Its Majesty of the flies

Its majesty of the flies ( Lord off the Flies ) is a novel English of William Golding writes in 1954 which shows the brittleness of civilization.

During the Second world war, a plane transporting exclusively English boys resulting from the high society, sent by their parents in Australia during the Blitz, is crushed on the way on a deserted island. The pilot and the adults guides perish. Delivered to themselves in a wild and paradisiac nature, the many surviving children try to organize themselves by reproducing the social diagrams which were inculcated to them. But well quickly the varnish cracks, the fragile company flies in glares and leaves little by little the place to an organization Tribal E, savage and force built around a charismatic chief and of a rudimentary religion. Sacrifice S human, drives out with the man, Guerre S bloody: civilization disappears with the profit from a return in a state close to the animal that the most fragile children or most reasonable pay of their life.

In France, this novel is often regarded as a delivers for child and regularly studied in primary or with the Collège. However, its wild, raw and sensual violence makes a difficult and disconcerting book of it. The smoothness of its analysis and the quality of its writing make a work with whole share in addition of it.

Summarized history of the book

Second world war, a plane transporting of young old English schoolboys from 6 to 12 years is crushed on an apparently deserted island. No adult survives, and the children find themselves then only in this new world! Ralph, almost adolescent survivor, meet Piggy (Porcinet), fragile and obese child. Together they find a Conque, large shell which produces a serious and powerful note when one blows inside. The noise attracts the other children survivors who gather all under the sign of the conch. The shell consequently becomes a symbol of organization and being able. Ralph founds a rule organizing the circulation of the word: that which holds the conch holds the word.

Jack with the head of a group of small singers occurs then: a friendship is born quickly between the two young boys Ralph and Jack. The capacity of Ralph is not disputed and Jack is named chief of a group of hunters, is charged with bringing food to the group and the " petits" , they, are charged to make fire.

However, little by little a competition appears between the two chiefs and worsens with the passing days. Jack likes the adventure and the intoxication of hunting, it does not appreciate the constraints and the responsibilities which the organization directed by Ralph implies. It ends up being detached some and little by little the children join it one by one: together they create a tribal company around Jack which assumes the full powerss. However the dependence on Porcinet, whose glasses make it possible to light fire and who remains faithful to Ralph, crystallizes a ground of conflict between the two rival companies.

In parallel a primary education worship towards a kind of bloody divinity symbolized by a head of pig develops planted on a stake. Jack uses the fear of a " monstre" foreseen in top of the hill to justify the worship of the idol. Only the wise Simon will have courage to go until in top to note that there is no animal, only the body of a dead parachutist fallen into the rocks. But when it goes down again at the falling night to give the news, a orgiaque festival beats full sound: in the Simon half-light is associated with the monster, the over-excited children and with half in fright ruent themselves on him to coil it blow of sticks. It will not survive it.

This original crime, in which Ralph and Porcinet took part themselves in a state second, galvanizes the camp of Jack and a kind of moral collective base gives him. Organizing itself as a commando, they end up pursueing the faithful last of Ralph to imprison them or bring back them in their camp, to steal the glasses of Porcinet before assassinating it then to organize a vast hunting for the man in order to kill Ralph which ground in the jungle. Jack then decides to put fire at the forest to make leave the runaway its hiding-place: after a track race where the children pursue Ralph by pushing great wild cries, they fall nose to nose with a group from disconcerted adult sailors who have just unloaded on the island. After one moment of undulation, the children collapse all in tears, forgetting their freedom, their organization like all their competitions.

Analyzes

The sociological analysis , anthropological and philosophical that William Golding illustrates finely in this novel is dark and pessimistic: the civilization is only one varnished which is not due to large thing; as soon as the human ones are delivered to themselves, their freedom takes the face of the Sauvage laughs, the Superstition and the Violence. The author strikes an ultimate blow of bludgeon at the end of the novel when the children, finally found by the crew of a warship crossing in trimmings, collapse in tears: he shows thus that the man flees his clean Liberté, than it hastens to put between the hands of an entity higher as soon as it of than the possibility.

Symbolic system analyzes

In addition, the novel can be analyzed under an angle Symbolique, each character representing of the forces or the different sociological ideas:

Ralph, the main character and the oldest child of the island with Jack the two chiefs of each clan, almost adolescent, which tries to organize the group extremely by using a Symbole of communication and of gathering (the Conque) can represent the human attempts at gathering in levelling companies like the Démocratie.

Jack, the impetuous chief of the chorus of children which takes little by little the control of the group, represents the warlike capacity , brutal and violent one but charismatic and adventurous in opposition to the side forcing of the democratic organization.

Roger, the second of Jack in the new hierarchy, represents rough and worrying cruelty, the pleasure of inflicting the pain or of killing, the Fascisme growing in the shade of the warlike capacity.

Porcinet, the obese intellectual, fragile and asthmatic whose glasses are used to make fire represents the To know and the Connaissance, but also the dependence and the weakness. Scorned by the warlike capacity, it is however vital for him: the fire which it is able to create is the symbol of the capacity par excellence. The instrument of this capacity, the glasses, ends up being stolen by Jack and their owner wildly assassinated by Roger.

Simon, the courageous child who does not hesitate to defy his fears represents the Sagesse and the Vérité - it will be the first killed among the children, sacrificed in a orgiaque festival bloody on the furnace bridge of the Superstition S which it was precisely about to destroy while bringing the truth.

The twins Sam and Eric as well as the other children of the group, ballottés between the two capacities which clash, can represent the people which manage as it can to survive.

All this small world revolves around a head of pig in decomposition (which attracts the Mouche S, from where the title of the work) planted on a spade by Jack and idolâtrée as a divinity which crystallizes the fears of the children vis-a-vis a mysterious and worrying nature.

Adaptations

Its Majesty of the flies ( Lord off the Flies ), English film of Peter Brook left in 1963.
Its Majesty of the flies ( Lord off the Flies ), American film of Harry Hook left in 1990; also known under the French title: " The Island oubliée".
Theatrical adaptation, by Nigel Williams (1996), translated into French by Ahmed Madani (under the same title as the original novel), published in the collection " Théâtre" by " the School of Loisirs" , in 2001 (ISBN: 221106017X)

Inspirations and references

Still currently, this news inspires many series.

In particular:

the episode " Small the sauvages" series Simpsons.
the episode " the Word in “M” " series South Park.
the episode " Its majesty of Pizzas" series " Weekenders".
the book openly inspired the film Battle Royale and the Reality show " Survivor"
the group Iron Maiden left a song which is entitled " Lord off the Flies".
In an episode of the series Lost, said Charlie, while speaking about the survivors of the tail about the plane, " They were made a trip Its majesty of the flies " in reference to the violence of their behavior compared with the relative peace of their camping. Sawyer also referred there in season 1 by calling Hurley " Porcinet" (once only) and by quoting to him also the novel when it captures Jin in episode 17.
This new was also the book of bedside of Tom Hanks whereas it approached the turning of Seul in the world
the book " Its majesty of the clones" , the version science fiction of original work. Of Jean-Pierre Hubert.
a project of emission of TV-reality, Kid Nation
In animates " May Hime" , Naji Homura reads " Lord off the flies" before confronting Hime ones with the others.
Stephen King lengthily referred there in the collection of news " Hearts lost in Atlantide" (2001) and the fact lira with the one of its characters.
In the episode " Hyde installe" series That '70s Show, Michael Kelso refers there like a model of life without adults.

Various information

Inconsistencies

Porcinet is described as being short-sighted, but the glasses of correction of myopia are concave and thus disperse the luminous rays instead of concentrating them. Consequently, it is technically impossible to light a fire in this way. This error was reproduced in two adapted films of work.

See too

Belzébuth

External bonds

Sources

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