Lord of the Flies

Title: Lord of the Flies
Author: William Golding
Publisher: Perigee Trade
ISBN: 0399529209

Recommended for Grades 9 and up
Genre: Fiction

Reader’s Annotation:
An island with no adults sounds like a kids paradise, but paradise quickly turns to a nightmare.

Plot Summary:
When their plane crashes on a small island, a group of young boys are left without any adults. The charismatic Ralph is elected the leader of the group. In order to be rescued they attempt to build a fire using the glasses of the overweight Piggy. The boys work together to find food, water and shelter. Things are going well until the group breaks into two tribes. One focusing on being rescued lead by Ralph, and the other focused on hunting. In the heat of the moment the hunting tribe kills one of Simon's group. The civility of the group collapses further into torture and murder.

Evaluation:
Golding's novel shows what can happen without the structure of society. Teens who may wish to rebel against the rules will appreciate the civility that rules provide.

Notes:
A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1963 by British Lion and in 1990 by Columbia Pictures.