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William Golding's best known novel is the Lord of the Flies . The book is about a group of English shoolboys marooned on a deserted island. The plot chronicles their desent into barbarity. The author is ssuggesting that only a thin veneer of civilization masks the ionner savagery of human beings. There are considerable references to clothing in the book, especislly in the early pages when the children are first marooned on the islasnd. Golding describes the English school uniforms and the chorister uniforms in detail. The 1960s film version film follows the book costume descriptions closely.
The film is based on the acclaimed novel by Sir William Golding and the film lives up to the book--unusual nowadays. Golding was born in Cornwall, England, during 1911. He was educated at the Marlborough Grammar School (his father was a teacher there) and Brasenose College, Oxford. His father wanted him to be a scientist. Golding was more interested in literature. At Oxford he studied English literature and philosophy--a combination which show in his books. Golding became a schoolmaster and taught at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II and was involved in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. He returned to teaching after the , but following the war he returned to teaching. His first novel was Lord of the Flies which he published with considerable difficulty in 1954. His manuscript was rejected by 21 different publishers. It became, however, an imeediate success when it aapeared. Golding's subsequent books pursued similar themes, but none achieved the same acclaim as Lord of the Flies, in part becausecof the use of children so starly made his point about the inherent violence in human nature.
William Golding's best known novel is the Lord of the Flies (1954). The book is about a group of English shoolboys marooned on a deserted island. The plot chronicles their desent into barbarity. The author is ssuggesting that only a thin veneer of civilization masks the ionner savagery of human beings. The book is of course a fictional examination of the nature of man. Rosseau and others have argued that man is at hear good--the nobel savage--and is
corupted by society. Hobbs, Lock and others have argued that man is savage by nature and nust be restrained by society. Golding in Lord of the Flies presents his view that only a narrow venner of civilization covers our trur barbaric nature. The book is an excellent way of exploring this question with school children. One that veneer is removed, man quickly descends to barbarity. The characters, plot, and even secenes and props used in the film are finely defined in Golding's book which the film follows closely within the limits of time allowed by a movie production.
There are considerable references to clothing in the book, especislly in the early pages when the children are first marooned on the islasnd. Golding describes the English school uniforms and the chorister uniforms in detail. Golding uses the boys' school uniforms
and neat grooming symbolically. The boys' civility is a casualty of their isolation on the remote island. School manners and rules are gradually discarded, just as
their uniforms.
Ralph, the protagonist, comes upon a beach not long after the boys' landing on the island. "He became conscious of the weight of his clothes, kicked his shoes off fiercely and ripped off each stocking with its elastic garter in a single movement. He undid the snake clasp of his belt, lugged off his shorts and pants and stood there looking at the dazzling beach and water." Ralph and Piggy, another schoolboy and main character, are joined a few other survivors. Soon they see "a part yof boys marching approximately in step in two parallel lines and dressed in strangely eccentric clothing..." The boys carried their shorts and shirts in their hands. On their heads were square back caps with silver badges. They boys marched in wearing their black choir robes. Most of this troop would later form the hunting party of the violent Jack."
As time went on the boys' uniforms and appearances were no match for the ruggedness of the island. Ralph was to the end of the novel a symbol of morality. Although he weakened occasionally, Ralph
never gave himself over to the savagery of Jack's hunters. We read that one day Ralph daydreamed: "He pulled distastefully at his grey shirt and wondered whether he might undertake the adventure of washing
it." On this hot day "Ralph planned his toilet. He would like to have a bath, a proper wallow with soap. He would like to have a pair of scissors and cut his hair...right back to half an inch."
Ralph and Piggy, and a few of the younger boys could not arrest the survivors' descent into brutality. A few of Jack's party killed Piggy one day, and Ralph realized that, as Jack's enemy, he would be
next. He fled from Jack's group, laying still and hiding on another part of the island. The others approached him, and Ralph "had even glimpsed one of them, sriped brown, black, and red, and he had judged
that it was Bill. But really, thought Ralph, this was not Bill. This was a savage whose image refused to blend with that ancient picture of a boy in shorts and shirt." The boys' transformations from English
schoolboys into savages, then, was complete. Ralph and the boys were rescued by a navy cruiser at the story's end. Their war-games over, they were returned to a real conflict going on in the "civilized world."
This quote is found near the end of the book, just before the time that Ralph "glimpsed one of them, striped brown, black, and
red ..." The quote and text I had in mind: "Ralph fled Jack and his band of hunters, and as he lay hidden, he wished they could "pretend they were still boys, schoolboys who had said, "Sir, yes, sir" -and
wore caps."
There are two film versions of Golding's book. The 1960s film version film follows the book costume descriptions closely.
This is surely one of the most provocative films about boys ever made. It is in the same genre as The War of the Buttons, but much more powerful. This is a very powerful and dramatic movie. The acting by the boys is excellent, the writing is effective, and the location shooting is superb. The plot is about a group of English
private prearatory school boys, including a choir, stranded on a deserted island when the airplane they are on crashes. All of the adults are killed and except for the very end, adults play no part in the plot and do not appaer. The film is based on the acclaimed novel by Sir William Golding and the film lives up to the
book--unusual nowadays. Some of the boys attempt to resist the descent to barbarity, but the boys slowly revert to the primitive--led in this case by the choir. With many kids surviving, but no adults Ralph (James Aubrey) initially takes charge to the dismay of Jack (Tom Chapin), who wanted to be the leader. Eventually, Jack
has enough of Raplhs leadership methods (order, discipline, rules etc), and decides to go it alone. Soon most of the kids have gone to Jacks "evil" camp. Without any adults in the party, civilization soon disapears as Jack imposes his rule leading to the theft, torture, and murder. It doesnt take long for these well behaved kids to
turn into savages, that are capable of anything. Most of the boys wear English short pants school uniforms at the beginning of the film, including caps, ties, blazers, short trousers, and kneesocks. They slowly discard their hot woolen clothes. Mostly non professional actors were used for the boys who had a real romp on the
island during the filming. James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Tom Gaman.
Lord of the Flies was remade in the United States in 1990. It recast the Golding novel with American boys from a military school. The boys do a nice acting job. It is more modest than the 1963 version and the boys initial uniforms are not blazers, shorts, and knee socks, but still worth seeing. It doesn't have the same power as
the original. Ralph (Balthazar Getty) is a particularly effective little actor. However the recasting the plot from "angelic" English choir boys to military school bills looses some of the dramtic affect of the decline toward barbarity--a seriouserror on the part of the producer. The original film based more closely on the Golding
story is much more effective.
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