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| Lord of the Flies (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) | 
| Author: William Golding
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $5.86
You Save: $9.14 (61%)
New (46) Collectible (5) from $8.08
Avg. Customer Rating:  1274 reviews
Sales Rank: 1408
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0140283331
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780140283334
ASIN: 0140283331
Publication Date: October 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Softcover. Vintage mass market paperback with slight wear to the cover.
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Amazon.com Review
William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition. --Jennifer Hubert
Product Description
These deluxe editions are packaged with French flaps, acid-free paper, and rough front.
"This brilliant work is a frightening parody on man's return. . . to that state of darkness from which it took him thousands of years to emerge. . . Superbly written." --The New York Times
Other Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
My Antonia by Willa Cather
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
White Noise by Don DeLillo
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1269 more reviews...
 A brutal, horrifying masterpiece October 4, 2008
I had to read this book while I was in high school and thought it was just OK. I just reread it on my own and now that I'm an adult, it touched me more deeply. The bullying and cruelty these boys exhibit, the casual schadenfreude that escalates into violence, had a greater impact on me this time around. I'm glad I reread it, appreciated the message, but did not enjoy it. Some facts of life aree too awful and I prefer not think of them.
An Old Book Revisited September 21, 2008
I couldn't remember if I had read this book at an earlier age so I downloaded it and read it again. I enjoyed this book. What can I say that hasn't already been said. If you haven't read this book, I encourage you to do so. This isn't a book you want to miss.
 "Incomplete," In My Opinion September 18, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Lord of the Flies is another classic that relies on a bad outcome in the story to get attention from readers. In a lot of schools it is required reading. I suppose that teachers think that stories with bad outcomes serve as warnings to other people, and the author probably had similar motives. However, there are two important questions to answer. First, does Lord of the Flies meet the criteria to be considered a "warning" to society? Second, does the content of the novel itself contradict its purpose?
Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of boys who are stranded on an island with no adults present. The boys attempt to form a simple "government" among themselves. However, their weak sense of order starts out with childish, verbal conflict and eventually turns into violence. Given the novel's summary, one may deduce that the message of the novel is a warning to society of the dangers of anarchy.
I dislike the fact that almost all off the characters are boys within seven years of each other's age. Real world societies have a much wider variety of people. When writing a book designed as a warning to society, it is important to make sure that the whole society can relate to the book. In my opinion, the real art of writing a plot in a novel is to create a scenario in which people o many different ages and backgrounds get involved and contribute to the outcome. In Lord of the Flies, the consequence of the lack of diversity among the characterizations is that there are too many pages that rehash childish arguing. Therefore, the novel could have (and probably should have) been reduced to a novelette length.
As stated earlier in this review, many literature interpreters believe that the purpose of Lord of the Flies is to demonstrate the dangers of anarchy. A lot of interpreters of literary symbolism consider the "Lord of the Flies" to be an allegory for the devil. Therefore, the fact that the book is essentially titled "the devil" seems to indicate that the book focuses on evil acts and events. In my opinion, one major flaw in the novel is that the characters with good intentions fail to have a positive impact on the outcome of the plot or the development of other characters. With that in mind, the problem is that the author condemns anarchy, but fails to tell us what we should do about it, which seems to cause the book to lose its purpose.
Due to its monotony and "incomplete" philosophies, I do not recommend Lord of the Flies.
An insight into the minds of young men with no rules September 13, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book conveyed a great message, but the naive characters were often not satisfactory heroes.
desappointing September 9, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
although paid extra for expedite delivery, this school required book was delivered a month later!
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