Savage Island

The call of the wild -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
Just finished reading another novel in my "Boomer Lit" series, Lord of the Flies. Lord of the Flies (LOTF) was the first novel by Nobel Prize winner William Golding; it was published in 1954. The book only sold 3,000 copies its first year but developed a following and is now considered one of the best English-language novels ever written. Warning: there are spoilers that follow; in fact I'll probably give away the whole plot...

LOTF has a fairly dull beginning but is a gripping thriller by the last couple of chapters. It deals with a group of @ 30 British school boys ages 6 to 12, who become abandoned on a Pacific Island when their plane (part of a war time evacuation) crashes with no adult survivors. There's a natural age segmentation between the 'big'uns' (ages 10-12) and the ‘little’uns’ (ages 9 and under). At the outset, the boys organize in a fairly "Democratic" way. The older boys take charge, holding an election. They elect the genial, fair-skinned Ralph as their Chief. Piggy, a plump boy with glasses is Ralph's friend and implicit advisor. Jack is a "macho" strong-willed rival to Ralph. He loves to bark orders and is incensed at Ralph's victory. Even so, at the beginning the boys have a cooperative society. They set about to build huts, gather fruit and build a fire (using magnification from Piggy's eyeglasses). The fire is intended to send a skyward smoke signal to any rescue ships that might pass by.

Jack has a small group who are designated "the hunters". Their only stated mission is to hunt wild pigs using wood spears and a knife. They succeed in killing a couple of animals and become big-headed at their success -- they even originate a celebration dance ritual. After cooking one of the pigs they let the fire go out, which deeply troubles Ralph -- the rescue signal has been snuffed out. Ralph confronts Jack and the two groups develop a fissure. Jack challenges the group: "Whoever wants to be part of the hunt, join with me!". Astonishingly, most of the boys glom to Jack -- maybe impressed by his macho certitude or maybe liking the pork dinners.

From here, things spiral out of control. The hunter group gets carried away with itself and its ritual dance (in which they imitate the capture and slaughter of a pig). Simon, a solitary boy who belongs to neither group, happens on the ritual scene and they slaughter him much like a pig. The hunters steal Piggy's glasses and in a group confrontation, Piggy is shoved off a 40 foot cliff, to his death. By this point, Ralph's "Democratic" group has dissolved or abandoned him. Ralph stands alone against the remaining 'big'uns'. A chase ensues where the hunters intend to kill Ralph. Knowing how skilled Ralph is at hiding in the underbrush, the hunters decide to smoke him out with fire. They inadvertently set the whole island on fire. The chase ends for Ralph and his tormentors when a rescue ship is drawn to the burning island. The boys transform from savage hunters back into skittish school boys as the rescuing Naval officer chastises them for slovenly habits and juvenile war games.

This book was mesmerizing -- I was taken by the turn of events. E.M. Forster wrote the forward to the book, and says that it's a political allegory. Ralph represents Democracy, Jack represents fascism or despotism and Piggy represents reason and truth. These symbolic equations make perfect sense to me. Whether you take the account literally or symbolically, Lord of the Flies is a powerful tale. For anyone who's ever been drawn into office political drama or Faustian bargains of any sort, this book is a must-read. You'll recognize people you've known albeit in an extreme fashion. Some critics have said the book's overall message is that man is fallen and hopeless. I prefer to think that man has hope, but here is what happens when reason takes a back seat to brutal force.

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