On the surface, it's a survival story about a group of boys who get stuck on an island with no parental supervision. However, this book is chock-full of symbolism, so this description just doesn't cut it. What this book really is is a symbol of humans as a society, and their tendecies toward greed, power, and sometimes total disregard for sense.

I liked how the whole book was a symbol for something bigger than what it seemed. I just lurve symbolism!

Also, I liked the rivalry between Ralph, the protagonist, and Jack, the antagonist. It was interesting and grew gradually and realistically.

The part I liked best was the last chapter. When I read it, I felt like I was running miles and miles, without stopping to take a rest or breathe, just running and running, and then suddenly I came to the edge of a cliff and just stopped. It was really great. (By the way, the ending didn't involve a cliff, just in case you were thinking so.)

The beginning was just a bit too slow for me. In fact, if I hadn't heard a bit about the story beforehand and didn't know the whole killing-spree head-on-a-stick thang was coming later, I would have tossed the book aside.

Also, I generally skimmed over the parts where they started to describe the environment. These passages were not too lengthy though, and may be easily tolerable to others.

just sort of breathe a little. As I said, the last chapter was full of adrenaline and suspense. Generally, I felt satisfied at the end, as you do when you've just finished a good book.

It made me feel how the characters (Ralph, mainly) was feeling: confused, scared, and desperate. It also made me feel glad that I wasn't on that island. Although, in a way, I am. *shudders*

is really great with symbolism, and on some scale is a bit of a genius. He took the worst of society and our civilization and put it all together in this book.

It's a little gross without being terribily descriptive (it was quite less than I expected, actually), you want to know what happens to the characters, and it's suspenseful and moves along well (that is, after the first few chapters, once the boys start organizing meetings and such).

This book may scare some people, due to the rich-but-not-overdone description of hunting, which later turns to a yearning for a human sacrifice.

I did not fully understand the symbolism of some parts of the book (for example, when Simon and the pig's head - that is, the Lord of the Flies - were conversing). I had to read the Notes at the back of the book for some clarity. It may be helpful to some of you younger readers (12 - 15, I suppose) to read a copy of a book with some notes in the back that explain the book and its intent.

Overall, this is a good book, made even better when you fully understand what it symbolizes.

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Created Mar 29, 2003 at 12:19am • Submit your own review...