Overuses In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel that explores the lives of young British school boys who have inhabited an island after surviving a plane crash. The boys experience leadership, mutual hostility, violence, and life off-grid. While the concept of Lord of the Flies has great potential, Golding overuses description, fails to actively engage the reader, and leaves many questions unanswered, resulting in an inefficient novel. Throughout the entirety of the novel, Golding overuses description, especially regarding the setting. While establishing the setting is important, especially at the beginning of a novel, Golding uses an excessive, and unnecessary amount of description; “Here the beach was interrupted abruptly by the square motif

There was not enough soil for them to grow to any height and when they reached perhaps twenty feet they fell and dried, forming a criss-cross pattern of trunks, very convenient to sit on. The palms that still stood made a green roof, covered on the underside with a quivering tangle of reflections from the lagoon. Ralph hauled himself onto this platform, noted the coolness and shade, shut one eye, and decided that the shadows on his body were really green. He picked his way to the seaward edge of the platform and stood looking down into the water. It was clear to the bottom and bright with the efflorescence of tropical weeds and coral. A school of tiny, glittering fish flicked hither and thither. Ralph spoke to himself, sounding the bass strings of delight” (Golding 12) This is just one example of clear overdescription, and Golding continues this style of writing throughout the novel. This style of writing makes readers disinterested, which results in having difficulty staying engaged with the main idea of the novel. While his overdescription leads to disengagement, Golding does not effectively engage the readers