November 2019 Classic of the Month: 'Lord of the Flies'

How William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' will change your perspective on humanity.

'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding, 202 pages - Instagram @c_reads_books

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The classic of the month for November 2019 is Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This book has been one of my favorites since I first read it when I was 14, and is one that I reread only four months after I first read it.

This book shows how easily man can return to his primitive and survival instincts. When a group of schoolboys is stranded on an island and left to their own devices, chaos quickly emerges from their failed attempt at governing themselves, and it becomes obvious that humans, even children, are not as far evolved from their primitive ancestors as they believe themselves to be.

Lord of the Flies contains many simple, yet engrossing symbols. Piggy’s specs are a clear symbol of the knowledge that was once valued, as a way of eyesight for Piggy and a way to make a fire, until Jack punches Piggy, and smashes one side of his glasses.

The conch shell is initially used as a way to issue order and respect to the boys’ civilization, but becomes less and less important to the boys as they further descend into chaos and barbarism. Furthermore, Piggy’s death and the destruction of the conch shell mark the inevitable plunge into total barbarism and disarray.

The salient symbol in Lord of the Flies, though, is of course the literal Lord of the Flies, the pig’s head that remains as “a gift for the beast” that the boys imagine lives on the island. The boys leave the pig’s head propped up on a stick in a clearing after killing it, and Simon sticks around it while the other boys leave. Simon stares at its maniacal grin with guts and flies surrounding it, and hears it speak to him.

The pig’s head represents the kids’ loss of innocence and the savagery growing within them after having killed a living animal. Simon’s evil conscience is speaking to him in the form of the pig’s head, further making it evident that the beast the boys had been searching for is really within themselves.

My personal favorite part of this book is the ending. After the boys’ self governing civilization completely collapses, they begin to quite literally hunt Ralph. In the most profoundly chilling and disquieting sequence of events, Ralph runs for his life, until he notices a naval officer in the clearing on the island. Ralph stares at him, dumbfounded, and tries to explain what happened on the island and amongst the boys, but struggles to find the right words.

The officer sees the boys’ actions as just fun and games, and as the other boys who were just hunting Ralph arrive, Ralph begins to cry, and so do the others, as they realize what they let themselves become.

They cry for the loss of their innocence and the darkness of man that they never knew existed inside them. Lord of the Flies is one of the most gripping and intense books that I’ve ever read, finishing the entire second half of it in one sitting the first time I read it, and I think that everyone should read it at least once!