Bokrecension: Lord of the Flies av William Golding

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I följande bokrecension har jag beskrivit lite hur boken är skriven, vilken var uppgiften. Det underlättar alltså om man har läst lite om karaktärisering och hur texter är uppbyggda. Ber om ursäkt ifall engelskan inte är 100-procentig.

Mycket nöje!


I have read the book “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. I found this book rather interesting for its drama and its characterization of how you may change if you really have to.
It is about a group of boys, that is right – no girls – not older than teens, who are stranded on an uninhabited, tropical island. They are thrown back to live like mankind lived thousands of years ago.

The plot of this book is that, most likely, a plane has crashed on the island. There does not seem to be any casualties as a result of the crash, though. For some reason, there are no adults involved at all. Ralph, one of the main characters, points out early in the book that his father was standing at the terminal when they “set off”. Furthermore, the boys mention a plane being shot down, and a “scar” in the island where, I think, the fuse lodge landed and ploughed
through the jungle. This clearly states that they must have been flying. The survivors assemble, and at once they decide that they need a leader. They have a vote between Ralph and Jack; another one of the main characters. Ralph wins this vote and Jack settles with it, although he is not satisfied with it. The survivors do not have much in common. One thing they do have in common is that they all enjoy making fun of Piggy. Piggy is an overweight boy with glasses. They find it amusing to bully him. At the end though, they seem to change their opinion regarding Piggy. You never get to know his real name. Later on, arguments occur, on whether Ralph is a suitable leader or not. Jack undermines Ralph’s authority and breaks of from the group with a few others. More and more break away from Ralph until only he and three others are left on that part of the island.

The characterization is actually a bit vague in the beginning. You do not get to know the characters well until after one chapter. There are three main characters in this book: Ralph, Piggy and Jack. In my opinion, Jack and Ralph are round, complex characters whilst Piggy is a flat, simple character. At first, Ralph stands tall as a leader and takes the job with great appreciation. He takes it extremely serious. Then, as time passes, he gets more and more thoughtful. Ralph no longer believes in the task to be a leader. His personality changes; he is warmer towards Piggy and colder towards Jack. It was the opposite in the beginning. Jack’s personality changes as well. In the beginning, he is a gentle choir leader and he settles with the decision of Ralph as a leader and the decisions he makes. Later on, Jack changes. The choir boys are appointed to hunters, and this is when Jack’s personality really starts to change. He feels that he has a great deal of power. He ignores the fact that the choir boys are also supposed to watch the fire. Instead, they go hunting and as a result; the fire goes out and Ralph is furious. From now on, Jack defies almost every decision Ralph makes. He gets more greedy and more a rebel. At the end, Jack is a blood thirsty savage. Piggy remains the same throughout the story. He puts his rely and affection to the leader, and it stays that way. His personality never changes, although being constantly bugged by the others.

The theme in this book is a tricky one to find. If you ask me, I would say that the subject of the story is survival. At first, I thought that the subject was power. But I later changed my mind. The theme is that, when it comes to survival, we are the very same way as we were when we lived in caves. Even though evolution has altered our appearance and mind, the
natural instincts remain the same. The first thing Ralph thinks of is to start a fire to send smoke signals, cook food and for warmth. What would be the first think you would think of? Probably survival, shelter etcetera. The Lord of the Flies is actually a pig’s head. The hunters decide that they will leave the head behind so that “the beast” does not come after them.

The true, geographical setting is on an uninhabited, tropical island as I stated earlier. The book is set during World War II, because one of the characters mentioned an atomic bomb going off. It takes several months for the story to unveil. Many, many nights pass before they are rescued. The passage of time is somewhat fuzzy at a few places. Between two chapters, a day or several days may have passed, without the reader noticing it at once. The atmosphere amongst the characters is actually good in the beginning. Later on, though, this changes. The survivors are forced to join either Jack or stay with Ralph. In the beginning, no one seems to know anyone. At the end, they all seem to know each other quite well, but now they hate each other instead. The characters apply to the setting and atmosphere. They are afraid of the dark; the island is a bad place to be when it is dark. At daytime, there does not seem to be anything to be afraid of. You can actually feel the growing hatred, especially between Ralph and Jack.

Lord of the Flies is told from a third person, omniscient point of view. William Golding assumes knowledge of all the characters’ thoughts and minds. We are told at various moments what different characters think: in particular Ralph, Piggy and Jack. The tone of this novel is told in a discrete, indirect way. Golding seems to believe that when it comes to survival we are prepared to do whatever it takes to stay alive. I think so too.

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