Lord of the Flies is one of the most controversial books of all time. Many people seem to love it, while others hate it. Personally, I fall on the hatred scale. There are so many things in the book that completely make me question why people love it so much. I also can’t comprehend how anyone in their right mind could find Golding’s ideas true. They’re just ideas, with no scientific proof whatsoever showing that people will actually behave like that. Here are just 3 reasons why I think the book is straight up dumb.

Reason 1: People believe it

I fully do not understand how anybody could believe that humans are all born evil, and the rules are what make us good. Last I checked we were all born knowing absolutely nothing, and our experiences and environment is what shaped our personality. If someone were to only be exposed to positivity, they would have no idea what evil is. I believe that all the stories on the news, and social media is what exposes us to evil today, and let’s not forget that the boys in the book were in the middle of a war and seeing violence everywhere. Also, they got a dead parachutist as a message from the adults, if that doesn’t scar a kid, I don’t know what would. I read that Golding served in WWII, and fully believed that humans were good before his war experience. After the war is when he started believing that humans were evil. However, let’s not forget that being stranded on a peaceful island, with no real hardships besides not having personal hygiene, is not even remotely similar to a war. Now, you could argue that there have been tests based on Golding’s book such as the Stanford Prison Experiment, or Milgram’s experiment, but both of those experiments were based on people being told that it was for scientific research, and that the blame would not be put on them. In both experiments the people volunteered and were told that if they did not do it, they would be ruining the experiment. They were told to play the part in order for the experiment to work. The boys however, were put on the island involuntarily and chose to do the things they did without being pressured in any way. I think people are forgetting that Lord of the Flies is just a book filled with one person’s ideas, and just because Golding wrote a book about it doesn’t make his ideas true.

Reason 2: In what way does it represent the human race?

Golding wrote this book with the intention of convincing the reader that he is right, but how could he represent all of humanity when he doesn’t even include women? Golding said that he is basing his book entirely off of his own experiences, and what he has witnessed working at an all boys school. Since the book is based off of his experiences, there is a chance that his experiences are completely unique compared to everyone else, and he also must have had some pretty messed up students. This also means that he has more than likely spent absolutely no time working with girls, implying that he has no idea how a girl would act in any situation whatsoever, let alone being deserted on an island. Not only that but the boys only range from age 6-12. That’s much less than even half the population, considering majority of the population is not a boy aged 6-12. Another reason it doesn’t even remotely represent the human race is that the book is in no way, shape, or form culturally diverse. The boys are all British white boys, attending an all boys private school. At this point the book probably does not even represent 20% of the population because very little of the world is a white British boy aged 6-12, attending a private school. If they can represent the entire population, then why can’t they vote, drive a car, or even have a job?

Reason 3: Their age

The boys ages range from 6-12, none of them have even hit puberty yet, and the majority of their “problems” are from not getting their way. Boys at that age are sensitive and over dramatic, yet they can represent all of humanity? Think about it, Piggy got killed all because Jack got called a thief after stealing glasses. When it comes to brain development children at that age feel powerful and invincible, they will also show crazy inconsistent behaviour. When you are aged 12 mood swings and irritability are inevitable, yet once again, they can some how represent how the entire world will act without rules? Maybe, just maybe, it’s the rules that make us bad in the first place. What I mean by that is that people feel the need to rebel when they’re compressed. For example, kids are more likely to become alcoholics when they’re older if their parents are insanely strict with not letting them try alcohol when their younger, since they have never been allowed to get a taste it’s scientifically proven that they go overboard when they are legally allowed to drink. Also, Jack started to become a crazy dictator when Ralph got mad about the fire going out. He freaked out when Ralph got mad about him not following the rules when all he wanted to do was hunt. Lord of the Flies has so many flaws, that I find it impossible to take Golding’s message seriously.