Lord Of The Flies By William Golding – A Hard Look At Who We Are

Let’s not dissect Lord of the Flies in an academic style.  I am sure that has been done professionally over and over for decades.  Some studied this book in school.  As for me, when I first saw the title many years ago, I mistook it to be related to Lord of the Ring.  Soon I found out that it is not.  I may have bought this 50th anniversary edition eight years ago.  But I did not have the courage to read it, until recently, when I have this crazy for old classic books.

This story prompts me to ponder upon our very own humanity, when society may one day break down, a return to the prehistorical era.  Can democracy, human rights, respect to all things and more survive when we plunge into a setting similar to the reality TV series Survivor?  Like the famous Chinese proverbs, are we born as good or are we born as evil?  How do we as a human race build our society to what we have today and what is keeping it from falling apart?  We have seen, as history has told us, the rise and fall of civilization.  What if …

Tons of questions in my head after reading Lord of the Flies.

It is a simple story.  A group of British boys not older than 13 years of age have crash landed onto an island.  It is the era of nuclear warfare.  What happens outside the island, no one can speculate.  One of the main characters Ralph – a natural born leader with charisma, good intention, and a logical mind – finds a conch by chance.  Upon blowing it, he unintentionally gathers the boys who are scattered around the incident scene.  Ralph then calls upon a meeting.  His first agenda is to determine if they are indeed on an island.  An impromptu agenda, it seems.  Like any politician who is gifted to think on his feet, he delivers a rather fluent speech.  Piggy – an overweight boy with bad eyesight and asthma – encapsulates the concept of the intellect group that is important to a society, but can be physically vulnerable.  He is a trusted adviser to Ralph, although Ralph often bullies him like everyone else.  He holds one of the most important tools in the island – a pair of glasses that can be used to make fire.

The way I see it, in this remote island, Ralph and Piggy represents the last defender of civilization trying their best to uphold democracy and to assign work to others in order to ensure their basic survivability.  The boys are tasked to create a fire big enough to signal any ship that may pass by as well.  While all are motivated by a rescue plan, most do not like to work.  Without reward and enforcement, the boys soon are doing their own things ignoring the assigned duties.  In this island where there is no such thing as law – what does law mean to the young boys anyway – how can a community get organized?

Here come the hunters.  Led by Jack, another leader in his own right, a bunch of choir boys go about hunting pigs for food.  Jack has lost the leadership position because he does not gather enough votes in the first assembly.  Back then, a sound rescue plan seemed more superior to chasing pigs in a foreign island.  But as time goes by, eating meat appears to be more satisfying than eating fruits.  Killing seems to be more superior to waiting for a rescue.  The very first kill Jack and his hunters made marks a major turning point of the story – boys losing their innocent.  The consequence is immense.  With new found confidence and the will to kill, Jack stands up against Ralph.  It is like the military against the council.  If pigs can be killed as food, why can’t humans be killed?  Especially the ones that stand against those who wield the wooden spike?

I am ahead of myself here.  There is no taking of human lives until the arrival of Lord of the Flies.  Simon is a peaceful boy.  Someone who is positive and loves the nature.  While Ralph motivates the boys with a rescue plan, Ralph terrifies with the boys with the presence of a beast – a terror born out of the nightmares of the younger ones.  Where does the beast come from?  Nobody knows.  Some say it comes from within the island.  Some say it comes from the sea.  In fact, the so-called beast is none other than the corpse of a pilot who parachuted into the island and died.  Only Simon has seen the corpse.  He is assigned by Jack to carry the pig’s head as an offering to the beast.  A head that is dripped in blood and swarmed with flies.  All of a sudden, Simon has a vision.  A terrible one.  He sees Lord of the Flies, consumed by it, and become it.  To me, Lord of the Flies personifies the Devil.  It has a message for Simon and the boys.  It is they who create the beast.  And it is they who have the beast within.

This is where the beauty of symbolism comes alive in this book.  The pig is initially described as a swine peacefully feeding her children.  Nothing ugly or foul in that sense.  Once brutally killed, its decapitated head looks gross, covered with flies.  The pig’s head is offered to the beast created by the boys that in reality is a corpse that does nothing.  The pig is transformed into Lord of the Flies that engulfed Simon.  Later that day, Simon was murdered by the boys in an animalistic ritual.  Such act then corrupts the boys into further murdering and torturing of their kind.  It is as though an element of devil that originates from the boys has spread and now lives in each of the boy.  Upon reading this, I cannot help but to ponder on the old debate on God and Devil.  If God creates all things in life, what about evilness?  What makes this story realistic is the demonstration of free will.  Unfortunately, this also makes it depressing to read.  Is there hope in humanity?  Is it an inevitable fate that we shall degenerate into such terrible stage in end time?

From the social standpoint, it is interesting to observe how Ralph and Jack split into two camps due to their differences in beliefs.  They think that it is happier that way.  Initially yes.  But sadly, separation has its issues.  It fosters hostility and insecurity, much like today’s world.  That eventually leads to violence and bloodshed.

In the end, when all hope is lost, a naval vessel has found the island.  The boys are saved, all crying for the loss of innocence.  But is this true salvation?  When the naval vessel is heading to another war – the war of the adults?  The ending is truly depressing, yet truly awakening.  Can we ever break away from this cycle of endless killing and evil deeds?  Or is this the only mean of survival?

As an afterthought, I think there is much imbalance in this novel. I cannot help but to imagine what if these are girls instead of boys.  Would it be any difference?  What if we have a mixed group of boys and girls?  Would that make the story too distractive due to an extra layer of social complexity?  This book briefly touches onto the topic of the need for a religion but stops there.  Why is there no balancing act against the presence of the Devil?  It is as though the author is screaming: Give up, there is no good, no evil, there is no God, only Devil.  My heart weeps thinking about it.

To me, this story is devoid of love.  And we know that in the absence of love and light lies hatred and evilness.  Perhaps, that is the main message.