duminică, 18 iunie 2017

Lord of The Flies, based on the novel by William Golding

Lord of The Flies, based on the novel by William Golding

A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:


Lord of the Flies is one of the best books ever.
The Modern Library has included it on its list of 100 Best Novels:


And the film version is, if not another outstanding masterpiece, at the very least very good.

Peter Brook directs a cast of extremely gifted boy actors and he was nominated for the Palme d’Or, in a year when The Leopard won the most coveted prize.
The tagline chosen for the film is:

-          “Evil is inherent in the human mind, whatever innocence may cloak it…”

Indeed, after seeing Jack and his band in action, the audience could agree with that.
The author of the book has given an interview that I heard in which he talked about Lord of the Flies and its themes.

-          “If there are no rules you have nothing”

This seemed to be the key, according to William Golding and looking back it is easy to see that the absence of rules might be responsible in much greater part than the evil inherent mentioned in the tagline.
A group of young boys is isolated on an island, without adults, supervisors or the aforementioned rules.

-          “Jack: We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English! And the English are best at everything!”

Even if Jack says that, he is the “bad one”, the boy who collects a gang around him and they become violent.
In the first place, it is just the pig and the game, the thrill of hunting, but Jack wants more power, influence.

There may be a dispute that reflects atavistic tendencies, between alpha males that want to rule over the herd.
Ralph seems to be the more reasonable, peaceful type, or if we speak in terms of a recent comparison:

-          Ralph would be the bonobo and Jack the representative of the chimpanzee that do not hesitate to kill their own

In the middle somehow, we have another boy who is trapped and he is called Piggy, even if he insists he does not like the nickname.

“Piggy: I've got the conch!
[the boys jeer and taunt him from above the cliff]
Piggy: [shouts] Which is it better to be, a pack of painted savages like you are, or sensible like Ralph is? Which is better, to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?
[Roger goes angry and pushes a huge boulder, which heads right to Piggy]

To all the existing kerfuffle and chaos, another element of danger and tension is added, as a beast comes haunting the island.
The younger children are really scared, while the older boys pretend they are brave enough to see off any threat.

That is just showing off of course, for when they get to see the dead body hanging off the cliff they run like hell.
Ralph is indeed sensitive and reasonable, calculating and wise and he keeps reminding the others about the fire.

They need it for a few reasons, but the main one is that they want potential pilots in airplanes to see the smoke.
A fabulous, difficult to adapt book was adapted for a very good film.

The absence of girls was explained by William Golding- with them, “the head of sex would have been present” – I do not remember the words, but he went on with:

“Women are foolish to pretend they’re equal to men. They’re far superior and always have been”.


Niciun comentariu:

Trimiteți un comentariu