Lord of the Flies -- heart of darkness

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I did not think I would enjoy this book as much as I did. I wonder if I would have though if I hadn’t seen so many connections between it and the television show LOST. I think I still would have… its hard to know without being able to alter time and make it so that I read the book first…

I loved the entire concept, what happens to people when the governing rules of society are removed? When no one can tell them what to do? When they have no repercussions… no punishments, no lords or masters? Although the boys began by implementing rules and order, choosing a chief, creating assemblies, they fell away from it, allowed themselves to be swayed by their inner demons. It reminded me of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Most of them reverted to an inner deadly, selfish, evil, a heart of darkness. The structure of British rule and order isn’t the natural inclination of man.

Anyways, there are a few excerpts from the book I really liked.

“Ralph turned restlessly in the leaves. Dartmoor was wild and so were the ponies. But the attraction of wildness had gone.” (pg. 164 – 2006, Perigee Edition)

Ralph was beginning to see that the initial freedom of wildness and savagery that he and the boys had found so “Wacco”, “Wizard”, and “Smashing” on the first day wasn’t as good as civilization. There is a natural evil to wildness.

“He argued unconvincingly that they would let him alone, perhaps even make an outlaw out of him. But then the fatal unreasoning knowledge came to him again. The breaking of the conch and the deaths of Piggy and Simon lay over the island like a vapor. These painted savages would go further and further. Then there was that indefinable connection between himself and Jack; who therefore would never let him alone; never.” (pg. 184 – 2006, Perigee Edition)

I’m still unsure of this passage which is why I’ve noted it. Mainly the connection between him and Jack. Is it that because they were like brothers at first and then became enemies over power that they have a connection? Is the connection that they were comrades, equals, and so their enmity is more hurtful?

Golding does some interesting things with words too… the boys become “savages” who are then referred to at times as “the others.” I think he must have meant to make an socio-anthropological connection with the mentality of western civilization.

Also, he used the word “ululate” several times in the end when the savage tribe is hunting for Ralph. This is a word I’ve actually only ever seen before in a Latin version of the Aeneid. When translating it from the second book of the Aeneid it was advised that it was a sound made by Middle Eastern women, a wailing crying sound. If used as an onomatopoeia the noise the boys make can be clearly understood. Definitely a sound more “other” than British school boy.