Book Club
by Elena Black
Hello dear Slytherins.
So, after rummaging around through my massive book shelf, I finally found something appropriate enough to discuss for this month. Unfortunately, no pool parties are mentioned. However, the primary location is an island and it is set mainly during the summer. So that will have to work. I suppose if anyone wants to think of this as anything in particular, it could be the type of summer adventures one would wish to avoid rather than partake in.
Have I given enough hints for you to take a guess on what book I'm talking about yet? Probably not, eh? Well, to be fair, I doubt you were here for guessing games anyway, huh? Alrighty. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you all the book Lord of the Flies, written by Muggle author William Golding.
Interestingly enough,Lord of the Flies was not an immediate success like many of the novels I have spoken of. It wasn't until going out of print in 1955 - which was one year after the novel was published - that it even started to become popular, actually. Despite it's name Lord of the Flies,
is not a fantasy book like one may guess. In reality, it is a dystopian novel. The novel takes place in the midst of an unspecified nuclear war. The primary focus of the book revolves around portrays the survivors' descent into savagery; left to themselves in a paradisaical country, far from modern civilization, the well-educated children regress to a primitive state.
At an allegorical level, the central theme is the conflicting human impulses toward civilization living by rules, peacefully and in harmony and toward the will to power. Themes include the tension between group think and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. How these play out, and how different people feel the influences of these, form a major subtext of Lord of the Flies
.
Sounds like a disaster, doesn't it? Don't worry. That's partly why I recommended this as the type of vacation you want to avoid, not dive into.
Unless ... you're into that sorta thing. It's okay. I won't judge.
And there you have it! A summary on this month's book of the month Lord of the Flies,
. Enjoy your summer!
Until next time,
Elena Black