Never have I read a book by a first time author that had me so riveted to the text. I recommend William Golding's Lord of the Flies to anyone who enjoys the struggle between good and evil, especially on the platform of man versus nature. Without giving away the brunt of the book: a group of boys crash land on an island with only their adolescent morals and boyish innocence to guide them as they wait out their indefinite stay on this uninhabited, tropical island. Golding puts on trial not the already tainted and settled man on trial, but boys, who are both impressionable and a better indication of what man essentially is: evil. Golding paints an pessimistic view of the human condition as the boys revert to their tribal selves and commit some of the most base atrocities one would not dare think mere children would be capable of. While my interest was sufficiently kept with the survival and self-governing from scratch aspect of the story, I was then captivated by Golding's still troubling accusation that humans, as a whole, look out for themselves and rarely (only in the true protagonist Ralph) do we see even a hint of self-less morality and good intentions.
Your thoughts on the essential direction of humanity when put to the test- good/evil? Feel free to comment even if you've yet to read. Thank you.
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I found Lord of the Flies very interesting for that very reason. Many students in my English class made statements like, "Human beings would never do that." This was around the time that the news was going wild over the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by American troops. A friend of mine juxtaposed the way American troops can behave without guidance to the way ordinarily good children became savages in the book. I liked the episode of the Simpsons about that novel.