Reflection 7: Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies continues to twist and turn, I now view this book with high regards. It is an exciting and enlightening tale for any. Albeit for some it would appear as monotonous and a book only to be read for school and never in one's free time. Yet I believe that to be quite the contrary. Lord of the Flies, or LoF, is a book that shows you how we as a society function. How very few of us choose to leave the mass and swarm of single-minded citizens. It demonstrates how we perceive have our own ideas, which is that it is dangerous. This is portrayed with the injury, and eventually deaths of some of the characters. A true eye opener for any reader who chooses to delve deep enough within the pages.

William Golding, a genius of a man to create this intricate story throughout which the reader is bursting with questions, only for some to be answered later on within the tale. So, if you had three questions that you could ask the author, what would they be?

1. Why would William Golding kill off Simon first? Why not demonstrate that even the strongest cave, and have him join with Jack and his band of savages? I wonder this, because even though it is strategic and it does demonstrate an aspect of modern society, why not have him live to show that not everyone can be as strong as they appear or as we want them to be.

2. With regards to the twins Sam and Eric, why not have one of the two rebel? To become a "traitor" even to his own twin. I believe this would have made the plot interesting, and maybe have given the reader some kind of hope that not all people lose their morality.

3. Why is it that Golding has the savages' language diminished to those of grunts, pointing, and hitting? I wish to know this, because even though it heightens the sense of dehumanization within the story, I find it curious that the savages don't even communicate amongst themselves with ordinary speech.

So based upon the reading so far, and the basic questions I have just asked, for whom do I believe this book was supposed to be directed to? I personally believe that the targeted audience for this book, was at the time, meant to be for older readers such as those graduating from high school. My reasons for this are because the book is a microcosm that represents society, and the morality of humanity in general. Thus, I believe it is safe to say that the targeted audience is an older one, to make people more aware of the world they will soon be entering, or are currently living in.