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Piggy is fat and this book is boring, lord of the flies sucks |
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{{Infobox Book | <!-- See ] or ] --> |
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| name = Lord of the Flies |
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| title_orig = |
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| translator = |
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| image = ]<!--prefer 1st edition--> |
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| image_caption = The original UK ''Lord of the Flies'' book cover |
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| author = ] |
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| cover_artist = Pentagram |
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| country = ] |
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| language = ] |
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| series = |
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| genre = ] ] |
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| publisher = ] |
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| release_date = ] in the UK, ] in the USA |
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| english_release_date = |
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| media_type = Print (] & ]) |
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| pages = 248 pp (first edition, paperback) |
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| isbn = ISBN 0-571-05686-5 (first edition, paperback) |
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| preceded_by = |
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| followed_by = ] |
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}} |
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'''''Lord of the Flies''''' is a ] by ]-winning author ]. It discusses how culture created by man fails, using as an example a group of ] school-boys stuck on a ] who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. Its stances on the already controversial subjects of human nature and individual welfare versus the common good earned it position 70 on the ]'s list of the 100 most frequently challenged Books of 1990–2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm |title=The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000 |accessdate=2007-03-27 |year=2007 |work=]}}</ref> The novel was chosen by '']'' magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html |title=The Complete List: TIME Magazine – ALL-TIME 100 Novels |accessdate=2007-05-12 |year=2005 |work=]}}</ref> |
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Published in 1954, ''Lord of the Flies'' was Golding's first novel, and although it was not a great success at the time — selling fewer than three thousand copies in the ] during 1955 before going out of print — it soon went on to become a bestseller, and by the early 1960s was required reading in many schools and colleges. It was adapted to film in 1963 by ], and again in 1990 by Harry Hook (see "]"). |
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The title is said to be a reference to the ] name ] (בעל זבוב, Ba'al-zvuv, "god of the fly", "host of the fly" or literally "Lord of Flies"), a name sometimes used as a synonym for ].<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02388c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Beelzebub]</ref> |
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==Plot== |
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The novel begins when two boys, Ralph and Piggy, find themselves next to a ] site, they are unaware of their surroundings.The boys soon find a ] shell and Piggy suggests that Ralph blows on the conch to call for any others who might be nearby. The situation soon becomes apparent; there are many British school boys and no adults. The boys are divided into the 'big'uns' (several older children) and the 'littluns'. Ralph, one of the 'big'uns' holds an ''impromptu'' election and becomes the chief beating another elder boy, Jack, who was vying for the position. Ralph quickly calls everyone together to work toward two common goals, the first being to have fun and the second to be rescued by creating a constant ], to be lit using Piggy's glasses. Some of the boys then go exploring and it is discovered they are on a small ]. |
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For a time things on the island are civil, all the boys work toward building shelters, gathering food and water, and generally surviving. The one goal which constantly gets sidelined is keeping the signal fire going as some of the boys, the ']', led by Jack focus their energy on hunting the wild pigs on the island. The children's belief in a ''Beast'' on the island also creates a problem. The children begin to split into two groups, based on the existence of the ''beast''. Ralph attempts to disprove the existence of the beast while Jack exploits the belief in the beast to encourage his group of 'hunters'. |
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Jack soon forms a separate tribe from Ralph's. Jack gains defectors from Ralph's tribe by promising them ] from hunting, fun, and most importantly protection from the ''beast''. Jack's tribe gradually becomes more savage and they adopt ]. Jack and his tribe of 'hunters' eventually murder one of the other boys, Simon. They then raid Ralph's camp, attacking the non-hunters in order to steal Piggy's ] in order to make a cooking fire. |
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By this time Ralph's tribe consists of just himself, Piggy, and two twins named Sam and Eric. They all go to rock fort of Jack's tribe, to try and get back Piggy's glasses so he can see. In the ensuing confrontation Piggy is killed by Roger. Sam and Eric are captured and both become part of Jack's tribe, leaving Ralph by himself. |
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In the final sequence of the book Jack and his friend Roger lead the tribe of 'hunters' on a hunt for Ralph, intending to kill him. In order to do this Jack sets the entire island on fire. The fire is so large that it attracts the attention of a nearby warship which comes to the island and rescues the boys. A navy officer lands on the island and his sudden appearance brings the children's fighting to an abrupt halt. When learning of the boys' activities the officer remarks, "I expected better from British boys." |
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==Film adaptations== |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: ] --> |
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There have been two film adaptations: |
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* '']'' (1963), directed by ] |
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* '']'' (1990), directed by Harry Hook |
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==Allusions/references to other works== |
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''Lord of the Flies'' borrows key elements from ]'s '']'' (1857). Ballantyne's book, a simple adventure without any deep social themes, portrays three boys, Ralph, Peterkin and Jack, who land on an island. Golding used two of the names in his book, and replaced Peterkin with Simon. ''Lord of the Flies'' has been regarded as Golding's response showing what he believed would happen if children (or generally, people) were left to form a society in isolation.<ref>{{cite book | last =Johnson | first =Arnold | title =Of Earth and Darkness. The Novels of William Golding | publisher =University of Missouri Press |date =1980 | location =Missouri | pages =132}}</ref> |
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Golding read 'The Coral Island' as he was growing up, and thought of Ballantyne as racist, since the book teaches that evil is associated with black skin and is external.{{fact|date=September 2007}} In Chapter 11 of the original ''Lord of the Flies'', Piggy calls Jack's tribe "a pack of painted ]s."<ref></ref> The term was not viewed as offensive in 1960s British society as it is today as there was slightly more racism, being seen as a descriptive (rather than abusive) term for people of dark skin.{{fact|date=September 2007}} In any case, the word was changed to "savages" in some editions and "Indians" in the mass media publication. |
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==Influence== |
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Please try to limit this section to works that are _substantially inspired_ by Lord of the Flies, rather than referring to it in passing. |
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--> |
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Many writers have borrowed plot elements from ''Lord of the Flies''. |
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===Printed works=== |
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]'s '']'', published in 1955, can be seen as a rebuttal to ''Lord of the Flies'' as it concerns a group of teenagers stranded on an uninhabited planet who manage to create a functional tribal society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfreviews.net/tunnel_in_the_sky.html |title=Robert A. Heinlin: ''Tunnel in the Sky'' |accessdate=2007-03-27 |last=Wagner |first=Thomas M. |year=2006 |work=SF Reviews.net}}</ref> |
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] has stated that the Castle Rock in ''Lord of the Flies'' was the inspiration for the ] that has appeared in a number of his novels. The book itself also appears prominently in his novels '']'' and '']''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sking.htm |title=Stephen King (1947-) |accessdate=2007-03-27 |year=2003 |work=Authors' Calendar}}</ref> King's fictional town in turn inspired the name of ]'s production company, ]. |
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The ] series ] is an adaptation of the "Lord of the flies" concept with all the major DC Supervillains being marooned on an Alien planet |
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===Television=== |
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<!-- |
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Please try to limit this section to works that are _substantially inspired_ by Lord of the Flies, rather than referring to it in passing. |
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--> |
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''Lord of the Flies'' inspired Sunrise Animation's classic ] series '']'', which follows the lives of nearly 500 teenagers stranded aboard a space battleship. |
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Also the "]" episode of ] is based on this book |
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The Club Spongebob episode of ], in which he, Patrick and Squidward are stranded in the woods and rely on the "magic conch" for guidance. |
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===Music=== |
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*The English heavy metal band ] composed a song about the novel, with the title "]". |
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*The debut ], '']'', by ] ] ] was loosely based on the novel's theme of childhood corruption, and the final song on the album, "]," takes its title from the novel's chapter of the same name. Additionally, some printings of the book's cover are similar to the cover of the album.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=1625 | title=Rock and Roll Should Be This Big! | first=Stuart | last=Bailie | date=] | publisher=] | accessdate=2007-11-28}}</ref> |
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*American Punk Rock band ] wrote a song in their 1988 album "Suffer", mentioning the novel, with the title "1000 more fools" : ''"I've seen the rapture in a starving baby's eyes, Inchoate beatitude, the Lord of the Flies".'' |
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*] makes a reference to Piggy's death in his song "Memory is Paralax" on the album ] saying,"...backstage at the showcase, i want bouquets of flowers,a large order of fries and i'm sort of surprised because the same thing happened in the lord of the flies when piggy lost his glasses and got crushed by a boulder." |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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{{wikibooks}} |
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{{wikiquote}} |
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* Literary analysis of the novel |
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{{William Golding}} |
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