord of the Flies’.

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It’s a really short book, but really really good. Finished reading within 3 hours? Probably less. Reason being it’s really gruesome. If you think Peter Pan was bad, think again. But this has a real kick because it does not involve adults. They are virtually nonexistent, and left to their own devices to maintain their existence. If you’ve read Robinson Crusoe, then this is what would happen if Mr Crusoe’s survival stint went wrong, and more likely to happen. After all, Robinson Crusoe’s disposition was nearly ideal, where it’s practically sunshine and green pastures (ok, so no green pastures; get the hint will you?) It’s like Survivor or Lost gone horribly wrong, and we’re not talking about adults, but schoolboys. I don’t think I can call them schoolboys after what they went through.

Generally it’s about the gruesome reality of the human mind when left in really desperate situations. Also about the malleability of children and how easy they adopt to, how shall we say it, the darker side of life. When left unguided, the mind is a very, very dangerous thing.

All I could think of during the horror of the unfolding of events was…well, it was just as good as watching a movie. It grips you by the arm and doesn’t let go. You can imagine what goes through their minds when they first kill, when they first murder, when they first challenge authority, when they feel like giving up, when they feel infuriated, exasperated, angst, afraid, desperate….I really salute the author for this. It’s portrayed well in the multitude of characters they have in the book.

Of course, the main character Ralph is loveable. XD You JUST have to be on his side; how not to? You can imagine a really cute fair-haired boy, about 11 or 12. This boy is quite the born leader even though at that point of time, he was being constantly challenged by Jack who is, in every way, the primitive bloodthirsty life form. I suppose if the author wanted to he could just add some ape-like characteristics and it still wouldn’t seem too inhumane. Just a thought. *shrugs*

I love this book so much, I only wish I had the time to read it again and again and again. Even though my mom cringed at the book, having read it for literature in high school. DAMN. Why didn’t I get something like this for literature?!