Lord of the Flies- A Book Review
As I have been on my reading journey recently, I decided that part of my journey would include reading classics that I just never read for one reason or another.
William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is definitely a classic and is considered a great work in the literary world. After reading the book, I can clearly see why this would be a classroom favorite. It offers a lot in terms of themes and content when it comes to teaching. Going beyond the classroom, it offers much to consider in terms of life and humanity.
The novel follows the tale of a group of boys that become stranded on an island that is unique in the sense that there are mountains, beach, and forest on the island. The boys quickly begin to figure out a plan to become rescued, but without the guidance and adult perspective reason is often challenged or left out completely. The group faces many challenges with the island, both each other, and also internal struggles too. It is clear that they cannot figure out a way to be a joined unit facing their struggles and soon realize that their differences are too great and two groups form on the island. There is a group that resorts to succumbing to basic human needs and the other group attempts to function with morals and ethics. At the heart of the book you have the ideas of order and structure challenged when there isn't a system in place, and the system does break down.
There were a few things bugged me about the book, but mostly because I am not familiar with a lush landscapes. I felt that often times I couldn't actually picture what the author was describing and a lot of it had to do with the fact that I just wasn't familiar with some of the terminology. I also felt overwhelmed by the amount of description when it came to the characters trekking across the island.
What I did like about the book was the characters and their actions. They were such well-developed characters and I felt like they stayed true to their nature throughout the entire novel. At times I feel like a character makes choices or decisions that don't quite make sense. These characters were well written and I enjoyed reading about them throughout the whole book. The author did an excellent job building up the empathy for them throughout the book. Of course there were a lot of unanswered questions throughout the book in terms of why and how the boys ended up on the island, but in the end that didn't seem like the most important aspect of the novel. So as you're reading you don't focus in on what you don't know, but you just accept it and focus on the rescue aspect, much like the characters do.
Overall I am happy that I read the book and felt like I did experience an emotional response to the horrors that Ralph faced. The book itself was almost a tragedy when it comes down to it. I actually can't believe it took me so long in life to read this title, but glad I finally did.
William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is definitely a classic and is considered a great work in the literary world. After reading the book, I can clearly see why this would be a classroom favorite. It offers a lot in terms of themes and content when it comes to teaching. Going beyond the classroom, it offers much to consider in terms of life and humanity.
The novel follows the tale of a group of boys that become stranded on an island that is unique in the sense that there are mountains, beach, and forest on the island. The boys quickly begin to figure out a plan to become rescued, but without the guidance and adult perspective reason is often challenged or left out completely. The group faces many challenges with the island, both each other, and also internal struggles too. It is clear that they cannot figure out a way to be a joined unit facing their struggles and soon realize that their differences are too great and two groups form on the island. There is a group that resorts to succumbing to basic human needs and the other group attempts to function with morals and ethics. At the heart of the book you have the ideas of order and structure challenged when there isn't a system in place, and the system does break down.
There were a few things bugged me about the book, but mostly because I am not familiar with a lush landscapes. I felt that often times I couldn't actually picture what the author was describing and a lot of it had to do with the fact that I just wasn't familiar with some of the terminology. I also felt overwhelmed by the amount of description when it came to the characters trekking across the island.
What I did like about the book was the characters and their actions. They were such well-developed characters and I felt like they stayed true to their nature throughout the entire novel. At times I feel like a character makes choices or decisions that don't quite make sense. These characters were well written and I enjoyed reading about them throughout the whole book. The author did an excellent job building up the empathy for them throughout the book. Of course there were a lot of unanswered questions throughout the book in terms of why and how the boys ended up on the island, but in the end that didn't seem like the most important aspect of the novel. So as you're reading you don't focus in on what you don't know, but you just accept it and focus on the rescue aspect, much like the characters do.
Overall I am happy that I read the book and felt like I did experience an emotional response to the horrors that Ralph faced. The book itself was almost a tragedy when it comes down to it. I actually can't believe it took me so long in life to read this title, but glad I finally did.
Comments
Post a Comment