Lord of the Flies

WilliamGolding'scompellingstoryaboutagroupofveryordinarysmallboysmaroonedonacoralislandhasbecomeamodernclassic.Atfirstitseemsasthoughitisallgoingtobegreatfun;butthefunbeforelongbecomesfuriousandlifeontheislandturnsintoanightmareofpanicanddeath.Asordinarystandardsofbehaviourcollapse,thewholeworldtheboysknowcollapseswiththem—theworldofcricketandhomeworkandadventurestories—andanotherworldisrevealedbeneath,primitiveandterrible.LordoftheFliesremainsasprovocativetodayaswhenitwasfirstpublishedin1954,ignitingpassionatedebatewithitsstartling,brutalportraitofhumannature.Thoughcriticallyacclaimed,itwaslargelyignoreduponitsinitialpublication.YetsoonitbecameacultfavoriteamongbothstudentsandliterarycriticswhocomparedittoJ.D.Salinger'sTheCatcherintheRyeinitsinfluenceonmodernthoughtandliterature.Labeledaparable,anallegory,amyth,amoralitytale,aparody,apoliticaltreatise,evenavisionoftheapocalypse,LordoftheFlieshasestablisheditselfasatrueclassic.《蝇王》是英国作家、诺贝尔文学奖获得者威廉·戈尔丁的代表作，是一本重要的哲理小说，借小孩的天真来探讨人性的恶这一严肃主题。故事发生于想象中的第三次世界大战，一群六岁至十二岁的儿童在撤退途中因飞机失事被困在一座荒岛上，起先尚能和睦相处，后来由于恶的本性的膨胀起来，便互相残杀，发生悲剧性的结果。作者将抽象的哲理命题具体化，让读者通过阅读引人入胜的故事和激动人心的争斗场面来加以体悟，人物、场景、故事、意象等都深具象征意义。