Lord of the Flies Group

Question:

hummer1
hummer1
Student
High School - 11th Grade

Why is Lord of the Flies one of the most important masterpiece of English literature?

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Posted by hummer1 on Monday March 9, 2009 at 4:07 AM and tagged with lord of the flies, lord of the flies literature.

Answers:

  1. eabettencourt
    eabettencourt Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    With his "Lord of the Flies," it has been argued that William Golding demonstrated mastery of the allegorical novel.  Indeed, this novel is a wonderful example of allegory in that Golding uses his literal plot of schoolboys stranded on an island to convey his themes about the darkness of man's heart when civilization is removed.  Each symbol, like the conch shell or Piggy's specs, each character, each description of setting is masterfully used to convey these themes.  Also, Golding's use of diction is quite superb and definitely lends itself to his thematic delivery as well.

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    Posted by eabettencourt on Monday March 9, 2009 at 8:15 AM


  2. danylyshen Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Any great piece of literature must stand the test of time, it must be didactic, it must entertain, and it must encourage almost constant discussion about it. Lord of the Flies, in my opinion, meets all of these requirements. When cultural media such as family guy and the simpsons allude to it in some of their episodes you just know that it's had some impact onb society and in classrooms everywhere. Most importantly, however, is that LOTF presents us with a society in miniature, a microcosm of sorts. Society has its Ralphs, Jacks, Simons, Rogers, and every range inbetween. What happens on the island is what often happens in real life. We need to learn from reading the novel to be aware of the darkness which is potential in all of us, learn to rationally control it, and work together for the good of ALL of society or else we will never survive as a species.

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    Posted by danylyshen on Monday March 9, 2009 at 8:20 AM

  3. ego-fantastic
    ego-fantastic Student
    High School - 10th Grade

    It isn't, it just gets read alot. Golding goes the easy way out at the end.

     

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    Posted by ego-fantastic on Wednesday March 11, 2009 at 3:53 PM