Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Marooned Choir Boys?

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is considered to be one of the most influential and often controversial pieces of literature from the 1950's. Published in the midst of the Cold War, this novel was perhaps a fulfillment of whatever prophecy convinced Golding to abandon the sciences at the Oxford College where his father taught in favor of studying the English language and literature in greater depth. Work in the independent theaters of “very, very far-off-Broadway theater,” Royal Navy during wartime, and even the English educational system, were all in preparation for his masterpiece to come in 1954. Dissatisfied with wars between nations and within the school system, Golding made profound statements through the book. Success would finally accompany Lord of the Flies when, in 1959, it was published in the United States. Something about this book struck America – and the rest of the world – as frightening and truthful, insightful and dangerous, abhorrent and appealing. Why would a novel about a group of shipwrecked schoolboys on a deserted island, fighting for survival against the forces of nature, instantly become a classroom standard? So easily this plot line could have dissolved into the trash of 1950's pulp fiction, yet it easily maintained the dignity and importance of the great literature Golding held in high esteem. The forces of nature at work against the school boys of The Lord of the Flies were not just those brought in with the wind and the rain and hiding beneath the dense brush of the forest; the real forces of nature at work for these children was the darkness within their own hearts and the fear that accompanies it. This book is an examination of the inherent evil that is human nature, and the fear that controls every human's actions. Golding was able to convey this darkness and fear through his mastery of the English language; the vivid and visual writing style, execution of allusion and metaphor through characters and story elements, and portrayals of major plot events create a book that is not only readable, but also an important journey into the nature of every human.
The Lord of the Flies is a book that reads at a fast pace but remains in the mind for careful consideration. Not dissimilar from the works of James Barrie (Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Peter and Wendy), this complex story has the air of the children's adventure book.