The Lord of the Flies

William Golding
Published 17^th September 1954
Ranked #41 of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th Century by the Modern Library

I read this about 4 years ago during my GCSE's and I'm so grateful I was given this as apposed to 'Of Mice and Men'!

 

Perhaps one of the most successful novels to bridge the gap between children’s and adult literature, Golding portrays the issues of adolescent evil occurring under the suspension of system.  Loosely based around the classic children’s favourite ‘Treasure Island’, Golding converts what could be perceived paradise into a hellish environment. Arguably influenced through witnessing the psychology of pre-pubescent boys whilst teaching himself; Golding conjures a frighteningly believable yet far-fetched scenario in which a group of boys are left to their own devices which consequentially leads to dire circumstance.  His use of Christian analogy is made all the more vivid through his use of colour imagery, emphasising the devilish features of his antagonist Jack, and the fair innocence of the character Ralph, who’s weeping for its loss finalises the novel.

 Adaptations

The film which is surprisingly (at least co-) directed by Disney is abysmal, like many screen adaptations of classics the most important parts are left out, arguably because these are more subtle happenings with a more symbolic purpose which are less appropriate for a film whose purpose is to portray action.  Apart from that painful adaptation of 'The Great Gatsby', I really don't think they left a single thing out -yawn!
Despite this, I saw the most fantastic stage adaptation of 'The Lord of the Flies' at the Ipswich Regent Theatre (https://online.ipswich.gov.uk/PEO/).  Another of my friends performed at Doncaster Theatre playing the role of Piggy which I sadly missed, it looked superb.  Either way, even if you have not read the book I would strongly recommend watching this script put into play anywhere

4/5