My initial understanding of the book mostly surrounded the fact that it talked about the savagery of some boys on an island. William Golding’s interpretation and expression of this fact through the boys of such tender ages made me lean towards feeling that the content was distasteful. Having been strongly indoctrinated by the general notion that promotes childhood innocence and gentleness made me disagree with how Golding had portrayed the boys in this book to be savage and even vindictive to each other. In fact, I felt that the book was too harsh and biased against youth as it had portrayed the boys in such a harsh and condescending manner. Despite, the knowledge that there is evil manifested in they boys, I still felt that making them able to kill and hunt each other over power struggles was too harsh a judgement on the boys. Hence, the amplification of the darkness of human nature and how it manifests the boys to even kill those around them was astounding to my ears as one would never be able to think that boys of such a young age would commit such sins. Therefore, with my prior knowledge having been questioned, I fought to defend my worldview and prior assumptions, of general innocence in children, and beliefs towards young children and their childhood innocence.
However, this novel was not just one that seemed totally irrational and overly criticising of the youth in our age group. In fact, I agreed with the fact that power struggles in our age group can take place and these are even relatable to my real life. For example, this desire for power in its simplicity can be seen through the elections for president for the Student Council and even for the various co-curricular activities in our school. In its more complex and vicious forms of this power struggle can be observed when other members of the co-curricular activity attempt to exercise control through their ability to convince, sway and influence the members of the group. Therefore, this whole power struggle is really present in youths this day. I was therefore sufficiently convinced that this novel did cover real themes that are really concerning us today and of this age group. Therefore, my first impression of the book was one that was conflicted due to the presence of my worldview which agreed and disagreed with the novel in various ways.
-James Howe
However, this novel was not just one that seemed totally irrational and overly criticising of the youth in our age group. In fact, I agreed with the fact that power struggles in our age group can take place and these are even relatable to my real life. For example, this desire for power in its simplicity can be seen through the elections for president for the Student Council and even for the various co-curricular activities in our school. In its more complex and vicious forms of this power struggle can be observed when other members of the co-curricular activity attempt to exercise control through their ability to convince, sway and influence the members of the group. Therefore, this whole power struggle is really present in youths this day. I was therefore sufficiently convinced that this novel did cover real themes that are really concerning us today and of this age group. Therefore, my first impression of the book was one that was conflicted due to the presence of my worldview which agreed and disagreed with the novel in various ways.
-James Howe