After reading The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

[김태호]

After reading <The Lord of the Flies> (By William Golding)

Kim Taeho

The Lord of the Flies is a novel about the boys who were dropped in an island by mistake. At first, even if a few accidents occurred, they seem to cooperate well to survive and to be rescued. However, as time goes on, conflicts break out. One group of boys consider keeping fire more important, while the others regard hunting as their premier role. Eventually, they are divided into separate groups. Some of the boys are killed, and most of them end up becoming barbarians who rely only on their instincts and violence, until the navy officers come to save them.

First of all, we need to discuss what fire and hunting symbolize. In the story, fire(or smoke) is the only means that boys can communicate with others, or show the rest of the world that they are alive. Thus, keeping the fire is the very last measure that keeps the boys civilized. On the other hand, by hunting pigs, the boys can have enough resources, which allows them to live sustainable lives in the island. So, by going hunting while leaving the fire alone, they give up the hope to be saved, as well as the will to live as civilized men.

Whether Ralph was a good leader is also one of the significant issues. It is sure that he was mentally superior to Jack, since he never became savage and kept the pride as a modern man. However, he failed to take control of his subordinates, which eventually deprived him of his power and threatened his life. There can be several causes for this, but the most important reason is that he was too naive. When he first won the power against Jack, he should have given Piggy or Simon the power as a vice-leader, but not Jack. Although Jack’s physical conditions made him look appropriate as a leader, Ralph shouldn’t have let his potential rival regain power.

I'd like to talk about Piggy as well, who is one of the main characters who faced an unexpected death by Jack’s boys. As we can know easily with his name, he is fat and weak, partly due to his asthma. Also, he seems to have relied heavily on his auntie before. Because of those physical defects, he is the one who is criticized and ignored the most often. Nevertheless, he shows great intelligence and warm-heartedness throughout the whole novel. One example is when he finds out the shell and calls every boys in the island(p.). In a democratic world outside the island, he must have been a nice and wise leader.

In the novel, the British officer mentions ‘Coral Island’, which is also a novel about some boys stuck in an island. Although the boys in ‘Coral Island’ and ones in ‘The Lord of the Flies’ have the same name and the same circumstances, their endings are totally different. In my opinion, this is because the novel is a mirror of the times. This island of boys is a miniature model of the real world during the mid 20th century, when the novel was written. Just like the boys in the novel, people were starving and struggling to earn their livings due to the economic crisis. Then, Nazis, represented by Jack and his crew, waged a war against the entire Europe and America. Surprisingly, many people joined and supported them, which made other normal peoples’ lives even harsher.

Moreover, this novel leaves room for reinterpretation in some ways. If we focus on the anonymity under the paintings on the face of Jack and others, part of the model could also be applied to the Internet world nowadays. It is sure that the boys could not have committed such barbarian and violent behaviors if they did not hide their faces. Likewise, many people abuse others, or even celebrities online, just because they are not brave enough to do it face-to-face.

The final thing to discuss is whether we can blame Jack’s actions. Of course, I do not mean to justify the murdering of two people and attacking Ralph’s crew to steal Piggy’s glasses. Nevertheless, who would not decide to be with Jack rather than Ralph, under the boys’ circumstances? Months have passed, and they had lost the only hope to be rescued due to carelessness, but they have and learned how to survive; hunting. In this case, everyone would regard hunting a priority. So, the only thing they have done is adapting to the nature with their instincts.