Book #43: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

This is a book that seems like it's come up again and again between Tommy and I; he'll mention it or say something like, "I've got the conch!" and I'll remind him that I haven't read it and he'll act all incredulous and talk about how he can't believe I wasn't assigned it in high school. SO I finally decided to read it! I've had it on our bookshelf forever, but I actually started it while we were in Ogden and pulled it off the Leiningers' bookshelves when I was bored one day, and finished it today.

I have to say that I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book; I hadn't really heard anything about what it was actually about before reading it. Brief plot review: This group of English schoolboys get stuck on an island and the story charts their descent from initial democracy into savagery and anarchy. It was a little shocking to actually get into it, and definitely depressing to consider that this is what Golding thought human nature really was like: when society and motivation for following the rules disappear, people become savage and follow an every-man-for-himself rule. It starts with fear--the boys were afraid of a "beast" on the island (which didn't exist) and let that fear dictate all their decisions and stopped doing what they were raised to believe was right and wrong--and it led to complete, all-out chaos with murders being committed by these young schoolboys.

Obviously, I seriously hope Golding is wrong. I do believe that (most) people are innately good and I don't want to believe that a scenario like that of Lord of the Flies could ever happen. But I can't rule it out entirely. Even though I found the book semi-disturbing, I'm glad to have read it to be more aware of this story and its part in our cultural conversation.