Aaron Maskarenas October 27, 2015 The Lord of the Flies: A Book Rationale Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print. Intended Audience The Lord of the Flies is unique in that it is a literary work that is suitable for all ages capable of understanding it. An adventurous young reader would be enthralled by the riveting story while an experienced college graduate student would be astounded by the various themes and morals found throughout the book. It has aspects that can be enjoyed by all ages, and messages that can be understood by everyone. Though the language is difficult to digest at times, it never becomes as difficult as to be undecipherable by a willing reader. The content of the book is also suitable …show more content…
Their return marks the turning point in the story. The hunters no longer resemble civilized British boys, but instead seem more like savages, chanting strange songs and dancing around their kill. Jack and his followers become increasingly crueler, while Ralph attempts to restore order. Their opposing philosophies create a divide amongst the boys. This divide is evident in the boys search for the beast, a creature that some of the boys reported seeing. The beast is essentially a manifestation of their savage inner selves, and in the search, Ralph finds himself immersed in the hunt. The next day, Jack calls a meeting, and declares Ralph is a coward for not hunting the beast which had been seen the day before. He separates from the main group, and forms his own group consisting mainly of savage hunters. As the two factions feud, Simon ventures into the forest, where he sees a sows head impaled on a stick, the so-called “Lord of the Flies”. He ventures further and discovers that what the boys thought was a beast was actually dead parachutist who had landed on the island. The other boys have by this time come together to perform a ritualistic dance and eat pig meat. When Simon returns to tell them of his discovery, they mistake him for the beast, and murder him. This signals the complete break from civilized to …show more content…
In the ensuing chaos, Piggy is crushed by a boulder, and Ralph is left by himself. Jack gathers his hunters and orders them to burn the forest in order to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place. Ralph manages to survive long enough to make it to the beach, where he meets a British naval officer. It is at this moment that all the boys seemingly revert back to their civilized selves. Disregarding the numerous deaths that had occurred on the island and their descent into savagery, the sight of a naval officer was enough for them to return to societies expectations of