This book is highly important as it shows us the innate savagery existing in all man, the loss of innocence, and good vs. evil. I was wondering however about a specific idea brought forth to me by one of my students. Why, in chapter 9, is the dance around the fire considered a ritual and how does that contribute to the dehumanization of the boys? I gave him my best possible reply, but i was just curious to see other points of view.

The dance is a ritual because it becomes a part of their routine for killing.  Obviously, it starts with the pigs, but in this case results in the death of Simon.  This particular ritual has grown throughout the novel.  It started with the formation of a circle in order to kill the first pig, then the chanting was added as they triumphantly returned to the tribe.  When they were telling the story to Ralph and the others, it became a sort of game with one tribe member in the middle of the circle playing the part of the pig.  Of course, that game become more vicious everytime it was played, culminating in the death of Simon, eventually.

I don't know if this ritual dehumanizes the boys, but it certainly creates an alter ego for them.  When I teach this novel, I liken it to my football team before a game.  They all have different rituals they participate in, some listen to music, some sit quietly in a corner visualizing, some re-read scouting reports, etc.  But once it's time to hit the field, they are ready for battle.  Most of them take on different personalities for the game.  In my opinion, this is the most haunting aspect of their dance.  The boys stop being boys and become hunters, and it happens to everyone.  Look at how Ralph feels during the killing of Simon as opposed to the next morning.  The beauty of this novel is realizing that those hidden attributes could be inside all of us!

This novel is haunting-the visual images it creates stick with you. When you hear news of some type of  savagery in society , the book comes back to you. The human capability to descend into savage acts is timeless.

It is also one of those books that you discover new meaning every time you reread it.

Is Lord of the Flies an Important Book?

Did you like Lord of the Flies? Do you think it's an important book to read?

I have a confession to make: I didn't read this book until I was an adult. In high school and college my teachers kept saying things like, "Well, you've all already read this, so we'll read something different." As a result, I didn't read this book until this last year, so my perspective may be skewed.

I liked sections very much, and found the images—the skull, the conch, the...

Did you like Lord of the Flies? Do you think it's an important book to read?