”Lord Of The Flies” is the main reason why society should be grateful that William Golding didn’t pursue natural science career at Oxford. English literature acquired a great diamond and a Nobel Prize winner when he switched his major to follow the passion that had been brewing since he was 12 years old.

What would you do if found yourself in a completely new environment? No rules, no supervision, no morality, no “right” or “wrong” whatsoever. Would you wait for the rescue? Or would you start building the new world from scratch? And what would that world look like?

After a plane crash a group of schoolboys that were being evacuated from England are stuck on a tropical island. They quickly elect leaders but living by the rules of the society they are used to turns out a challenge for them. A new order is being established and it doesn’t necessary show the best of the human character.

On a mundane level it is set up relatively easy: lighting a fire and hunting a sow is a skills that can be acquired through numerous tries and fails. But on a personal level it proved to be much more difficult: anarchy takes over and the group splits into two different tribes.

Soon after the external forces in the form of dead parachutist intrude into the life of the wild kids, the fear evokes violence, the violence takes over and the human life is no longer sacred.

The author lived through World War II and his experience of how much evil the humanity is capable to produce is radiated through the book.

Maybe that was the reason why a couple of dozens of publishers first rejected the book. Nevertheless it was printed by “Faber & Faber” in 1954 and within a couple years became a bestseller. Definitely worth reading and rereading again. The writing style is easy to read and the concepts to plunge upon are endless.

Author: Marshall Vasquez