The famous English writer and Nobel laureate William Golding (1911–1993) died 25 years ago. In our country, he is known primarily for his novel about children “Lord of the Flies” (published in England in 1954, and it was translated into Russian and published in the magazine “Around the World” back in 1969). The novel has traditionally been interpreted by us as an illustration of how cruel children can be when left to their own devices. Like, children are not such innocent, pure creatures as sentimental adults think. But it seems to me that the novel also has much deeper layers of meaning, including religious ones.
For those who haven’t read it, I’ll retell the plot on my fingers. The Third World War happened, and they are trying to evacuate a group of English children from some colony to England by plane. The plane was shot down by enemies, the pilot managed to land it on an uninhabited tropical island before his death, the children (boys aged 6 to 12 years) remained alive - and they have a peculiar society, two leaders stand out among them. Ralph believes that they need to remain civilized and wait to be saved, Jack is sure that they need to give up civilization, as well as dreams of salvation, live here and now, become savages. Gradually, most of the children join Jack, and Ralph turns out to be a persecuted dissident. The newly-minted savages are becoming wild and committing murders. In the finale, when Ralph is about to die at their hands, the children are nevertheless rescued by English sailors from a passing ship.
This is a plot, but the plot in “Lord of the Flies” is not an end in itself, it is only a means of saying something truly important. It is believed that Golding himself wrote his novel to argue with the classic of English literature Robert Ballantyne, who wrote the novel “Coral Island” in 1858, where the plot outline is the same - English boys find themselves on a desert island - but remain gentlemen, carrying the white burden with honor and firmly adhere to Victorian morals. Golding wanted to show how naive such hopes are. This is a literary dispute.
Essentially, the debate is about this: what is human nature? What is true in it and what is superficial? Is he naturally good or evil?
Golding is much more sober and pessimistic here than Ballantyne.
And I, re-reading the novel, thought that it is not only a matter of human nature, not only the degree of its damage by sin (if we consider all the same in Christian terminology). The point is also that a person does not exist on his own, outside of society and, most importantly, the culture that cements this society. And culture is a rather fragile thing; its maintenance requires, so to speak, infrastructure. Including material ones. We need newspapers and closets, we need sidewalks and steam locomotives, laboratories and laundries... we can’t list everything. If all this is taken away, if a person is returned to the wild (even if it is completely safe and capable of feeding him, as shown in Golding’s novel), then pretty soon the person will go wild. Why? Because only a thin layer of culture separates it from savagery, and outside its infrastructure it becomes thinner and loses strength. It’s like a battery that has nothing to power it, it will work for a while and will be completely discharged. Which is what happens to most of the characters in Lord of the Flies.
Stills from the 1963 film adaptation
And here the question arises: what could preserve culture if its material infrastructure disappears? My answer is religious faith. Here, by the way, a parallel with . Robinson did not go wild, did not go crazy on a desert island only because he unshakably believed in God and communicated with Him daily in prayer. Now there is no need to clarify his confessional affiliation from an Orthodox position and expose the heretical errors of the Presbyterians. The fact is that he actively believed - and this allowed him to remain human. Let me remind you that Robinson’s story is not pure fiction, he had a real prototype, the English sailor Alexander Selkirk, who, having found himself on a desert island, seriously turned to God.
But if we return to “Lord of the Flies”, we will not see the slightest trace of faith in any of the children. They never remembered that they were Christians (a special piquancy is that some of these children are church choir members). They never tried to pray, they never tried to understand what happened to them from the point of view of the Gospel.
And, of course, the principle “a holy place is never empty” comes into play here. Children who have forgotten about Christ soon plunge into the quagmire of paganism, begin to believe in forest spirits, and invent rituals to appease or drive them away. In fact, the very title of the novel, “Lord of the Flies,” is only a literal translation of the Hebrew “Beelzebub.” The idea is completely obvious: a person indifferent to Christianity, finding himself in an extreme situation, becomes an easy prey for the devil. When there is no longer a protective layer of culture, when the former moral prohibitions begin to seem meaningless and useless, then the dark, bestial nature of human nature already dominates. The same Beast awakens in a person, which in the conditions of civilization is imprisoned in a cage of culture.
Let me emphasize: this is my interpretation. I don't know what Golding's religious views were or whether he thought of his novel as a Christian allegory. But the fact that his book can be read this way, and that such a reading does not contradict the text, is obvious to me.
And, of course, this is not about children at all. Or rather, not only and not so much about children. The beast lives in everyone, whether he is seven or seventy-seven. And it’s up to everyone to decide how to keep him in check: through secular culture or through faith.
Better, of course, both.
On the picture: Still from the film “Lord of the Flies” (1990)
The established view of William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is that the novel touches on the problem of the transformation of man, as a bearer of civilization, into a savage. There is nothing strange in this approach, since the novel was written in 1954 - just nine years after the end of the bloodiest war in human history.
The Second World War showed stunned humanity how thin the veneer of so-called civilization is, how cruel man remains even in the most developed countries that claim to carry the torch of civilization. It is not surprising that Golding’s novel was immediately perceived as almost a paraphrase of the Nuremberg trials. And yet, it seems to me that it makes sense today to look at this novel from a different point of view.
Friendship, hatred, fear, social organization - these are the ideas that run through the novel “Lord of the Flies.” Civilization? Yes, of course, and civilization, but ultimately, civilization is a function of these concepts. A civilization based on a coherent social hierarchy struggles with fear and hatred. But the problem, which is actually highlighted by Golding’s novel, is that the collapse of civilization does not abolish hierarchy and friendship; and of course - hatred and fear.
Have you noticed that two people who have comradely feelings for each other do not communicate with each other in private in exactly the same way as they communicate with each other in a company? There is nothing strange in this - after all, a group of three or more people already forms a social system in which someone will definitely want to play the role of leader. Moreover - alas - very often leadership is achieved by humiliating another person, even a comrade.
The novel takes place on a desert island somewhere in the ocean. While reading “Lord of the Flies,” you still can’t help but get rid of the fact that somewhere this island has already been seen. Oh yes, one of the best computer games of the recent past is Far Cry. This tropical island is enchanting with its beauty. Lush colorful greenery, palm trees, vines, clear blue water of lagoons and above everything - an atmosphere of fear and death. Moreover, from episode to episode, fear becomes more and more sticky, and death becomes more and more inevitable, taking on the features of some kind of terrible monsters in the finale. All this is in Lord of the Flies.
The action begins on a sunny day, when two English teenagers of about twelve, exactly like in Far Cry, find themselves on the shore of a lagoon. From their first uneven dialogue, it turns out that they ended up on the island as a result of some kind of disaster. Golding does not consider it necessary to give a more precise explanation: were they on an airplane? Was the plane shot down? By whom? For the plot of a novel, just as for the plot of a computer game, this does not matter at all. The main thing is that they ended up on the island. Alone, without adults. So far there are only two - one is fit, athletic-looking - Ralph and the second, a fat hulk in thick glasses, who is afraid more than anything in the world that they will call him “like in school” - Piggy. It is clear that he will then be called Piggy, and his new friend, Ralph, will blurt out this offensive nickname. Talks to maintain a conversation and raise his own authority.
Next, the friends find a shell in the lagoon, which Ralph, on Piggy’s advice, immediately uses as a calling horn to collect those who survived the disaster. Here, in fact, Golding uses a textbook mythical image: a blond, handsome king and his jester, who is not so stupid, and constantly gives the king valuable advice. In general, the novel “Lord of the Flies” actively exploits mythical images. Perhaps this technique also conceals its attractive power.
So, groups of children who survived the disaster gather from different parts of the island to hear the trumpet call. There are also six-year-old children and older children. A strange detachment approaches separately, walking in two ranks. Each member of the squad is wrapped in a black cloak with a large silver cross on the chest - what is a mythical tale without the Templar Crusaders? The commander of the detachment is Jack Meridew, who in the future, in strict accordance with the customs of Anglo-Saxon legends, will become the main contender for the throne and Ralph's competitor.
Having quickly found out that there is not a single adult on the island, the children decide to establish some semblance of social organization, for which it is necessary to choose the main one. Of course, it becomes a blond boy holding such a beautiful shell horn. At this moment, hostility caused by resentment is born in Jack's heart. Instinctively feeling this, Ralph takes a step forward, placing the “crusaders” at his disposal, giving them the title of hunters (here an allusion to another computer game arises - Fallout 4). A certain semblance of mutual sympathy appears between Ralph and Jack. What will it result in - cooperation in the name of common salvation or hatred because of the title of leader?
Throughout the novel, Ralph and Jack will personify two antitheses: civilization and barbarism. Moreover, with each page, barbarism will look less and less like a game, more and more it will draw in children until it covers them headlong with a dark thirst for blood - human blood. But that will happen later, but for now.. While there are no signs of trouble, the world is wonderful - the island is full of fruits, sun and - freedom from the shackles that adults have placed on children.
It should be noted that the theme of adults will also run throughout the novel. Adults are distant gods, without whom it is so difficult, but who will definitely save the children who find themselves on the island... if only the children follow their instructions. And their main requirement is to maintain civilization, which is what Ralph and his jester friend Piggy will do their best to take care of. The theme of helper gods is also an integral attribute of medieval knightly legends, to which, in fact, William Golding constantly refers.
Ralph and Jack, recognized leaders, decide to explore the island from the highest mountain. It is not Piggy, who was ridiculed by Jack and - to please him, Ralph - who goes with them, but Simon. Simon's role in the novel is very important. It is he who will fight with all his might to preserve the relationship between Ralph and Jack. It is he who will find the Lord of the Flies, and it is he who will ultimately be killed by Ralph and Jack, thus making a mystical break with civilization and going beyond the boundaries of the law established by the adult gods.
But while Ralph, Jack and Simon confidently go to the top of the mountain, having fun, fooling around and enjoying the beauty of the island, after all, they are just children - still children.. “With their eyes shining, their mouths open, beaming, they savored their master's rights. The heights were dizzying, the friendship was dizzy […] At all ends of the mountain there were trees, flowers and trees. Now the forest shook, began to beat, and began to hum. The flowers sighed and fluttered, and the boys' faces were cooled by the breeze. Ralph spread his arms: “It’s all ours.” They laughed, stomped, and teased the mountain with screams.”
On the way, a significant event happens to them. Hungry, they begin to chase a wild pig. “They saw a pig stuck in the curtain of vines, it was breaking from its elastic bonds, fluttering and struggling. The crazy, screaming scream was filled with horror. The boys rushed forward, Jack again pulled out the sparkling knife. He has already raised his hand. But then there was a pause, a hesitation, only the pig kept squealing, and the vines shook, and the knife kept sparkling in his skinny hand. But then the pig broke free and darted into the thicket. They looked at each other and at that terrible place. Jack's face turned white under his freckles. He realized that he was still holding the raised knife, lowered his hand and put it in its sheath.” At that moment, Jack was not yet ready to shed blood. But when he says: “Next time there will be no mercy,” the thought involuntarily comes to mind - is it by chance that Ralph’s friend, whom Jack immediately disliked, bears the nickname Piggy...
Very soon real mystical fear appears in the novel. Upon returning from the mountain, Ralph convenes a meeting to develop further rules of action. They decide to build a fire on the mountain and keep it going day and night in order to attract passing ships with smoke. Everyone is happy, everyone is happy - Ralph promises that they will soon be saved. But suddenly some kid with a large birthmark on his face comes out and tells everyone that there is a Beast on the island that walks at night and hunts. And despite the fact that older children laugh at him, Fear settles in the souls of children: “Whether by a restless wind, or because the sun has gone down, a chill has blown under the trees. The boys shivered restlessly.”
This fear will grow, paralyzing will and thought, slowly but surely turning children into ruthless savages, ready to commit bloody sacrifices. To smooth out the unpleasant impression, Jack sends people to light a fire using Piggy's thick glasses. Having overdone it, the children start a forest fire, in which the child who told them about the Beast dies. The messenger who brought the terrible news must die. Everyone immediately tries to forget about this incident.
The further development of events follows its own inexorable logic: Ralph tries to maintain civilization by building huts for housing and maintaining a fire, and Jack tries to catch at least one wild pig. Their relationship becomes strained. But the Beast does not let go of the thoughts of the islanders; at night horror reigns in the camp. And although Jack and his hunters explored the entire island, a legend was born that the Beast lives in the depths of the sea. Simon's nerves begin to fray from the tension.
Meanwhile, the hunters continue to do their job - trying to catch game. One day they succeed. But - oh horror, carried away by catching a pig, they left a fire, which goes out just when a ship appears on the horizon. Ralph is furious, he shouts at Jack, trying to explain that the fire is their only hope for salvation. This is the first big quarrel between the two leaders: “Jack straightened up. Blood dripped from the knife. The two boys stood face to face. A sparkling world of hunting, tracking, dexterity and evil rampage. And a world of persistent melancholy and perplexed mind. Jack switched the knife to his left hand and smeared the blood on his forehead, moving the stuck strand.”
In the future, the conflict between Ralph and Jack is about what is more important: catching game or maintaining a fire. There is no longer friendship, it gradually turns into hatred.
Meanwhile, the fear of the night beast becomes more and more painful. But for now it can be tolerated, since fear is just the nightmares of children. But unexpectedly, Simon confirms the possibility of the existence of the Beast. One night, as a result of a night air battle that was so high that it was not heard from the ground, a downed pilot falls onto the island by parachute. On the ground - not far from the fire burning on the mountain - he lands already dead. At night, the half-asleep campfire-goers, in the light of the half-extinguished uneven flame, mistake it for the Beast and run in horror to the camp to report the terrible news.
Ralph and Jack send an expedition to search for the Beast. After they have explored the entire island, at night the three of them: Jack, Ralph and one of the hunters, Roger, climb the mountain. In the light of the moon, they see the corpse of a pilot who, in overalls, a mask and as if alive - because of the parachute fluttering in the wind, seems to them to be truly an unknown terrible Beast. “Behind them, the crescent moon has already separated from the horizon. Ahead, someone, like a huge monkey, was sleeping sitting, with his head buried in his knees. Then the wind howled in the forest, stirred up the darkness, and the creature raised its head and turned its former face towards them.”
After the discovery of the pilot's corpse, Fear completely took over the souls of the boys, which served as the last straw in the conflict between Ralph and Jack. Back at camp, Jack calls for Ralph to be re-elected, but the kids don't support him. Jack becomes embittered and leaves the camp. Not right away, but his hunters follow him. Then follows the moral degeneration of the hunters, they finally turn into savages in the scene with the murder of a large sow with piglets.
“The den was surrounded, but the pig broke free and ran away, stung by another spear. The sticks dragged, making it difficult to run; jagged points lodged in their sides, tormenting them. So she flew into a tree and drove one spear even deeper. And after that, it didn’t cost anything to track her down with drops of fresh blood. The day was approaching evening, cloudy, terrible, heavy with damp heat; the pig, staggering, bleeding from the hunt, made its way through the thickets, and the hunters chased after it, chained to it by passion, suffocating from excitement, from the smell of blood. They already saw her, almost overtook her, but she rushed with all her strength and left again. They were very close when she broke out onto the lawn, where colorful flowers grew and butterflies danced in the frozen heat. Here, struck by the heat, the pig collapsed, and the hunters pounced on it. From the terrible invasion of unknown forces she went mad, screamed, thrashed, and everything was mixed up - sweat, screaming, fear, blood. Roger rushed around the general dump, poking his spear at the pork meat that flashed here and there. Jack saddled the pig and finished it off with a knife. Roger finally found a place to stick the spear and pressed in, leaning on it with his whole body. The spear went deeper inch by inch, and the terrified squeal turned into a piercing scream. Jack reached his throat and hot blood splashed onto his hands. The pig went limp under them, and they lay on it, heavy, satisfied. And in the center of the lawn the butterflies, who had not noticed anything, were still dancing.”
After killing the pig, Jack declares that its head must be sacrificed to the Beast. Hunters place the pig's head on a pole, sharpened at both ends, and leave it there. This action is watched by Simon, who decided to make his way to the top of the mountain to see the Beast in person. His already foggy brain begins to perceive the pig's head - all covered in insects clinging to it - as some kind of mystical Lord of the Flies. “Right in front of Simon, the impaled Lord of the Flies was grinning. Finally Simon couldn't stand it anymore and looked; I saw white teeth, blood, dull eyes - and could no longer take my eyes off those eyes that had inevitably recognized since ancient times. There was a painful pounding in Simon’s right temple.” Nevertheless, Simon climbs the mountain and sees that the Beast is a half-decayed pilot.
Meanwhile, Jack and the savages - and these are already full-fledged painted savages - attack Ralph's camp to steal the fire. The myth of Prometheus comes to mind in this scene. The only difference is that Prometheus stole fire from the gods in order to bring people out of their state of savagery, and Jack, who already calls himself the Leader, steals fire to roast a pig and arrange a wild orgy. Everyone joins in eating the pig, including Ralph and Piggy. The action ends with a half-crazy dance accompanied by cries of “Beat the beast!” Cut your throat! Let out the blood! There is almost nothing left of people left in children - they are real wild animals.
At this moment, Simon appears from the jungle. The entire crowd pounces on him and literally tears him apart. The sacred sacrifice has been made. Ralph and Piggy are involved in the murder. Horrified by what they have done, they leave the gathering.
However, Jack needs Piggy's glasses to light the fire. At night, savages attack the hut where Ralph and Piggy sleep and steal the glasses. Piggy is furious. “Strong or not, honesty is honesty,” he says, and together with Ralph they go to the Castle of the Savages. In front of the Castle, Ralph and Jack have a fight, after which the savages kill Piggy. A hunt is announced for Ralph. The next morning they start poisoning him like a pig. Carried away by the pursuit, the savages set fire to the island in order to smoke Ralph out of the jungle. Ralph, in complete despair, breaks through to the shore, not really understanding why - after all, he will inevitably be killed anyway.
And suddenly a miracle happens: “He stood up, swaying, tensed up, prepared for a new horror, looked up and saw a huge cap. The cap had a white top, and above the green visor there was a crown, an anchor, and gold leaves. He saw white teak, epaulettes, a revolver, and gold buttons on the uniform.” It turns out that an English cruiser passing by, attracted by a giant column of smoke, sent a boat to the island. Miracle - adult gods save children who have gone crazy.
Ralph is saved, he “for a moment dreamed that the shore was again entangled in those strange spells of the first day. But the island burned like dust. Simon died, and Jack... Tears flowed from Ralph's eyes, he was shaking with sobs. He did not resist them; for the first time since he found himself on this island, he gave himself free rein; spasms of grief, desperate, uncontrollable, seemed to be about to turn him inside out. The voice rose under the black smoke that covered the dying island. Having become infected from it, other children also became sick from crying. And, standing among them, dirty, shaggy, with an unworn nose, Ralph sobbed over his former innocence, over how dark the human soul is, over how his faithful, wise friend, nicknamed Piggy, turned over on the fly.”
What is this novel about? About fascism? About the precarious line between civilization and savage barbarism? About the beast that lives in each of us and is ready to break out at any moment? Yes, partly, of course, the novel is about all this. But first of all, this novel is about human relationships, about friendship, about how the thirst for leadership at any cost can sometimes destroy all holy feelings in a person and, first of all, the feeling that was formulated by another Englishman, Rudyard Kipling, in his famous fairy tale - “we I share the same blood with you." And a little about the fact that when everything gets so bad that there seems to be no hope of salvation, suddenly adult gods appear and fix everything... Otherwise, why did William Golding write exactly such an ending: “The officer was touched and a little embarrassed. He turned away, giving them time to control themselves, and waited, resting his gaze on the clear silhouette of the cruiser in the distance.”
William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, at first glance, has little in common with horror. After all, what does it represent? yourself This work? Social drama? Dystopia? Adventure novel — Robinsonade? Certainly!
But Lord of the Flies is also a book about Horror. The very thing that hides in every person and is only waiting for an opportunity to come out...
As a result of a plane crash, English schoolchildren find themselves on a desert island and, despite the absence of adults, at first they live well. However, soon everything goes to hell: civilized boys run wild, worship a disgusting “god”, and even go as far as murder. The plot of “Lord of the Flies” is well known to everyone, which is not surprising: this novel by Golding is recognized as one of the most important literary works of the 20th century.
"Lord of the Flies" is so multifaceted that it is difficult to talk about it. The novel reveals a variety of topics, each of which is interesting and significant in itself. Intertwined in one work, these themes acquire an even deeper, philosophical, almost sacred meaning.
Thus, “Lord of the Flies” is an allegorical parabolic novel, simply put, a parable about human nature, irrational and subject to fears despite the voice of reason. The work also touches on issues of religion, with the Nietzschean motif “God is dead”, because the phrase “Lord of the Flies” is a literal translation of the name of the pagan god Beelzebub, who in Christianity is associated with the devil. And the very mention of the beast refers to the biblical “Revelation of John the Theologian,” which tells about the end of the world and the death of humanity. By the way, the original title of the novel “Lord of the Flies” can also be translated as “Lord of the Flies”, but this option did not take root in Russia.
Lord of the Flies is also a social drama: a strong and intelligent leader gradually becomes an outcast; the weak and clumsy fat outcast is not only tyrannized, but ultimately killed. This is also a dystopia that reveals the true essence of people, which manifests itself even in seemingly innocent children. We see an attempt to build an exemplary society, which turns into collapse, degradation, a real nightmare. This is an adventure novel, a Robinsonade with an ideal setting - an island with excellent living conditions. Finally, this is a book about childhood, about cooperation and competition, about friends and enemies: “Heights were dizzy, friendship was dizzy”; "They[Ralph and Jack] looked at each other with amazement, love and hatred"; “And there’s this strange thread between him and Jack; no, Jack will never stop, he won’t leave him alone.”.
It must be admitted that Lord of the Flies is rarely talked about as a horror film, more often paying attention to the religious and philosophical meaning of the work. Therefore, we will try to restore justice and consider just one aspect - horror.
The beast comes out of the waters, the beast comes down from the sky
And there is a lot of horror in Golding’s novel. And above all, the beast, one of the key images of the work and one of the most terrible monsters in the history of horror literature.
Already in the second chapter, a baby with a birthmark halfway across his face whispers about a snake beast that “comes out of the waters.” Soon the child dies in a forest fire caused by an oversight. By the way, this tragic accident also penetrates to the depths of the soul, especially the hysterical Khryushino: “That kid, the one with the mark on his face, I don’t see him. Where is he?"
Then more and more vague hints appear about the beast, which comes in dreams and appears in the interweaving of vines. “Something is coming under the trees, big and scary.”; “You feel as if it is not you who are being hunted, but you who are being hunted; it’s like there’s someone hiding behind you in the jungle all the time.”. A primal fear of darkness and the unknown is unleashed, which even Jack, the embodiment of masculine strength that turns into cruelty, recognizes. The horror grows chaotically, flashes in the broken and often incoherent conversations of the boys, in some omissions, omissions - and this makes it even more tense. And the worst thing is that neither the heroes of the novel nor the readers know for sure whether the beast exists or not. Golding deliberately confuses the narrative, building up the atmosphere.
The attempt to track down the monster is successful. By the will of evil fate, they stumble upon a dead parachutist stuck on a rock and terribly “bowing” due to the wind. On the other hand, deep down in their souls, children believe in the beast - which means they will certainly find it in anything. At the same time, no one, not even the sensible Ralph, listens to the insightful Simon, because he is “with regards.” It is Simon who first understands that “the beast is ourselves.” And he finds the courage to climb the mountain and find out the secret of the “monster” that has settled there.
Another amazing episode in terms of tension and degree of horror is Simon’s meeting with the Lord of the Flies.
“Right in front of Simon, the impaled Lord of the Flies was grinning. Finally Simon couldn't stand it anymore and looked; I saw white teeth, blood, dull eyes - and could no longer take my eyes off those eyes that had inevitably recognized since ancient times. There was a painful pounding in Simon's right temple.
“You stupid little boy,” said the Lord of the Flies, “stupid, stupid, and you don’t know anything.”
For several moments, the forest and all other vaguely guessable places shook in response with vile laughter.
- But you knew, didn’t you? That I am a part of you? An inseparable part! Is it because of me that nothing worked out for you? What happened because of me?
- We will finish you off. Clear? Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph. We'll finish you off. Clear?
The mouth swallowed Simon. He fell and lost consciousness.".
This moment causes irrational fear. We know it's just a pig's head on a stick that Jack left as a gift to the beast. We know that the conversation is taking place in the fevered brain of "crazy" Simon, overheated in the sun. But we are still afraid, afraid of the Lord of the Flies and his words, even if we are reading the novel for the tenth time and know what will happen next. After this scene, a sickening lump remains in your chest, your lips dry out, your tongue sticks to your larynx, as if you yourself are standing hypnotized in front of the vile, all-knowing Lord of the Flies.
Stills from the film "Lord of the Flies"
(UK, 1963, dir. Peter Brook).
Long hair, painted faces
Simon's guess (“the beast is ourselves”) brings us to another nightmare: savagery and rapid degradation await those who find themselves cut off from civilization.
From the very beginning, the little Robinsons took the plane crash as an opportunity to have fun playing on a wonderful island, “just like in a book.” The boys even mention Robert Ballantyne's novel Coral Island (it is known that Golding originally conceived Lord of the Flies as an ironic commentary on this naive work).
“The island is ours! Stunning island. Until the adults come for us, we'll have fun! (...) We need rules and we must obey them. We are not some kind of savages. We are English. And the British are always and everywhere the best. So, we need to behave properly".
The main character of the novel, Ralph, is the embodiment of rationality, civilization, and “correctness.” He is the only one who understands that “except for the rules, we have nothing,” that the fire must always smoke, sending a distress signal. He is the first to notice the terrible signs of degradation: “Ralph realized with disgust how dirty and degraded he was; he realized how tired he was of always brushing tangled hair from his forehead and in the evenings, when the sun had gone down, noisily rustling dry leaves as he went to bed.”; “Suddenly he realized that he was used to all this, got used to it, and his heart skipped a beat.”.
The hero-antagonist Jack, who led the hunters and then “pulled” all the inhabitants of the island into his savage tribe, feels completely different. He comes up with the idea of painting faces - at first it’s just a camouflage for hunting, but then it turns into something more: “The mask was already living an independent life, and Jack was hiding behind it, throwing away all shame”. By the end of the novel, all the boys, except Ralph, had lost their faces and names: they became simply faceless savages, painted white, green and red.
Another interesting detail: Jack and his hunters come up with a kind of ritual, a hunting dance.
“Maurice ran squealing into the center of the circle, pretending to be a pig; the hunters, continuing to circle, pretended to kill. They danced, they sang.
- Hit the pig! Cut your throat! Finish it off!”
At first it was a funny game, a joke in which even Ralph took part, thereby allowing the hidden, primitive, wild part of his soul to break out. But each time the dance became angrier, more terrible: “A ring closed around Robert. Robert screamed, first in mock horror, then in real pain.”. It is clear that at some point things will get out of control.
(UK, 1963, dir. Peter Brook).
The face of death
One of the key scenes in Golding's novel is the evening storm during which Jack's tribe holds a feast. Ralph, Piggy and other children also came to the fire, attracted by the roasted meat, which is impossible to resist after a long diet of fruit. Darkness, thunderstorm, heated passions - all this led to another savage dance. And it was at that moment that Simon came running, hastening to convey to his friends the news that there was no animal.
“The kids rushed screaming from the edge of the forest, one, not remembering himself, broke through the ring of the elders:
- It is he! He!
The circle became a horseshoe. Something vague and dark was crawling out of the forest. An annoying scream rolled in front of the beast.
The beast fell, almost fell into the center of the horseshoe.
- Beat the beast! Cut your throat! Let out the blood!
The blue scar no longer left the sky, the roar was unbearable. Simon shouted something about a dead body on the mountain.
- Beat the beast! Cut your throat! Let out the blood! Kill the beast!
The sticks clicked, the horseshoe crunched and closed again in a screaming circle.
The beast was kneeling in the center of the circle, the beast was covering its face with its hands. Trying to block out the disgusting screaming noise, the beast shouted something about a dead man on the mountain. The animal broke through, broke out of the circle and fell from the steep edge of the cliff onto the sand, towards the water. The crowd rushed after him, fell from the cliff, flew at the beast, beat him, bit him, tore him. There were no words, and there were no other movements - only tearing claws and teeth.".
Subsequently, Piggy and the Erikisem twins will shamefully deny their involvement in the “dance”: “We stood next to each other. We didn't do anything, we didn't see anything. (...) We left early, we were tired". And only Ralph will find the strength to admit that it was murder. Simon's death is a turning point in history, a point of no return, after which the horror of everything that happens will only increase.
Piggy. Fat and awkward, with “asthma-kakassyma”. We don't even know his name, while we remember the names of the minor characters - Henry, Bill, Percival. However, he is smart, and even Ralph admits it: “Piggy knows how to think. How great he is, he always puts everything in order in his thick head. But which Piggy is in charge? Piggy is funny, fat-bellied, but he cooks a pot, that’s for sure.”. In addition, it was thanks to Piggy that the boys were able to light a signal fire - with the help of his glasses, which became one of the symbols of rationality, order, and hope for salvation.
It is clear that nothing good awaits the boy nicknamed Piggy on the island where there are pigs that are bled. Hunter Roger, an obvious sadist, a gloomy “double” of the harmless Simon, who at the beginning of the novel simply threw pebbles at the kids, commits a deliberate murder of a man. He drops a block of stone on Piggy.
“The stone passed over Piggy from head to knees; the horn shattered into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, without a word, without a sound, flew sideways off the cliff, turning over on the fly. The stone jumped twice and disappeared into the forest. Piggy flew forty feet and fell on his back on that same red, square block in the sea. The head split open and the contents fell out and turned red. Piggy's arms and legs twitched a little, like a pig's when it's just been killed. Then the sea again slowly, sighed heavily, boiled over a block of white pink foam; and when it subsided again, Piggy was no longer there.”.
Together with Piggy, the sea shell also “dies” - the horn with which Ralph convened meetings, another symbol of reason and orderliness. An attempt to create a civilized society has failed: a horde of boys has turned into a primitive tribe, ruled by Chief Jack, which is subject to primitive and cruel laws. Ralph is left alone.
Still from the film “Lord of the Flies”
(USA, 1990, dir. Harry Hook).
Finished the game...
So, a handsome, strong, smart leader turns into an outcast. The ending of Golding's novel is saturated with horror: Ralph is not only wounded, alone and confused, but a real hunt begins for him. And the worst thing: the Erikisam twins warned that "Roger sharpened the stick at both ends.". At the same time, Ralph is holding the same double-edged spear, which he picked up after the destruction of the sickening idol - the Lord of the Flies. This means that his head will be the next “gift to darkness, gift to the beast.”
The narrative is filled with chaos, in which panic and hatred are mixed. The jungle came to life as Ralph began to be surrounded. Everything around rumbled as the savages pushed huge boulders of stone onto him, who was hiding. Ralph lost the remnants of his common sense, and he was chased, like hunters chasing a boar squealing in horror, when the whole island burst into flames.
“Ralph screamed - out of fear, despair, anger. His legs straightened out on their own, he screamed and screamed, he couldn’t stop. He rushed forward into the thicket, flew out into the clearing, he screamed, he growled, and blood dripped. He hit the stake, the savage rolled; but others were already rushing towards him, shouting. He dodged the flying spear and ran on silently. Suddenly the lights flashing ahead merged, the roar of the forest became thunder, and the bush in its path crumbled into a huge fan of flame.”.
The appearance of a naval officer on the shore brings a summative line under everything that happened, puts everything “on the shelf.” The adult's intervention is so sudden that it magically ends Ralph's hysteria and the hunters' blind rage.
“Are there no adults here?
Ralph shook his head like a mute. He turned around. On the shore, boys with sharp sticks in their hands, smeared with colored clay, stood quietly in a semicircle.
— Have you finished playing? - said the officer.
The fire reached the coconut palms on the shore and noisily consumed them.
Jumping like an acrobat, the flame threw out a separate tongue and licked the tops of the palm trees on the site. The sky was black".
The sobering reproaches of the adult, his calmness, his white cap and neat uniform, epaulettes, revolver, gold buttons on his uniform - all this sets off the nightmare that Ralph has just experienced. And mixed with this are memories of how great everything was at the beginning, how beautiful the island was.
“Dirty, shaggy, with an unworn nose, Ralph sobbed over his former innocence, over how dark the human soul is, over how his faithful, wise friend, nicknamed Piggy, turned over on the fly.”.
Stills from the film "Lord of the Flies"
(USA, 1990, dir. Harry Hook).
* * *
To escape, the children lit a signal fire - small, safe, controllable. But it turned out to be useless, the idea was untenable. The adults arrived only after seeing the smoke from the fire that had consumed the fairy-tale island. This is the bitter truth that can be read between the lines.
A tribe, a leader, painted faces, feasts after a successful hunt, dancing around a fire... This was the path that primitive people took towards civilization, towards progress. This was the only way to survive, to subdue the uncontrollable and dangerous nature, to overcome the all-consuming irrational fear, to resist the evil forces hidden in the souls. And the boys, who found themselves in isolation, degraded, descended to savages... thereby taking a step forward, like their ancestors millions of years ago.
This is the creepiest truth of Lord of the Flies. The worst thing is that this is a book about all people. This is a book about you and me.
Due to a nuclear disaster, a group of children are evacuated, but they end up on a desert island. The first are Ralph and fat Piggy. They find a large shell and blow it, calling out to everyone else. Boys of different ages appear. The last one is Jack Merridew. Ralph calls for a leader to be elected. Besides him, Meridew is also vying for this title. But with a majority of votes, the guys choose Ralph.
A small group consisting of Ralph, Jack and Simon sets out to find out if they are actually on the island. Walking back to the parking lot, the guys see a stuck pig. Jack was about to kill him, but no one knows what stopped him. While he was confused, the animal manages to free himself and run away. Meridew is ashamed of her hesitation. He promised that he would definitely kill him later. Returning to the others, Ralph gathers everyone and explains that from now on they need to make decisions on their own. The boys are not yet afraid that they may not be found. They are looking forward to a not boring life in this place.
Unexpectedly, one of the boys said that he noticed a snake at night. Jack promises to explore the island. Ralph reassures everyone that they will definitely be found, but for this it is necessary to light a fire and constantly monitor it. Jack takes on this matter.
A little later it turns out that most do not take the situation seriously. Jack's hunters, immersed in catching animals, completely forgot about fire. Because of what happened, the first conflict arises between Jack and Ralph.
Ralph tries to calm everyone down. Trying to encourage people to follow the rules and not be afraid. Jack, realizing his power, rebels against the chosen leader. Now the guys are divided into two parts. The first is Piggy, Ralph and Simon, they represent intelligence and rules. The second part is all the remaining ones, they adhere to disorder, disruption and destruction.
Over time, Piggy and Ralph realize that they are becoming fewer and fewer. The boys joined Jack.
One day Simon watched the guys hunt an animal. They impaled a pig's head. The head, covered with flies, served as bait. This was the Lord of the Flies.
A little later, Jack and his guys capture the camp. Ralph tries to calm him down, reminding him of humanity. But Jack answers him with a primitive dance with wild calls. Soon Simon appears, he tries to tell the others that there is no beast on the skeleton. But he himself is mistaken for an animal and killed.
Jack and his squad are stationed on a cliff. At the same time, Ralph is trying to protect and maintain the fire. The fire is the only chance of salvation. But Jack sneaks in at night and takes Piggy's glasses.
Ralph and several boys go to Jack to return the stolen goods. A fight breaks out between the two camps. Piggy is killed with a rock and Ralph is seriously injured. There is a desire to kill and take revenge in the air.
Ralph manages to escape. He rushes around the island until he bumps into an officer. He scolds the guys for their wild appearance. The news of the death of two boys shocks him.
Duration of validity is not determined. As a result of a nuclear explosion that occurred somewhere, a group of teenagers who were being evacuated find themselves on a desert island. The first to meet on the seashore are Ralph and a fat boy with glasses nicknamed Piggy. Having found a large shell at the bottom of the sea, they use it as a horn and call all the guys together. Boys from three to fourteen years old come running; The last to arrive are the church choir singers, led by Jack Meridew. Ralph suggests choosing “the main one.” Besides him, Jack claims leadership, but the vote ends in favor of Ralph, who invites Jack to lead the choir members, making them hunters.
A small detachment of Ralph, Jack and Simon, a frail, fainting choir member, goes on a reconnaissance mission to determine whether they have actually reached the island. Piggy, despite his requests, is not taken with him.
Climbing up the mountain, the boys experience a feeling of unity and delight. On the way back, they notice a piglet entangled in the vines. Jack is already raising the knife, but something stops him: he is not yet ready to kill. While he hesitates, the pig manages to escape, and the boy feels ashamed of his indecisiveness, vowing to himself to strike the killing blow next time.
The boys return to camp. Ralph calls a meeting and explains that now they will have to decide everything themselves. He proposes to set rules, in particular, not to speak to everyone at once, but to let the one holding the horn, which is what they call the sea shell, speak. The children are not yet afraid that they may not be rescued soon, and they are looking forward to a fun life on the island.
Suddenly the kids push forward a frail boy of about six years old with a birthmark covering half his face. It turns out that he saw an animal at night - a snake, which in the morning turned into a liana. The children suggest that it was a dream, a nightmare, but the boy firmly stands his ground. Jack promises to search the island and see if there are snakes here; Ralph says with annoyance that there is no animal.
Ralph convinces the guys that, of course, they will be saved, but to do this they need to build a large fire on the top of the mountain and maintain it so that they can be seen from the ship.
Together, they build a fire and set it on fire with the help of Piggy's glasses. Jack and his hunters take charge of maintaining the fire.
It soon becomes clear that no one wants to work seriously: only Simon and Ralph continue to build huts; The hunters, carried away by the hunt, completely forgot about the fire. Due to the fact that the fire went out, the guys were not noticed from a passing ship. This becomes the reason for the first serious quarrel between Ralph and Jack. Jack, who just at that moment killed the first pig, is offended that his feat was not appreciated, although he recognizes the justice of Ralph’s reproaches. Out of impotent anger, he breaks Piggy's glasses and teases him. Ralph barely manages to restore order and assert his dominance.
To maintain order, Ralph calls another meeting, now understanding how important it is to be able to correctly and consistently express his thoughts. He again reminds of the need to comply with the rules they themselves have established. But the main thing for Ralph is to get rid of the fear that has crept into the souls of the kids. Jack, who took the floor, unexpectedly utters the forbidden word “beast.” And in vain Piggy convinces everyone that there is no beast, no fear, “unless you scare each other” - the kids don’t want to believe it. Little Percival Weems Madison adds further confusion by claiming that "a beast comes out of the sea." And only Simon reveals the truth. “Maybe it’s us ourselves...” he says.
At this meeting, Jack, feeling powerful, refuses to obey the rules and promises to hunt down the beast. The boys are divided into two camps - those who represent reason, law and order (Piggy, Ralph, Simon), and those who represent the blind force of destruction (Jack, Roger and the other hunters).
That same night, the twins Eric and Sam, who were on duty on the mountain near the fire, come running to the camp with the news that they saw the beast. The boys search the island all day, and only in the evening Ralph, Jack and Roger go to the mountain. There, in the uncertain light of the moon, they mistake the corpse of a parachutist from a downed plane hanging on the slings for an animal and rush to run in fear.
At the new meeting, Jack openly reproaches Ralph for his cowardice, offering himself as leader. Having received no support, he goes into the forest.
Gradually, Piggy and Ralph begin to notice that fewer and fewer children remain in the camp, and they realize that they have gone to Jack.
The dreamer Simon, who has chosen a clearing in the forest where he can be alone, witnesses a pig hunt. As a sacrifice to the “beast”, hunters impale a pig’s head on a stake - this is the Lord of the Flies: after all, the head is completely covered with flies. Once he sees it, Simon can no longer take his eyes off “those ancient, inevitably recognizing eyes,” for the devil himself is looking at him. “You knew... that I am a part of you. An inseparable part,” says the head, as if hinting that it is evil incarnate, generating fear.
A little later, hunters led by Jack raid the camp to get fire. Their faces are smeared with clay: under the guise it is easier to commit atrocities. Having captured the fire, Jack invites everyone to join his squad, tempting them with hunting freedom and food.
Ralph and Piggy are terribly hungry, and they and the rest of the guys go to Jack. Jack once again calls on everyone to join his army. He is confronted by Ralph, who reminds him that he was elected in the main democratic way. But with his reminder of civilization, Jack contrasts the primitive dance, accompanied by the call: “Beat the beast! Cut your throat! Suddenly, Simon appears on the site, who was on the mountain and was convinced with his own eyes that there was no animal there. He tries to talk about his discovery, but in the darkness he himself is mistaken for an animal and killed in a wild ritual dance.
Jack's "tribe" is located in a "castle", on a fortress-like rock, where, with the help of a simple lever, stones can be thrown onto the enemy. Ralph, meanwhile, is trying with all his might to keep the fire going, their only hope for salvation, but Jack, who sneaked into the camp one night, steals Piggy’s glasses, with which the guys started the fire.
Ralph, Piggy and the twins go to Jack in hopes of returning the glasses, but Jack greets them with hostility. In vain Piggy tries to convince them that “the law and that they save us” is better than “hunting and destroying everything.” In the ensuing fight, the twins are captured. Ralph is seriously wounded, and Piggy is killed by a stone thrown from the fortress... The horn, the last stronghold of democracy, is broken. The instinct to kill triumphs, and now Jack is ready to be replaced as leader by Roger, personifying stupid, bestial cruelty.
Ralph manages to escape. He understands “that the painted savages will stop at nothing.” Seeing that Eric and Sam have become sentries, Ralph tries to lure them to his side, but they are too scared. They only inform him that a hunt is being prepared for him. Then he asks them to take the “hunters” away from his hiding place: he wants to hide not far from the castle.
However, fear turns out to be stronger than the concepts of honor, and the twins betray it to Jack. They smoke Ralph out of the forest, not allowing him to hide... Like a hunted animal, Ralph rushes around the island and suddenly, jumping out onto the shore, he bumps into a naval officer. “They could have looked more decent,” he reproaches the guys. The news of the death of two boys strikes him. And imagining how it all began, he says: “Everything looked wonderful then. Just "Coral Island".