lotf

[hXc]

Lord Of The Flies
William Golding
First published in the 1940's or 1950's (I forget)

We are studying this book in English class at the moment. I am sure many of you have studied this same book as school students or whatever. I'm wondering what the general feelings about the book are.

I know it won the nobel prize for literature and all that but...
The allegory in the book is used too much for today's times. The metaphors are over used for today's times. Everything said in the book, means something different than what is on the surface. The language used in it is out of date for New Zealand and a lot of the English speaking countries of the world.

I personally, think it is a good book and a good storyline and has good messages, but should 5th formers really be studying something so dated as an NCEA credit gaining thing. I don't think we should.

I have a friend in my class who told his folks we are reading this, and his dad said, "Oh that! I studied that in high school! What next, Animal Farm?!" Well the funny thing is, the other 5th form class my teacher teaches, is studying Animal Farm.

Yes, both very good books and all, but they really are getting on. Wouldn't something written by Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, J.R.R Tolkien or the man who wrote The Da Vinci Code be better. After all, the teachers are all telling us to keep up with the times. I don't see why any of the bove author's books, and many more, can't be studied instead of the books which are nearly, if not 50 years old.

Thanks you for reading all the words...

[James Deuce]

When the literature was written has little bearing on whether or not it should be studied. You are nothing without your history. You are, at best, misguided to ignore it.

Yes it can be distilled into, "We are all two meals away from barbarism", but the process documented in LOTF is is fascinating. The language isn't anything other than correct though the colloquialisms are a bit jarring.

Remember to study how the book is constructed too. Don't just focus on the content.

J.R.R. Tolkien is older than the other books you quote, and the author himself was "older" when he wrote the Middle Earth books, though they are the culmination of a life dedicated to linguistics and philosophy. The thought processes behind LOTR predate anything that people alive would recognise as a "modern" attitude.

Stephen King can't write. He is a stolid workman, plodding through a series of formulae. He very seldom explores anything new. Dan Brown can't write either, and I would suggest that the NCEA student who wallows through The Da Vinci Code would have to be a P or crack addict to stay awake.

Animal Farm is one of THE most important works of the 20th Century. It is thoroughly subversive, more so today when there are MORE Government controls in place than when it was written. Social fabric was determined by class when Animal Farm was written. Class is a state of mind, a series of subsets of a philosophy that again is foreign to our culture but intrinsic in its creation.

Terry Pratchett parodies modern "British" culture. Without an understanding of the nuances of that culture today, you can miss stuff, but how does it help you understand your own? Satire relies on the reader having an intrinsic understanding of the subject being satirised. I love Pratchett, but I know a lot of people who don't get it. They aren't stupid, large chunks of his books seem like a very weak parody of Fantasy literature, rather than social commentary, because their experience of their own culture and society is very different to the intended reader.

[yungatart]

(quavery voice) It was good enough for my generation. By god, it is good enough for yours.

[Motu]

Lord of the Flies - 5th form in 1969....yeah,but we didn't ''do'' it man,to actualy pay attention in class was kinda stepping over the edge.

[Karma]

the other 5th form class my teacher teaches, is studying Animal Farm.

I thought that was still illegal over here?

A couple of guys at my school got busted just for watching Traci Lords...

[Hitcher]

Lord of the Flies is a book that can be read on several levels. First is the basic storyline, which is frankly, a bit overdone. Although when it was first written the accepted style of writing for a novel was probably more in line with Golding's effort than what we're used to today.

Secondly, the book is an interesting study in characterisation and the relationships between the characters. A sort of a Tom Brown's School Days meets Survivor.

But, thirdly, the real guts of this book is the stories it tells through symbolism: good versus evil; civilisation versus barbarism; the need to "belong"; a belief that all will come good; and lastly, the "human dilemma", being aware of and understanding the difference between right and wrong.

Is "goodness" really a veneer on human society?

This is a very complex book. Enjoy it. And draw your own conclusions.

[James Deuce]

Oh yeah, you can tell when a book was published, and by whom, by looking in the front of the book. It will also tell you which reprint you are reading, and what country it was published in.

[Fluffy Cat]

So you say this book has a message?, what is that message....
Animal Farm again whats the point?, you should be able to rip through one of these in a day or two and then within seconds give any person some of the message/s from these very good stories or are they more?. Ever looked around?, do you see the patterns, history repeats, its the nature of the beast. As for Terry P, what do you think he read?.
Then you can get on with a few other good reads, but and this is a big but, they do not come around that often so turn on, tune in and .........
Youth don't talk to me about youth, been there done that got the t-shirt etc etc etc........

[sunhuntin]

we did that as well...i didnt think much of it either. but then i also read the hobbit and couldnt get my head around it! 4th form we did the outsiders, which i loved, but started losing interest in 5th form...barely passed school c english and failed art [the only 2 exams i took]

from what i remember, anything we studied in english was done to death....we watched saving private ryan so many times i remember most of the characters!

[Hitcher]

Many novels are appropriate for a certain place in time. Animal Farm is one such.

It was written in the 1940s when the focus of many in the western world was on a crisis more pressing than totalitarianism. While it is easy to draw parallels with Stalin's Russia, parallels can also be drawn with the "politically correct" society we live in today. "Totalitarianism" doesn't mean "communism", although that would have been a compelling edge for this novel when first written. But it's still a great read today.

Allegory is a particularly powerful form of communicating -- one that our early illiterate ancestors put to good use around campfires. A story well told is a powerful thing. Understand allegory and you unlock many of the world's great texts. Including the Bible. And Terry Pratchett. And Douglas Adams.

Animal Farm is a magnificent work. It also makes good use of other literary techniques, such as irony -- wasted on your average American. Once you've read Animal Farm, you should read 1984 (also by George Orwell). I read this in 1975, when it was still "prophetic". I must re-read both of these books.

[Wasp]

your lucky, for 6th form i had to study an auto biography by a black women who since being raped thought everone was out to get her. (i dont think i read past page 2 or 3 and back in those days i loved books...)

www.amazon.com is your friend - got an awesome comment (longer than all the others saying its a good book) written by a 17 year old stating every single point about why that book sucked. and it wasnt just bullshit too, it was better written even than the "official" reviews.

[James Deuce]

Ahhh the opinion of a 17 year old. It's amazing how semen can infiltrate the brain like that.

[Hitcher]

i had to study an auto biography by a black women who since being raped thought everone was out to get her

I'm guessing here... The Colour Purple, perhaps?

[Motu]

Perhaps Piers Anthony would be a more suitable author for the younger mind (although he's far older than me) He was the first SciFi author I read,with the original long edition of Macroscope.Then he branched of into several trilogies and I gave up on him when he started the Xanth fantasy series...kinda Terry Pratchet,but earlier.But he still puts out the odd stand alone novel.Lots and lots of stuff is written into his books,many themes,he gets into maths theories and all sorts of crap.He's always been my favorite author....and I still go back to Sos the Rope,Var the Stick,and Neq the sword,simple,short but powerful stories.

[riffer]

Yes, I can remember reading LOTF and Animal Farm when I was 15 and 16.

Thought much the same about it as you Zach.

Strange though how I understand the books a lot better now I've lived a bit of life.

The trouble I found was in relating my own life experiences to what was happening in the books, so like you I struggled to relate, or find relevance.

Go back and read the books in ten years time and see how much differently you find them.