Lord of the Flies

By William Golding

Review by Nathan Young

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

ISBN#:0-571-05686-5

THE STORY:

A group of British children are stranded on an island and don’t know what to do or how to survive in this environment. The boys find each other and gather up to discuss what they have to do. Eventually, in order to recreate the society they lived in before, they host an election and vote a boy named Ralph as their leader, and they start to plan out how to survive. A group of boys become the hunters, under a boy named Jack, and start making spears and other types of hunting weapons.
The hunters later in the story break off from the group with Ralph and Jack disagreeing on quite a few different things. They decide that the best way to get rescued soon, is to light a fire. None of them know how to do this, but one boy figures out that if you use glasses and focus in on the wood, with the sun focused through the lens, the wood starts to burn. Lighting the fire becomes a recurring problem in the story and causes many troubles for the children. As time passes, they begin to harvest fruit and build shelters, but they become more troubled with each passing day. One day, a boy comes back and tells the others of “The Beast” which is supposedly a creature that will kill them, is lurking deep into the island. Other than the fire, the beast also becomes a recurring problem in the story and causes many problems that eventually lead up to someone dying. Soon the children break apart from the group and start to fight each other.

MY OPINION:

When I first looked at the book I thought it was going to be a bit hard, but it was easier to follow along as the story unfolded. As I read the first few chapters, I did not feel as though the book hooked me in, for it was not that exciting. I expected something to hook me in but it really did not. The book did have a few words I did not actually know, but most of the words I could follow through, perfectly. The one major problem I had with this book, was that it took a lot of time to build up the conflict. Personally, I do not necessarily like that kind of writing. When I reached the point where the first character died, it shocked me. This is because the character was not just some random person, but someone the book talked about. The suspense throughout the story on wondering who would die and who would survive, kept me reading for a while, but it did get kind of boring at a point where I just stopped. The suspense in my opinion was dragged out for a bit too long and there were constant problems happening in the story, and never any sort of quiet moments. The book, after reading it was not bad, and I would recommend it for someone who likes a book that you can read without too much effort. I rate the book ★★★★★★★✩✩✩ 7/10

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STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

1. What is the boy with the fair hair’s name? (9)

1a. The boy’s name is Ralph. (10)

2. What is the name of the item Ralph blows into? (16)

2a. Ralph blows into a conch. (20)

3. What made the track going up the mountain? (26)

3a. A wild hog made the tracks. (26)

4. How is Ralph feeling about himself and others? (36-37)

4a. He feels that he has created a society. (36-37)

5. Why are Jack and Ralph conflicted after this? (50-53)

5a. They are conflicted because they cannot agree on whether hunting is contributing to the situation.(50-53)

lodgments (7)

astern (29)

furtive (22)

conch (35)

swathes (46)

MIDDLE SECTION

6. Why are they wondering the island? (104-105)

6a. It is because they are searching for “The Beast” (104-105)

7. Why are they afraid to go up the mountain? (120 - 121)

7a. They are afraid because it might be dark soon and the beast might get them. (120 - 121)

8. What kind of look do the boys give the white conch? (141)

8a. The boys flash a look of respect. (141)

9. Why do the boys need move the fire? (129, 130)

9a. The boys need to move the fire, because the beast is sitting up on the mountain. (129, 130)

10. Why is Jack gaining power? (150)

10a. Jack is obtaining power, because he provides all of the food. (150)

tremulously (150)

iridescent (138)

bravado (122)

Berengaria (114)

rebuke (128)

                               

LAST SECTION

11. Why is Simon dead? (152 - 153)

11a. It was a cold night in a rainstorm and Simon was coming out of the bushes, he was mistaken as. the beast and was killed and left for dead. (152 - 153)

12. What problem do they find themselves in throughout the story?

12a. The boys always try to light the fire, and once the fire dies out, they have to light it again. this becomes a recurring problem.

13. What conclusion do the boys  come to? (165)

13a. The boys realize that they are fighting each other consistently and know that if they don’t get rescued soon, they will end up killing each other. (165)

14. Why are they upset? (170 - 171)

14a. The boys are angry at Jack Merridew and want to go after him for taking Piggy’s glasses. ( 170 - 171)

15. Why does the story lead to a fight between Jack and Ralph?

15a. The conflict leads here mostly because they can never agree on anything and that Ralph feels that Jack has betrayed him.

gesticulating (156)

theological (161)

Sniveling (170)

foliage (181)

calves (196)