Lord of the Flies - a book review by RA

Lord of the Flies by William Golding book cover
The book, Lord of the Flies, is about a group of young boys that struggles for survival after a plane crash leaves them on a deserted island with no adults. William Golding masterfully expressed the initial innocence of children through the characters and how power and lack of direction can influence their purity. My favorite character was Ralph, because of his character development, comparing his maturity and attitude from beginning to the end. The author uses a plethora of literary devices such as foreshadowing and symbolism, which compels you to read more. However, the writing form is complex and works your brain to analyze and understand the author’s message. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I would give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

I highly recommend this book to anyone because it explores human nature and the different sides that people reveal when confronted with obstacles. The book is filled with great vocabulary and literary devices that middle and high schoolers would want to learn. However, it also contains violence and near-cannibalism that may be too gory for younger audiences or readers that are not ready for this type of reading. Other than the savagery, this book carries numerous messages about government and religion, which may be interesting to some readers.

Five trivia questions (and answers):

  1. What did Ralph use to call meetings? A shell/conch (p.17).
  2. Who broke Piggy’s glasses? Jack (p. 71).
  3. In chapter six, what landed on the island that they thought was the beast? The body of the parachutist (pp. 95-98).
  4. Who killed Piggy? Roger (pp. 180-181).
  5. What did they use to make fire? Piggy’s specs (pp. 40-41).

Three discussion questions:  

  1. What would happen if Ralph agreed with Jack’s leadership and partnered up with him?
  2. Would the plot change if there were girls involved?
  3. How would it be different if there were adults present?
By ElaineN on June 23, 2021