I had never enjoy such story. I tried many ways to avoid read it when it happened to be my assignment. In the end i decided to read this book in Chinese so i don't have to go through the book word by word and worry about lose some detail.
Symbols, Christams, Killing, illusion,hopless... All those elements make me less interesting this book. Luckly my grades look fine.
It is the best world-known symbolism work of Williams Golding. I have approached to the black-and-white film in 1963 of the same name at the first place, which struck me an unexpected terror – A group of children were landed on an uninhabited island, and later pureness turned to evil, civil men changed to savages. Children in their teens proclaiming no devil killed some among them due to their terrors and their different choices between democracy and dictatorship in an endless waiting for rescue. A non-existent, imaginary beast scared them. Dictatorship promised to offer them food and the killing of the beast, while democracy advocated to build rules to operate every aspect of life on the island. The former needed no assistance from the latter, while the latter fantasied the former might obey the rules and together built a better island world.
When inventing this work, Williams Golding was a teacher at school, where, I guess, drew some ideas from his teaching life. School life could be cruel, for tall, strong students might bully those who are short and thin. Strengthen makes sense instead of rational minds. Just as the story on the island went, the fight between them bore high possibility of transferring to a horrible disaster as time goes by.
Three main roles were included in this book. One was Ralph, the representative of democracy. The second was Piggy, the symbol of wisdom. And Jack was the rest, the dictatorship. Among them, I favor Piggy and it was hard to tell Williams Golding’s preference.
The writer was tricky - did not reveal the exact number and each and every name of children and even among those whose names had already told, Piggy’s real name remained unknown. Instead, just tell Piggy’s nickname (That was Piggy). The symbol of wisdom shown in a nickname in the work, which revealed in the island, or a society without rules, demonstrated no respect at all for wisdom. No mater Ralph and Jack, they both ignored Piggy. Luckily Ralph changed his attitude after long-term observation, but Jack didn’t.
Hither and thither lied Piggy’s movement of rubbing his spectacles. In modern society, spectacles mean civil behavior, good manner, etc. When do they need rubbing? It must has been that they are stained by mud, water or mist. Wiping off these is just like let nothing lead your movement but your brain(wisdom).
Wisdom is invisible but useful. Once it was practiced, it would have changed a lot. In most cases, those who are wise, offer their wisdom to leaders, and leaders practiced it, take Liang Zhuge. Wisdom type would prefer to stay behind leaders, known as think tank, rather than implement their sensible thoughts. This is a quite commonplace phenomenon.
Piggy’s wisdom amazed me, like recommending making a sundial with a stick stabbing firmly on the stand for time counting, but lack of confidence was Piggy's weakness, which increased wisdom’s yielding. A not-good body condition-obesity and asthma weakened his confidence, even prevented him from building a leader-like image in front of the other children. The leader-like type appearance has already set a deep root at the bottom of people’s minds. Confidence ranks first and Piggy was definitely out of league. Physical attraction of body really counts.
From above, the magic of symbolism hides in connections. When there is an object, there bears a chance for giving symbolism by your own to guess what and how the writer symbolize one abstract thing with another actual thing. The guess journey sent out fun to every reader - everyone has their own answer first, and then checks them with that of the writer.
Here is my other symbolism guess about Piggy.
1. Piggy got his nicknames because his obesity, which symbolizes that wisdom wins no respect.
2. Every time Piggy wiping off the things that covered his spectacles, it implicated the contrary situation between democracy and dictatorship varied.
3.”Piggy threw a picked bone down on the beach and stooped for more.” quoted from page 209. He was invited to Jack’s party for food. “Stooped for more” described a sad picture. Without reaching the basic standard of life, say food, mental part couldn’t show its amazing ability.
4. Piggy‘s aunt seemed like own more wisdom. In Piggy’s eyes, she is so knowledgeable existence.
5. Piggy’s death represented the end of the democracy world. Piggy was Ralph’s die-hard follower- wisdom supports democracy. However, democracy couldn’t live without wisdom. In the work, Ralph was the only one left about democracy, being hunting by Jack and his people. Finally, he got caught. Fortunately, the moment they wanted to kill Ralph, an adult, the lifesaver landed the island!
6. Piggy’s hair seemed like didn’t grow. The others on the island went wild hairstyle after a long duration of not cutting their hair. Savage looks like that way. The writer implanted his great expectations on Piggy that a man fledged with wisdom was supposed to maintain his gentleman appearance.
7. Piggy’s asthma blocked his way of becoming a leader symbolically. To call an assembly a conch was blowed by the leader, but Piggy rejected to blow it for his asthma’s sake. It was set by the writer that he destined to be a man behind a leader.
Once you have read a symbolism work, in your eyes, whatever factors in the passage could be used to tell something in screct. It could be the case that you sometimes set up mysterious connections between A and C, even it may seem meaningless in others’ opinions. Yet that connection setting-up frequently pushes you to think, wins you fun. As a saying goes, every picture tells a story! In symbolism world, every factor bears some implication!
This book is about revelation of the dark side of the human nature, about how reason succumbs to savageness and how a civilised society dismantles into pieces of brutality. The chiefdom consisting school boys in the novel is an allegory of human society in general. But the difference between the novel and the real life is that, in the former, the salvation lies in the rescue of an adult marine officer whereas in the adults' world, they can only count on themselves, if rescue exists at all.
关于几个人物的思考。
Ralph
他是leader,是faith。几乎每一页都能看到他的名字。他看似顺理成章的成为了leader。其实他未尝不算个自然而然脱颖而出的领导者:有很明确的目的性。有很强的权威欲望和自负。有强悍的体力、毅力以震慑那帮littluns甚至同龄人;足够的责任心和胆量(这也许也是和他的权威欲望分不开的,因为不是所有这样的人都乐于担任leader。而ralph,无疑是享受这个角色的)——敢于去承担开拓的、出头的任务。坚定的信念——即使在明显弱势的时候也能去捍卫自己所信仰的一切。几乎没有看到他动摇,即使偶有犹豫,几乎很快就会被怒气覆盖变成凌厉的反击。
也正是因为如此,他与jack似乎是有connection的。因为性格的相似,和信念的绝对背驰。
但也不得不说,最体现ralph孩子气的,也是他的所谓“领导艺术”。他顺其自然的当领导,顺其自然的做决定,顺其自然的打压“异己”,却从未想到过如何疏导那些反对意见,如何利用那些反对力量,如何融合这个团体。
Jack
他是膨胀的自由,脱缰的野性。我不愿意说他是邪恶。原因写在后面。
他和ralph就像一把匕首的两面。一开始因为性格上的共性,对陌生环境的敬畏和因此被激起的斗志和保护欲,他们是很好的合作伙伴。但最大的冲突也来自于此:控制欲望,与自负。
从jack为了打猎而涂花了自己的脸,文明世界留在他身上的最后一点印迹也由此被掩盖,对ralph和所谓规则的尊重,对回归文明的向往,完全被那层黑与绿遮盖,完全屈从于对野性的屈服,对力量的崇拜,用带有嗜血性的近乎失控的杀戮、疯癫而狂野的原始舞蹈以昭显自己的力量和内心的情感。
实际上,这已经退居人类的原始社会形态了:打猎,模仿打猎的角色扮演的舞蹈,分食战利品、取部分来祭奠未知的怪兽,戒守自己的地盘,强取豪夺所需资源(火种),对于不能帮助自己围猎的人毫无同情心甚至完全不视为同等生命。蔑视秩序道德——于是他们毫无愧疚的得意洋洋的击碎了象征权柄的海螺。
Piggy
他是law。他的角色,是jack完全的对立面。不象ralph那么模糊。也正是他,最早显示出对jack的抱怨、不满与恐惧。他和ralph加起来,倒算得上是有勇有谋了。这也许是最有智慧的孩子。他知道靠逃避靠一盘散沙大家无法活下去,他知道必须有人组织有人领导。他的形象也是很可爱的:傻傻胖胖,戴着眼睛。任何这样的孩子都会显得文绉绉。他也确实是这样,他是“law”的建设者和坚定的执行者、推崇者。这一点甚至远胜ralph。Ralph只知道让大家听从他的安排,他其实没有什么规则的概念,或者说没有建设规则的能力。他与piggy是相辅相成的——有enforcement,有law,缺一不可。就仿佛国家机器,泛泛而言,武装力量与法律。没有武装力量的震慑,法律只是一纸空文;没有法律,武装力量建立了绝对控制权,也无法做到真正意义上的“统,治”。正所谓打江山容易守江山难吧。
所以只有piggy,law的忠实粉丝,从始至终都在争取:海螺在我手里⋯⋯该我说话!他很有脑子,既是生气或者难过的时候。他总能为ralph出谋划策,该做什么,该安排什么。他的镜片带来了火。带来了获救的希望,带来了无情的杀戮。没有眼镜,他看不清周围的世界。最后,他也死在了一片模糊当中。或者说,那时候,临死前他依然坚持的:高举海螺,高喊“what is better? Law and rescue? Or…”犹如螳臂挡车困兽犹斗的微弱一搏。他已经看不清周围的世界有多么可怕,他还妄想用语言唤醒同伴的良知,殊不知,对于那些人,语言已经是多余的东西了,有手势、拟声词帮助他们围追堵截任何他们所视为猎物的东西,无论人或兽,就足够了。
但是他太沉浸于文明世界带给他的规则,当野蛮求生的人夺得了他身上唯一的物质价值——能生火的镜片——他的存在也就毫无价值了。所以他与大海螺一起粉身碎骨。。。因为这个岛上再也没有他和他所代表的law的容身之地。
The writing style of Lord of the Flies is rich and dark, which I mean indirect and implicit, unlike Camus, Golding has his own change of points of views or perspective shifting.We can find a variety of implicit allegories,illustrations,plot and utterances.
Well, Maybe they are right —— Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.