Well what are y'all thinking so far?

Fun fact, not really spoilery: LOTF is a response to another British novel from the 1880s called The Coral Island. Only they're very different takes on being shipwrecked.

As for me, every time I read this book, I just picture Cast Away but with kids.

I read this book back in school and can't wait to read it again. It'll be interesting to see what things I missed back then, what went right over my head and if my opinion has changed!

This is SO interesting! I'm going to have to add this to my to-read list.

The first time I read LotF was when I was a wee gal in middle school. Back then I liked it because it supported my assumption that boys were stupid (no offence, gents ) because my classmates reminded me of the characters in the book. I also liked my teacher's approach to to novel, which was focused on character development and analyzing character motivations and the like. BuuuuuUUUuuUUUuuuuut I read it again when I was in college for one of my education courses when I had to create an entire unit focused on a novel of my choice. The second read I picked up on SO MUCH that my middle school self overlooked (all the foreshadowing, symbolism, allegory, and deeper themes), which made me enjoy the book even more.

This school year I am having my students read the novel. As of this moment we've finished chapter 7. The general consensus from my students is that the book starts off "kind of boring" but lately it's "getting really good now" because the plot is picking up quite a bit, themes are becoming more prominent, etc.

I have tried to read this book and I am really sorry I did not enjoy the book I finished on chapter 3

I'm gonna be honest - I am NOT a classic literature type of gal, with a few exceptions of course. I only gave this one 2 stars. I agree with Zoe's students it starts off veryyy slow, but that makes sense as we need time for the madness to really kick in. I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first, but still. Meh. I was overall mostly reading it to finish it by the end.

This one was never on our curriculum, it's a first time read for me. On paper, it seems like something I'd be into. A load of kids stranded on a remote, desert island?? The potential! BUT I'm about a quarter of the way in and idk, I don't have any strong opinions yet but it's not really much of a page turner???

Also, so far none of the characters are very likable. They all bug the heck outta me.

I just finished! I'm going to take a beat and then come back with non-spoiler thoughts and reply to y'all.

In English class in school we were divided into two groups and I was not in the one that read it BUT it’s been on my list since forever. So now I finally borrowed the book from my friends. Can’t wait to get started. :3

How are we all getting on with reading Lord of the Flies? I see we seem to have lots of differing opinions which should make for a very interesting discussion.

Firstly, I want to know what you all think of the book overall - why do you like it or dislike it? How do you feel the pace is (I know it's seen as being pretty slow to start)?

What about the characters? How well developed are they? Who was your favourite and least favourite and why?

Can't wait to read what you all think!

This was a book that I said when it was picked I read in school and hated. I wasn't huge on reading back in eighth grade, but I don't think that was fully the reason I didn't like it. I remember being bored and hating the way politics were brought up by the teacher in many of his books (hated politics even then).

As I listen to this book (something I don't recommend either) I am not shocked by my opinion of this being the same. I find it boring and no characters to connect with. I like books that pull me in and make me want to know what happens to the characters and the only thing that would even remotely keep me reading is my teacher's background of wanting to know what happens to little kids, but since I've already read it I know. I am going to finish the book since I am halfway through, but I wanted to post my thoughts.

For my teachers doing lessons, I think you could compare the book with Maze Runner for something students might know whether book or movie.

One thing I like about this book is the dialogue. It has a VERY British vibe, in my opinion, though being American, I don't know if it's at all accurate to how the kids used to talk in the 1960s when this was published. An example of what I mean: "a s s-mar," and "wizard!" and "sucks to your auntie!" etc. etc. lol.

An English teacher friend of mine shared this article that I thought was funnier than the original story: Excerpts from the All-Girl Remake of Lord of the Flies

I finally finished reading Lord of the Flies (thanks, Social Distancing Event of 2020) and I just have to say that I am SO baffled? It feels so old-fashioned, so racist, so disturbing in how it oversimplifies everything. I have so so so much to say and not enough brainpower to articulate it.

I am WITH YOU on this. Also that article is so funny? I can't stop laughing, I LOVE how accurate it is.

PERSONAL OPINION TIME:

Let's start with how BritishTM it is. No, I don't mean the Britain of today, though with Brexit, we can see the aftertaste of the Great British Ego and how they genuinely believe they are the best at everything. It's mentioned in the beginning of the book - they're British, and they're the best. They're British, so they can't be running around like "savages"; They're British, so they have to maintain order.

It's also so so telling how the only "civilised" boys are absolutely obsessed with the approval of authority figures and adults. It's almost as if Golding is trying to... tell us something.

Let's also talk about the entire lack of women in the story, except for the passage about the slaying of the pig (which as I read it, felt WEIRDLY sexual? uh? is Golding okay?). I understand that Golding was never a little girl, but this reeks strongly of "girls are not on the same level" to me.

Did he believe the girls would always remain prim and proper? Or that they would not take leadership? That they would be "too much of a civilising influence"?

SPEAKING OF CIVILISING.

My lord, reading the whole commentary on how the hunters become savages who have no care for social order or decorum just STINKS to me of the sentiments that encouraged the expansion of the British Empire TM. Gotta civilise the savage lands, yeah? Let's just conveniently forget that the Indus Valley Civilisation was one of the world's earliest ones, which contributed significantly to the development of science and mathematics.

No, clearly these wealthy mercantile, maritime civilisations in Asia absolutely NEEDED the British to come over, snap their looms and break their fingers, enslave them and plunder their land for natural resources, imposing their backwards morality on societies who had already developed a moral code and leave them several centuries later, handicapped and several hundred years behind when they had been ahead.

Ahem.

I have a lot of opinions and I'm not sorry about them.

disclaimer: this is a criticism of The British Imperial Army and their indoctrination of the people of their time, i am very fond of the british people i know in this year of our lord 2020

Since this is the second time reading this book I actually got it on Libby and listened to it. The Author is the one that read it and I think the beginning intro was the most favorite part of the entire book. He actually talks about why no girls. This book was written in 1954 and he said that he was tired of reading stories that the children were always so propper, especially the boys and he wanted a book of boys being little brats as boys could be. He also said he didn't use girls because girls will always, in his eyes be more superior, smarter, and just better at surviving then boys every could be. I found his explanation to be interesting and it was obvious he recorded his reading way after the book, which I just looked up and found 2003.


I did finally finish it and a few things,

I still hated it, but not as much as I did as a child. I forgot about the death that was in it. I thought about my oldest while reading it because he isn't much of a reader, but I do feel this book would appeal to him. It is a book that I think is a classic for a school project though because you can use it to talk about survival, could you survive? (My answer would be no) Which group would you go with? Do you think the right things happened, how could it have been different? There is a bullying aspect in there with Piggy, who was the smartest in the group? You could talk about government and how even with a group of kids a sort of government started to form a rebellion in that government and the changes in their society.

Sorry the teacher in my jumped in.