Lord of the Flies

Funny how time changes our point of view.
I thought this book was great when I read it in high school. It seemed to pull back the curtain on how brutal and cruel people can be both on a macro and micro level.

From Ralph telling the group first off to call Peterkin, Piggy, even after he revealed how much he didn't want that to happen, to the violent, mob mentality that takes over the group.

The majority of the boys in the story tease and speak so unkindly to each other. Each one looking to exert power over someone else. There are all kinds of slurs thrown around which no matter how many times people say you have to remember the time in which it was written does not excuse how horrific it is to here, especially coming from children.

It's not that I don't think it's an accurate depiction of people, it's that the impact isn't the same for me as when I was younger.

Not to mention part of the reason the pig slaying/rape description was so accurate because the author freely admitted to attempting to rape someone as a teenager. He also said that if he had been born in Germany during Hitler's reign he would have been a Nazi.

So nope, I'm gonna pass on any praise I would have bestowed on William Golding's work.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/lord-of-the-flies-author-tried-to-rape-a-girl-1773099.html

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/16/william-golding-attempted-rape