Why should you read “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding? - Jill Dash

Explore William Golding’s timeless satire, “Lord of the Flies,” which follows a group of shipwrecked boys as they descend into anarchy.

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After witnessing the atrocities of his fellow man in World War II, William Golding was losing his faith in humanity. Later, during the Cold War, as superpowers began threatening one another with nuclear annihilation, he was forced to interrogate the very roots of human nature and violence. These musings would inspire his first novel: “Lord of the Flies.” Jill Dash dives into the timeless satire.

Lesson by Jill Dash, directed by Lucy Animation Studio.

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[jacobzaranyika]

“We did everything that adults would do. What went wrong?”

A chilling truth.

[janiwi]

The saddest thing about the book was that no one ever bothered to find out what piggy's real name was, not even ralph and not even the narrator.

[nickmedina]

Me: has read LoTF

Also me: yes, I would like to know why I should read lord of the flies

[jinhunterslay]

Fun Fact:
There’s an error in the book where Piggy says he’s shortsighted but the kids use Piggy’s glasses like a magnifying glass to start a fire. Only convex lenses can do that, and if Piggy’s glasses are convex than that means he should be farsighted instead

[Al-ouso]

Simon was such an interesting character. A deep thinker for such a young age, yet slightly bizarre. A victim of the island’s savagery.

[_doubleuw]

"The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream."
-- William Golding.

[YuvrajSingh-qygi]

"Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us." My favourite quote form this book. Absolutely worth the time.
Edit: "The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream." This too.

[jones]

TED-Ed : Why should you read ...
Me : Say no more .

[Abelhawk]

The funny thing is, this actually ended up happening for real in 1966, but the boys actually worked together and survived really well as a team, and are best friends to this day.
They were from Tonga and not Great Britain, though, so not sure if that was the main difference.

[artjacobbermejo]

Percival Wemsym Madison strucked me the most

He was introduced as a boy who memorized his name as well as his own address at heart. For when he is lost, he can come home with that knowledge

But in the END, when the rescue finally happens HE DIDN'T EVEN REMEMBER HIS NAME

his line when he met the rescuer

[mobius-q]

Golding loses faith in humanity
99.99% of the internet:MOOD

[burnburn]

"We did everything the adults would do. What went wrong?"
Me: EVERYTHING JUSKO

[THFLCNx]

Stephen King loves this book; he references it every chance he gets in his own work.

[jeffwolcott]

I've always been kind of proud that I read 'Lord of the Flies' during high school but on my own, not as an assignment.

[jackwoods]

That moment when you’re named jack and you were in a choir as a kid...

[piggugudu]

I cannot forget the character progression of Roger - he went from being ‘conditioned by a civilisation that knew nothing of him’ to ‘[carrying] death in his hands’ ... the concept of the beast as the animosity that resides within us is so powerful, and really confronts our perception of innate goodness or morality. Maybe we really do tend towards wrongdoing; maybe the only thing preventing the germination of our primal selves is the fragile constructs of civilisation we have created. The way Golding wrote the novel made it all the more powerful - there was a sense of detachment, of disturbing realism - an amazing novel to be sure!

[williamle]

The conch doesn’t count at this end of the island

[randomspectator]

_"We live in a SOCIETY"_

_-Joker_

[patrickstjean]

I was required to read this book in high school. In typical fashion, it was passed off as an insightful look into human nature and an accurate depiction of what would unfold in such a situation. What I've since learned, is that a very similar scenario actually did happen in 1965 when a group of boys were marooned for 15 months with no adults. The outcome was the complete opposite from what happened in the novel. The boys were able to cooperate to survive and even devised their own system of conflict resolution to ease tensions whenever they arose.

[benthedudeman]

Fun Fact: Beelzebub, the namesake of the novel comes from ancient hebrew where his name means lord of the flies. he isn't only connected to violence and war, but to gluttony and selfishness to gain control over people. these themes work well with the book, and are often what stokes the flames of conflict and the violent human nature, as well as humanity's desire to control one another.