book review of lord of the flies

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Lord of the flies, common sense media reviewers.

Gripping story of marooned schoolboys and mob mentality.

Lord of the Flies book cover: Title in white letters on red background with leaves and reaching light-skinned hands in the foreground and two light-skinned boys standing on either side of the red background

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

The book's basic premise is that some people, depr

The novel raises questions about personal choice a

Ralph is the main character who's elected leader i

The British schoolboys depicted in the novel are W

One boy is bullied. Two characters are murdered: O

A taunt includes calling a character's asthma "ass

Educational Value

The book's basic premise is that some people, deprived of the rules and restrictions of society, will revert to barbaric behavior. This central conflict between nature versus nurture when it comes to morality is found on every page. Readers will also learn something about survival on an unpopulated island.

Positive Messages

The novel raises questions about personal choice and individual humanity in appalling situations. People are capable of selflessness, even when their own lives are at stake. There are times when it's critical to put the needs of the group ahead of individual needs or wants.

Positive Role Models

Ralph is the main character who's elected leader in the name of staying "civilized." He thinks strategically and shows compassion and perseverance, but his motives are questionable, and he does not succeed in his leadership of the group. Piggy, who is brainy and logical, represents the rational side of human beings; unfortunately, he's also deeply unpopular. Only Simon, who looks after the younger boys, seems naturally kind and good, as if born that way. Jack seeks power ruthlessly, but is charismatic, so he's able to command leadership, even when it results in more chaos. Other characters represent baser, more violent human impulses or the innocence of children. The characters, and how they relate to one another, underscore the value of ethics in collaborative situations.

Diverse Representations

The British schoolboys depicted in the novel are White. Their descent into "savagery," a term used repeatedly throughout the book, relies on racist stereotypes of Indigenous peoples from Africa, Asia, and the Americas being more violent and less civilized. The character Jack explicitly differentiates between "savages" and the English, suggesting that only the English know how to "have rules and obey them" and "are best at everything." A boy described as fat is nicknamed Piggy. He also has asthma. For those reasons, he's viewed as weak by the others. Women are not present and are only mentioned when the boys miss their mothers. The comparison to tying their hair back like "a girl" is used in a derogatory manner by the boys.

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Violence & Scariness

One boy is bullied. Two characters are murdered: One is beat to death and another falls to his death after being hit by a boulder pushed by one of the other boys. The acts are described in detail. Frequent mention of blood. Brief torture sequence. Boys hunt a pig and poke a sharp stick up its rear end while it's still alive. The setting and atmosphere are fraught with the potential for violence.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

A taunt includes calling a character's asthma "ass-mar."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Lord of the Flies has been described as dark, brutal, pessimistic, and tragic. Written from the point of view of British author William Golding, the novel tells the story of a group of White British school boys who survive after their plane crash lands on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. The boys bully and eventually kill two members of their group, one in a brutal, frenzied beating, in the other murder, a character causes a boy to fall off a cliff. Both scenes are described in bloody detail. The book often compares being "civilized" with Britishness, while the boys' violent behavior is depicted as more primitive and draws on negative stereotypes of Indigenous peoples -- a false idea that was historically used to justify the colonization and oppression of people in places such as Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The story deals with a fundamental issue of humanity: Are people naturally prone to evil? This and other issues in the novel are well-suited for parent-child discussion.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

Parents say (12)
Kids say (111)

Based on 12 parent reviews

Great book for deep discussion

The classic of savagery, what's the story.

In LORD OF THE FLIES, a group of British schoolboys is marooned on a tropical island and left to fend for themselves, unsupervised by any adults. At first, the boys enjoy their freedom, playing and exploring the island. But soon the group splits into two factions: those who try to preserve the discipline and order they've learned from society, and those who choose to give in to every instinct and impulse, no matter how chaotic or cruel.

Is It Any Good?

This novel has been a perennial favorite since its first publication in 1954, and when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, William Golding was lauded for his deep concern for humanity. Today, Lord of the Flies remains a staple of school reading lists, although some of its dated views about the nature of savagery are worth reexamining and discussing. Golding's prose is unadorned and straightforward, and the result is page-turning entertainment -- as well as a highly thought-provoking work of literature.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Lord of the Flies is considered a classic and is often required reading in school. Why do you think that is? Are there aspects of the novel that seem dated now? How does the depiction of the boys' bad behavior rely on stereotypes?

The boys on the island hope to survive their ordeal. How do they persevere through their difficult circumstances? What helps them survive?

Do you think people are born "good" or "evil" -- is our behavior always the result of choice? How is it that good people are capable of bad behavior, and vice versa? How do you think you might behave under the circumstances of the novel?

Is it always best to sacrifice your own wants and needs for the common good of a community? What are some examples of when characters show compassion ? What effect does compassion have on the characters and the events of this story?

What do you think some of the prominent elements of the story -- the conch, Piggy's glasses, the sow's head, the island's "beast" -- might symbolize?

Book Details

Author : William Golding
Genre : Literary Fiction
Topics : Adventures , Friendship
Character Strengths : Compassion , Perseverance
Book type : Fiction
Publisher : Perigree
Publication date : January 1, 1954
Number of pages : 304
Last updated : August 16, 2023

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Publisher: Faber and Faber | Genre: Allegory, Social Commentary

Title : Lord of the Flies

Author: William Golding

Publisher: Faber and Faber

Genre: Allegory, Social Commentary

First Publication: 1954

Language: English

Setting Place: Deserted Tropical Island

Protagonist: Ralph

Major Characters: Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon, Samneric, Roger

Narration: Third person Omniscient

Theme: Evil, Outlets for violence, Human nature, Loss of innocence, Savagery Vs Civilization

Book Summary : Lord of the Flies by William Golding

In the midst of a nuclear war, a plane carrying a group of British school boys crashed on a deserted island. Without adult supervision they must work together and govern themselves to survive. At first the boys are civilized and elect Ralph, a boy of twelve years old, as a leader. Things start out okay and boys use Conch shell as a talking stick.

The first day goes rather smoothly and they discuss about hot to get rescued and what they have to do until then any ship come to bring them home. Ralph is determined about creating a smoke signal, so Samneric, a pair of twin boys, is assigned the duty to start and watch a signal fire. Another group, the choirboys lead by Jack, elect themselves to become the hunters and provide meat for the group. Simon, an enlightened boy and Piggy, a scientific thinker, quickly become the counsel for Ralph. Besides these boys, there are several younger boys about the age of six.

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.”

Jack and his group become increasingly interested in killing sows. They begin to paint their faces and track the animals for hunting. All the boys begin to be afraid of an imaginary beast in the jungle. Their fears are further fueled when a dead man with a parachute landed on the top of the mountain. The boys begin to see Jack as a protector and look to him for leadership.

Then the conflict increased between Ralph and Jack. Most of the boys on island joined Jack’s tribe, except Ralph, Piggy, Sam and Eric and a couple of the littluns. Jack and group have become complete savages partaking in daily hunting and tribal dancing.

Character List: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Character List - Lord of the Flies | The Bookish Elf

Ralph- The main protagonist of the story, a twelve year old boy who was elected as leader of the boys. Ralph tries to maintain discipline, order, structure. He represents the civilizing instinct of human beings.

Jack – The antagonist of the novel, and one of the older boys and leader of the choir. Jack becomes increasingly dark and disturbed during his stay on island. He represents the evil that exists within all men in uncivilized situations.

Piggy – Piggy is Ralph right hand man. Though criticized for his weight, asthma and lack of physical agility, He is the scientific mind and the rational thinker of Ralph’s team.

Roger – An oddly secretive and sadistic older boy who thrives on preying on those who are younger and weaker. Roger quickly becomes Jack’s first follower and carries out Jack’s evil wishes.

Sam and Eric – Also known as “samneric”, they are twin boys who seem to be one person. They are follower of Ralph and enjoy their duty of keeping the fire signal going.

Maurice- He is Jack’s key supporters, accompanies him on the raids on Ralph’s camp.

Simon – The “enlightened” boy with a true natural sense of morality who spends a lot of time alone with nature. Simon helps and comforts the younger boys in their dreadful moments.

The Lord of the Flies – It’s the name given to the sow’s head that Jack’s gang transfixes on spear as an offering to the “beast.” The Lord of the Flies comes to symbolize the primeval instincts of power and barbaric nature that take control of Jack’s tribe.

Littluns- The littlest boys, around ages six and up.

Book Review - Lord of the Flies | The Bookish Elf

Book Review: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

In 1954, William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies, when the world was in the middle of the silent yet terrifying Cold War soon after the World War II . It is not only a tale of boys surviving after their plane crashed on a deserted island; it is an allegorical novel about the conflicts between savagery and civilization.

The significant symbolism which is rather easy to comprehend, made it one of the most popular and admired books in history. Lord of the Flies by William Golding presents a memorable and haunting account of believable characters portrayed so subtly and accurately.

“The thing is – fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream.”

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is based on a series of events following a plane crash that leaves a group of young school-going children stranded on a deserted Island during the Cold War. Lord of the Flies by William Golding is the story of those boy’s shocking survival. The dreams of all the boys have finally come true: after all, who wouldn’t want a whole island all to themselves to play on without any nagging from adults? Soon after a day or two, the boys realize they needed a leader. The main protagonist, Ralph, is elected as a leader of the group because to his popularity and leadership skills, with Piggy as his sidekick.

All the boys befriend one another, because there is nowhere to go. As the days pass, Jack gets hungrier for authority. What seemed to be a joyous escape from the chaotic adult world at first, soon advances into something far more disturbing and sinister.

I remain convinced to this day that Lord of the Flies is one of those controversial classic books that depends upon how you read it. On the surface it could be read as a simple moralistic tale – a portrayal of what happens when you take people away from society.

“The greatest ideas are the simplest.”

It may look as if Lord of the Flies is just a children’s adventure story. However, there is also a truth concealed deep inside the novel where Golding makes reader conscious of certain issues. The issues it concerns are: society, human nature, good vs. evil, ecological balance and cooperation. This is an allegorical novel where Golding employs the scene of a deserted island and a group of English school boys to serve as a framework, through which he explores the theme of his book.

William Golding uses this deceptively simple setup to question just how civilized we really are and how quickly we can descend into a mob of crazies. The question for the reader is whether these are but immature children or an allegory for the adult world and how quickly mob rule can take over and how few dare to go against the herd.

This story is a powerful depiction of human nature and its role in the rise and fall of democracy. Central to this story is the theme of fear: how it can be used as a means to control people and how it chisels away at our humanity.

“Which is better–to have laws and agree, or to hunt and kill?”

The three main characters Ralph, Jack and Piggy are archetypes of a natural leader, a bully and a nerd. They are not terribly complex people but they are still quite vivid characters who are defined more by their action than their brief moments of introspection. The early chapters have a spirit of adventure or perhaps a child’s idea of utopia, a world without adult supervision. As the characters degenerate into savagery the tone of the book become very dark and disturbing.

William Golding’s prose style is deliberately prosaic; there are no lyrical passages to speak of. This has the effect of amplifying the visceral impact of the narrative. There are however, some creepy surreal scenes involving a pig’s head on a stick. The ending of the novel is clearly telegraphed by the trajectory of the preceding chapters but it is still very effective for all that.

Symbols and motifs:

You will love the action-packed provocative tale of survival in Lord of the Flies by William Golding but also learn three very important characteristics of human nature. First: Human’s desire for social and political order through governments, legislatures and parliaments, depicted by the conch and platform. Second: Human’s natural tendency towards violence, savagery and every nation’s need for military and defense, depicted by the choir-boys-turned-hunters-turned-murderers. And third, our beliefs in the divine interventions and supernatural powers, depicted by the sacrifices and ceremonial dances to appease the “beast”.

Those who didn’t have the opportunity to read it before must not put it on hold any longer.

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LORD OF THE FLIES

by William Golding ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1954

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1954

ISBN: 0399501487

Page Count: 212

Publisher: Coward-McCann

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1955

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT LITERARY FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT GENERAL TEEN

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Review: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies William Golding Penguin Books Published December 16, 2003 (Originally Published 1954)

Amazon | bookshop | goodreads, about lord of the flies.

Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, LORD OF THE FLIES is perhaps our most memorable novel about “the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”

LORD OF THE FLIES is one of those iconic books that gets referenced all the time in our culture, but I’d never read it before. My daughter had to read it for school last year, and she had some anxiety about the content. I decided to read it first so she’d be ready for anything that might be difficult for her.

I read the book last fall as things were heating up before the presidential election here in the US. At that time, I actually wrote an initial review. But because I kept pushing back the date for posting the review, I have updated the review and added some more stuff that I’ve thought about on reflection.

Before I started reading LORD OF THE FLIES, I felt really weird reading all these big name authors talking about how pivotal this book has been for their writing. I think it’s Suzanne Collins who says that she reads LORD OF THE FLIES every year. That seemed really weird to me for a book with such a dark reputation. Every year? I mean, no offense meant. When a book resonates with you like that, I get wanting to read it every year. For a long time I had a book that I read every year, too. I guess I just found myself surprised about people feeling that way about a book that’s often referenced to describe uncontrolled violence or mayhem.

Anyway. So I went into the book with both some dread (expecting violence, which can be hard for me to read), and some, I don’t know, fascination, I guess?

The thing that still stands out to me most about the book is how easily some boys began to think of others as not human, as animals to be hunted. There’s a moment, after one boy has been killed where two boys talk around what happened. One boy comes right out and says that it was murder. The other boy recoils and tries to defend what happened as something else. He tries to explain it away as something not evil and wrong. It doesn’t work, and for a moment they’re both confronted with the horrible truth.

Watching the vigilantism and the violent language increasingly used by elected officials and repeated online while reading LORD OF THE FLIES was really creepy, y’all. Like, it seriously marked me. I would read a scene and feel like, this is awfully close to the way people are talking to each other or about each other right now. Or I’d get to a scene and think, well, surely our leaders won’t sink this low. And then. Stuff happened.

I couldn’t stop– and still can’t stop– thinking about the way the story explores the power of fear. The collapse of reason that happens when people are afraid and respond with that fear and anger. The steady shift toward things that once seemed unimaginable. I knew what was coming because I’d heard enough about the book that I basically knew what to expect. And yet, the violence of it and the dehumanization of it still shocked and shook me.

Reading this book, I can see not only from the story why it endures, but also from the writing. Like, I felt genuinely pulled into the tale. Even when I wasn’t reading, I thought about it. I wanted to know what would happen. Even though I already pretty much knew what was coming, I couldn’t look away from what was happening. It gripped me and paralyzed me with horror. (Much the way I felt weeks later watching the coverage of the January 6 insurrection.)

Honestly, I won’t say I enjoyed it– not like, celebrated reading it. But it really moved me. I think I would read it again. I think I NEED to read it again.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation All the boys are British private school students.

Profanity/Crude Language Content Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content None.

Spiritual Content The boys fear a mysterious evil they call the Beast. They leave food sacrifices for it, hoping that this will keep the Beast away from them.

Violent Content At least one racist comment equating Indians with savages. Multiple violent descriptions of hunting and killing pigs. Boys beat another boy to death. A boy falls to his death after being hit with a rock.

Drug Content None.

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About Kasey

2 responses to review: lord of the flies by william golding.

My interest is piqued to give the book another chance. I read it a while back, while I was I in middle school, and at that time I had little idea about what was happening (I lost my way about halfway through), and I hadn’t heard much about the story like you had before diving into the text, so I suspect that the full impact (philosophical, political, psychological, social) wasn’t felt.

Yay! Yeah, I have definitely had that experience with books that I read in school before and then again later. I hope that if you read it again, you are able to connect with it a lot more. 🙂 Thanks, Abigail!

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The Literary Edit

Review: Lord of the Flies – William Golding

When I was about fourteen, one of my best friends Sian and I gate crashed a year-ten drama trip to a near by theatre to watch Lord of the Flies. I remember little of the play itself other than the deeply unsettling feeling I was left with when the curtains closed. Thus upon discovering that William Golding’s Lord of the Flies was featured on the BBC’s Big Read, I was somewhat reluctant to read it. However, having been recommended it by my cousin Hal, and upon finding a battered copy in a book shop near my work, I decided to give it a go.

Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is a dystopian novel by nobel-prize winning English author William Golding, about a group of boys stuck on an uninhabited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. When it was first published, Golding’s debut novel suffered from poor sales but when re-released in the 1960s it went on to be a best-seller, and soon became required reading in many schools and colleges.

The main protagonists are Ralph, Piggy, Roger, Jack and Simon all of whom are vividly portrayed throughout the novel. Ralph is chief of the group; Piggy, poor-sighted and overweight is his side-kick, Roger is one of the first to develop animalistic tendencies, Jack epitomises the worst aspects of human nature while Simon is a representation of peace and tranquility.

The novel follows the boys as they try to survive on the island by implementing a set of rules and regulations to follow. However, as the rules disintegrate, Jack forms his own tribe of terror, and events in the book progress from simple bullying to stylised animal rape and eventually murder. Golding effectively uses these episodes to explore the darkness of man’s heart, and the novel can show us what we are capable of in a similar situation.

A chilling yet compelling read with stunning imagery and great use of symbolism, Lord of the Flies is both a great piece of literature and a dire warning about humanity.

About Lord of the Flies

At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want. Anything. They attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin and evil. And as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far from reality as the hope of being rescued. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies is perhaps our most memorable tale about “the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”

About William Golding

Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, and playwright best known for his 1954 novel Lord of the Flies.

Golding spent two years in Oxford focusing on sciences; however, he changed his educational emphasis to English literature, especially Anglo-Saxon. During World War II, he was part of the Royal Navy which he left five years later. His bellic experience strongly influenced his future novels. Later, he became a teacher and focused on writing.

Some of his influences are classical Greek literature, such as Euripides, and The Battle of Maldon , an Anglo-Saxon oeuvre whose author is unknown. The attention given to Lord of the Flies , Golding’s first novel, by college students in the 1950s and 1960s drove literary critics’ attention to it.

He was awarded the Booker Prize for literature in 1980 for his novel Rites of Passage, the first book of the trilogy To the Ends of the Earth. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983 and was knighted in 1988.

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2 comments on “Review: Lord of the Flies – William Golding”

the story shows us the Brutal Truth of life. Normally people blame the society, that because of the society they became evil. But the story tells us that There is evil inside us, sooner or later, we all have to face it.

A Summary and Analysis of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Lord of the Flies was first published in 1954, although it very nearly wasn’t published at all. Its author, William Golding, was a struggling grammar-school teacher when he wrote it, having been given the germ of the idea by his wife, Ann.

The novel’s title is a reference to Beelzebub, a name for the Devil, which means literally ‘lord of the flies’ (at least in most translations ). Given the fact that power, devilry, and, yes, flies are all central aspects of Lord of the Flies , the title is especially apt.

Golding (nicknamed ‘Scruff’ by his pupils) struggled to get the novel accepted by numerous publishers before Faber and Faber took it on. However, even there it was initially rejected (the initial reader at Faber dismissed it as ‘absurd and uninteresting fantasy’ and ‘rubbish and dull’) until a young editor, Charles Monteith, saw potential in the manuscript and got it accepted. It still sells tens of thousands of copies every year.

But how should we interpret this tale of post-apocalyptic barbarism? Before we offer an analysis of Golding’s novel, here’s a brief reminder of the plot.

Lord of the Flies : plot summary

The novel begins with a plane carrying a group of British schoolboys being shot down; the boys land on a desert island. Two of them, Ralph and Piggy, find a conch shell on the beach, and they use it to signal to the rest of the schoolboys, who then start to form their own ‘society’, with a leader elected among them.

Ralph is named the leader while Jack is his sort of second-in-command, in charge of finding food on the island.

After they start a fire to try to signal for help, they accidentally burn down a large part of the nearby forest, killing one boy. When a ship does sail past, it doesn’t stop to rescue the boys because Jack’s band of hunters have carelessly allowed the signal-fire to go out.

Jack and his gang have managed to hunt and kill a pig for them to eat. Things start to get out of hand, and some of the younger boys in particular are terrified that some sea-monster will come and kill them.

When a parachutist – part of a team of fighter-pilots flying overhead – lands on the island, several of the boys think his flapping parachute is the wings of the mysterious island ‘beast’, and they run away, terrified, and spreading fear to the other boys, who organise a hunting trip to try to catch the beast.

Jack and Ralph fall out, with Jack trying to oust the more senior boy from the position of leader – a move that the rest of the boys resist. Jack stomps off with his hunting band, and many of the other boys subsequently desert Ralph’s ‘side’ for Jack.

Jack, emboldened by his new supporters, ritually sacrifices a pig, which is decapitated, its head placed on a stick. Simon sees it, and thinks it’s talking to him: some devil-like figure known as ‘Lord of the Flies’. When Simon returns to the others, they set upon him and kill him, not realising who he is. Jack and his hunters run off with Piggy’s glasses. Jack and Ralph fight, and Piggy is killed with a rock.

Jack and the others hunt Ralph, who flees, only to be rescued by a British sailor who was on board a ship that spotted the fire raging on the island and came ashore. The other boys turn up, and when the officer confronts them over their appearance, they all break down in tears.

Lord of the Flies : analysis

Golding conceived Lord of the Flies as a sort of dark counterpart, or response, to the classic Victorian boys’ adventure novel, The Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne, in which three boys are marooned on a Pacific island.

But whereas in Ballantyne’s 1857 novel the stranded children encounter evil as an exterior force on the island, Golding inverted this: he shows us, unsettlingly, that evil is always lurking within ourselves, and is only ever just beneath the surface in so-called ‘ordinary’ or ‘civilised’ people.

Golding’s working title for his novel, Strangers from Within , makes it clear that the devil – that ‘Lord of the Flies’ – is within us, all of us, rather than outside, elsewhere.

But although Golding’s novel is often viewed as a dystopian tale about ‘human nature’ and how, in times of desperation and disaster, certain people will seize power and others will be the victims of their oppressive control, Lord of the Flies actually has its roots in something more specific than this: the British class system.

The three principal characters of the novel – Ralph, Piggy, and Jack – represent the three main classes in England, much as the famous class sketch from The Frost Report captured in a sketch just over a decade after Golding’s novel appeared.

As John Sutherland argues in his discussion of Lord of the Flies in How to be Well Read: A guide to 500 great novels and a handful of literary curiosities , Ralph is a grammar-school boy, Piggy the product of a working-class ‘tech’ school (a short-lived post-war phenomenon), and Jack the privileged public school boy.

Ralph, therefore, is riddled with self-doubt about his middling position in English society: the Jacks of the world are above him and the Piggies below him. Jack has all of the confidence of someone born into privilege and with an almost innate sense of their right to lord it over everyone else.

The message of Lord of the Flies , then, is that if you remove these schoolchildren from Britain, the British class system will still reassert itself as they construct their own stratified ‘society’. The island on which the boys are stranded becomes like the island of Great Britain which they left.

Piggy, however, is working-class. As Sutherland argues, his use of phrases like ‘the runs’ instead of, say, ‘an upset tummy’ are subtle ways in which Golding, without hammering home Piggy’s origins, reveal his status to the reader. He was always destined to be the scapegoat because the English class system dictated it. Coupled with his physical or evolutionary disadvantage (his extreme myopia and reliance on glasses) and he was doomed from the start.

The British class system, then, informs the novel, making it a peculiarly British dissection of power structures. According to Sutherland, Golding – himself a teacher at the sort of grammar school which produced the decent and honourable Ralph – once said that he would happily blow up every public school in England, and Lord of the Flies shows how it is the Jack Merridews produced by the English public school system which are the most capable of wreaking destructive power over others.

But it’s also true that Lord of the Flies bears the influence of another important experience in Golding’s life: his experience in the Second World War fighting in the Royal Navy, which showed him first-hand how ordinary men could become capable of performing acts of great evil.

Of course, the horrors of Nazi Germany were also an important source for Golding’s depiction of evil, especially the way the other boys merrily join Jack’s command.

Along with its searing commentary on the inherent evils of the British class system, Lord of the Flies is a powerful narrative about how fear is all it takes to persuade many ‘normal’, ‘decent’ people to behave horrifically.

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2 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies”

We “did” this at school. I don’t know why they thought a book about badly-behaved boys would interest a class of girls!

Badly behaved boys always should interest girls

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding - review

"Which is better – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?"

Lord of the Flies isn't your average book, I have to say. Being a reader who loves to dig into books of adventure and mystery genres, upon picking up this book I thought it would be a normal adventure book; the blurb certainly seemed to suggest this. A predictable setting for a story: a deserted island suddenly inhabited by a group of reckless school boys. It's the perfect recipe for an adventure book like any other. Except...it's not like any other.

Allow me to briefly explain the tantalising plot. Set in an unspecified war period, a plane crashes, leaving a group of schoolboys stranded on a desert. Shocking, but not that unbearable. After all, the young boys' dreams have come true: who wouldn't want a whole island to play on all day without any nagging from the Adults? The unlikely protagonists are the fair haired Ralph and his side-kick, appropriately named Piggy. Without any adults, the boys realise that a leader must be elected in order to make sure that everyone has fun and doesn't act unkindly (except to Piggy of course, teasing Piggy is perfectly okay). Ralph ends up being elected due to his leadership skills and popularity with the rest of the boys. Ralph befriends a choirboy called Jack, who turns out to be the antagonist in this story. Both boys grow to loathe each other as the days pass, with Jack getting hungrier for power. Soon, what was initially thought of as a blissful escape from the Adult World quickly develops into something more sinister and unsettling.

Now when I talk about protagonists and antagonists, it's really hard to truly define who they are, for you see, Lord of the Flies isn't just a book about boys becoming independent. It holds a deeper, more subtle meaning to it, making the reader question what it really means to be immoral and the true meaning of evil. All the time, the reader is questioning Ralph, Piggy, Jack and the other schoolboys' decisions and actions, until it comes to a point when the reader is unable to take in what has happened. Innocence is lost and life for the boys will never be the same again.

Although the book spans a few months, fortunately it does not feel rushed. Every chapter leaves you hungry for more. I think the thing that makes Lord of the Flies so successful is the way William Golding manages to drop subtle hints in the story, straight from the beginning, and they become more apparent as the book progresses, and actions turn from worse, to what could only be described as barbaric and bloody. I also appreciate how the development of Ralph is made evident to the reader. Ralph is portrayed as having blonde hair and blue eyes, the perfect recipe for innocence. He is arrogant and care free and the prospect of having a whole island to himself is certainly appealing. However, as time passes by, and things go out of hand, Ralph matures and realises life is not all about how many friends you have and how popular you are, nor is it - sigh - about having fun. On the outside Lord of the Flies may appear to be simply a story about boys trying to live on a deserted island, but reading between the lines will allow the reader to understand and appreciate the dark hints that make this story truly exciting and magnificent in every respect.

I would recommend this book to teenagers, both boys and girls, who want to try something...different, to say the least. Teenagers who like adventure and mystery should certainly try this classic. In other words, if you're the one for romance and happy endings, look elsewhere. But if you like your books to have gripping and believable characters with a plot second to none, then Lord of the Flies is for you. I can promise you that you'll finish the book, left with a new and fresh outlook on the world around you and perhaps a thought as to what exactly Lord of the Flies is about. Indeed its inner meaning is very dark, making the reader wonder how thin the line between good and evil really is.

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Book review – “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding

When I announced that this book was May’s choice for my Facebook reading challenge (theme, a 20 th century classic), there were mixed feelings – it seems a few of our participants had studied it at school for their ‘O’ level English Literature (predecessor to the GCSE for anyone young enough not to know!). Some were delighted…others less so! I did not study this at school, but I read it at University (I did an English degree). My childhood home was not one filled with books, though I spent a great deal of time at my local library, so when I went to University I had a lot of catching up to do on many of the classics. Golding’s book is one of those and is widely considered to be one of the all-time great novels.

Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first novel, published in 1954. I doubt many people could name any of his other works (I couldn’t!), although he won the Booker Prize in 1980 for his novel Rites of Passage , and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. He died in 1993 at the age of 81. Lord of the Flies has been adapted three times for the big screen, and several times for stage and radio.

The basic plot is that a group of boys (thought to number about thirty, but it’s not entirely clear) are marooned on a Pacific island following a wartime evacuation attempt that ends in a plane crash. There are no adult survivors and the boys, ranging in age from perhaps nine to thirteen years, must learn quickly to survive. Three main characters emerge: Ralph and Jack are the two alpha-males of the group, but have very different instincts about the priorities, and Piggy, an overweight, severely near-sighted boy, probably of lower class than Ralph and Jack, who proves to be the most thoughtful, sensible and self-aware but who lacks the leadership skills to wield any power.

Initially, the boys attempt to organise, with Ralph at the helm. His primary concern is that they should get rescued and stay alive and safe until then. He meets resistance in the form of Jack, who is less keen on the rules and disciplines that Ralph wants to impose. His priorities are “fun” and hunting animals so that they can eat meat. As the days and weeks pass morale drops, particularly among the younger boys, many of whom are clearly terrified. They fear the darkness and the heavy forest on the island and what may be lurking within it – they imagine a terrible beast. Order begins to break down and powerful instincts surface. There is a terrible power struggle between Jack and Ralph which intensifies as the novel progresses. Factions form around the two leaders and the behaviours become increasingly reckless. Simon, one of the other older boys, and a sensitive soul, is killed in a case of mistaken identity, the now savage and adrenalin-fuelled group around Jack believing in his night-time approach to the camp, that he is in fact the much-feared “beast” they imagine stalks them.

Simon’s death at the hands of those who were once his schoolmates, unleashes further savagery, like the genie is out of the bottle. There is also, however, a kind of denial; it seems only Piggy recognises and is able to articulate the danger they are in – from themselves! It seems inevitable that Piggy should also die, brutally; Roger crashes a boulder onto him during a fight between Ralph and Jack in which Piggy is trying to intervene. Jack’s group would have killed Ralph too had it not been for the timely arrival of a rescue ship.

Although it was written in the early 1950s, this is very much a post-war book for me in which the author is reflecting on the base levels human beings can reach. If you simply scratch the surface of society you will find some instincts most of us would rather not admit to. A modern reading of the novel might also see the hazards of excessive masculinity and how lust for power can easily corrupt. You can also look at how easy it is for followers to forget their own moral codes and normal standards of behaviour when seduced by charismatic or persuasive leadership. The younger boys are unable to face the reality of their situation, stranded on a remote island, with an unknown chance of rescue, and the picture of excitement that Jack offers, playing at hunting, escapism from their problems, leads them to follow him down a dangerous path.

Whilst re-reading this book, I couldn’t help thinking about the current political turmoil we are in, both in the UK and globally. Some social norms seem to me to be breaking down. And when it came to the Jack/Ralph power struggle the Conservative party leadership contest came to mind! The only thing I couldn’t decide – who in our current crop of politicians is Piggy?!

A must-read for anyone wanting to gain a serious understanding of English literature.

Did you read Lord of the Flies as a teenager – can you remember what you thought of it?

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6 thoughts on “Book review – “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding”

Wonderful review. I have my stack of Golding’s books (13, in total!) waiting for me. Your review reminded me that I must get to them soon.

Thank you. Yes, I’m ashamed not to have read any of Golding’s other work….

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This is one, as you say, everyone groaned over being assigned to read in school. But I’ve never known anyone who did read it that wasn’t completely captivated by it. It would be interesting to read again now, to see what I’d get from it now as an adult.

I agree. You also get a different perspective from being at a different stage in life.

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Book Review

Lord of the flies.

William Golding
Coming-of-Age

Readability Age Range

Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Group

Year Published

This coming-of-age book by William Golding is published by Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Group and is written for ages 13 and up. The age range reflects readability and not necessarily content appropriateness.

Plot Summary

When a plane wreck strands a group of British boys on a tropical island without adults, the children initially revel in their freedom and try to develop a society by holding assemblies, appointing hunters, and tending a signal fire to alert passing ships. It isn’t long before their “savage natures” take over; they argue, paint their faces and hunt bloodthirstily, eventually even killing some of their own. They fear and stalk “the Beast,” whom they believe to be a dangerous creature on the island. In fact, there is no such animal — their anxiety about the Beast symbolizes their fear of the emerging monster within each of them. In the end, they are rescued and returned to the “civilized” world — a world in the throes of a war.

Christian Beliefs

Literary critics consider Simon a “Christ figure.” He demonstrates compassion for his fellow man and looks for goodness in a rapidly-declining civilization. His conversation with The Lord of the Flies (which is a rotting pig’s head the boys have left as an offering to the Beast) is likened to the temptation Christ experienced during his fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). The loss of innocence the boys experience is sometimes compared to the fall of man (Genesis 3:1-21).

Other Belief Systems

Lord of the Flies contrasts democracy and anarchy.

Authority Roles

The boys initially elect Ralph as their chief; he chooses Jack and Simon to assist him. Ralph’s primary concern is to keep a signal fire going in case a ship passes; he tries to maintain order and structure within the group. As Jack’s lust for hunting and blood increases, he convinces most of the boys to join a new tribe under his leadership. He is dominating and brutal, rousing the boys to kill pigs and, eventually, other humans for sport.

Profanity & Violence

Ralph makes fun of Piggy’s asthma ( a—-mar ). Characters use God’s name in vain, and d–n you once or twice. Violence intensifies as the characters become less civilized: First they kill pigs with spears, enjoying the pigs’ squealing and blood. They often dance and chant, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood. Bash her in.” They even spear the head of one pig, leaving it as an offering for the Beast. By the end, boys are killing other boys by mobbing and hunting them, simply because they “get caught up” in the frenzy of their savage rituals.

Sexual Content

Discussion topics.

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at ThrivingFamily.com/discuss-books .

Additional Comments

Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in literature.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

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The 1955 New York Times Book Review of Lord of the Flies

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.” ― William Golding, Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel by Nobel Prize–winning British author William Golding. The book focuses on a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempt to govern themselves.

This brilliant work is a frightening parody

“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” ― William Golding, Lord of the Flies

The novel has been generally well received. It was named in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 41 on the editor’s list, and 25 on the reader’s list. In 2003 it was listed at number 70 on the BBC’s The Big Read poll, and in 2005 Time magazine named it as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.

Lord of the Flies is one of those books I will always love.

“Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” ― William Golding, Lord of the Flies

1955 New York Times Book Review of Lord of the Flies

The 2016 New York Times Book Review of Lord of the Flies, 6 Decades Later. (Link to article below)

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/books/review/their-inner-beasts-lord-of-the-flies-six-decades-later.html

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The 1946 New York Times Book Review of Animal Farm

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Lord of the Flies Book Review

Nobel Prize winner William Golding's classic "Lord of the Flies" explores and exposes the darkest parts of human nature, and the childhood desire of independence. Shield your eyes if you must, as insanity and gore take hold.

When a group of British boys crash land on a desert island, their first reaction is "Yeah! No Adults!". But when it comes time to govern themselves, that's when they start to head down a slippery slope and the tension starts to rise.

Ralph, the main character, discovers a conch shell, and when he blows it, all the other boys that were on the island come to the sound of the shell. This earns him the spot as Chief, much to the other main character, Jack's, dismay.

Ralph's goal as chief was to keep a fire burning all the time, so that if a ship passed by, it would see the smoke and come rescue them. Jack, however, could've cared less about the fire, and more about hunting, and his role as head of the hunters.

As the chapters progress, the tension between the two rises, and is ultimately pushed over the edge when a ship passes by, but Jack and his hunters had let the fire go out so they could go hunting. A furious Ralph calls Jack out in front of all of the boys, and Jack leaves to form is own tribe.

But his new tribe didn't play by the rules. Each day, the members grew more and more savage in their hunting clan. Their only cares were the hunt, and trying to one up Ralph's group. They attacked them unprovoked, and stole from them. They were aggressive, and highly dangerous as more and more savagery was brought out in them.

The book also speaks of a "beast", whose existence is unjustified. The thought of it strikes terror in some, but challenge in others. The boys attempt to find it and kill it, but are never successful.

But the "beast" also strikes respect, especially from the "savages". During a fateful hunt in the heart of the climax, the savage tribe hunts down a pig for their feast and pyretic dance. As an offering of respect to the beast, they cut off the pig's head, and put the bloody thing on a stick, and jam it into the ground. This "Lord of the Flies" represents the craze and bloodthirst in these boys, but also the so called "beast" being the humans themselves.

This boiling conflict can definitely be described as people versus people; Jack versus Ralph and their building tension that is ultimately set over the edge. But also, Jack's lot of boys versus Ralph's lot. It can also be described as person versus self, with Jack and Ralph both unaware of what this island has birthed and planted in them. This fast paced, high intensity, inter webbing conflict is exciting and engaging throughout the entire book.

Another significant character, and my favorite, Piggy, is also a boy on the island. As his name implies, he's fat, but as Ralph realizes, he's very bright and is an excellent thinker. This earns Piggy Ralph's respect, and friendship. They use Piggy's glasses to light the fire. This is a symbol of how someone may seem useless-- fat and lazy, but are more valuable then perceived. Piggy is also a significant symbol in the book. He represents civility, as he keeps this while everyone else is being subconsciously changed by the island and the lack of rules and civilization. His appearance, paired with his intellectual capacities and ability to stay rational justifies this. Much would be different in the book without him and his mind.

As it seems every character and item is symbolic, there is much to take away from this masterful craft. The Pig Head represents the humans being the beast. The conch, I believe, represents order and something to go around or follow. Something sacred and divine, but fragile at the same time. Ralph represents order, and civility, while Jack represents savagery and primal instincts. This balance, or fight, between order and savagery is a main theme to take away, and how people's desire for power can bring out these primeval surges.

I think I, and many others can relate to this book and learn from this book. While I've never been stranded on a deserted island having to govern myself, I feel I can relate to Ralph. I have had many experiences where I have tried to keep everyone orderly but their "primal urges", or craze, was difficult to. Like Ralph, I got very frustrated by that, because when everyone is going nuts while your trying to keep things orderly, it's annoying.

I also feel that if some of my friends were in this position, they would be succumbed to the beckoning of the urges of savagery and human darkness, but in society, they're not. We never see what these boys were like before landing on the island, but we can get a pretty good idea from how they develop, evolve, and change when going through this.

Overall, I feel this craft of literature is stellar writing. From the deep symbolism, heart-racing conflict, and picture-painting detail, I loved the book despite the grossness of it, and despite the lunacy and bloodshed that took place.

The rich symbolism is a strong strength. So much can be learned and taken away from this story, from each character and item, and this quality is a distinct strength.

However, while I thoroughly enjoyed it and was thoroughly impressed, there were a few easy to spot weaknesses I would have changed. Golding uses the same words over and over, and it was slightly infuriating to read. There was too much word repetition, such as "savage" and "hunt" being way overused. In the same way, every time he said "Ralph's fair hair" was aggravating, like the word repitition. Also, I feel he included things that didn't matter or affect the plot. like four pages about a littlun crying.

Despite all this, I thought this was a phenomenal book. It's quick moving pace, deep symbolism, and powerful themes made it a keeper in my eyes. If you can get past the gore, the savagery, the killing, and the insanity, I would recommend this book because of all this. There is much that can be learned and interpreted from this book, and if you dare look past the present topics that make us nauseous, it will challenge your analytical capacity and leave an impact.

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Lord of the Flies: A Critical History

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Ph.D., English Language and Literature, Northern Illinois University
M.A., English, California State University–Long Beach
B.A., English, Northern Illinois University

“The boy with the fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon. Though he had taken off his school sweater and trailed it now from one hand, his grey shirt stuck to him and his hair was plastered to his forehead. All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of head. He was clambering heavily among the creepers and broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry; and this cry was echoed by another. ‘Hi!’ it said. ‘Wait a minute’” (1).

William Golding published his most famous novel, Lord of the Flies , in 1954. This book was the first serious challenge to the popularity of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye (1951) . Golding explores the lives of a group of schoolboys who are stranded after their airplane crashes on a deserted island. How have people perceived this literary work since its release sixty years ago?

The History of Lord of the Flies

Ten years after the release of Lord of the Flies, James Baker published an article discussing why the book is more true to human nature than any other story about stranded men, such as Robinson Crusoe (1719) or Swiss Family Robinson (1812) . He believes that Golding wrote his book as a parody of Ballantyne’s The Coral Island (1858) . Whereas Ballantyne expressed his belief in the goodness of man, the idea that man would overcome adversity in a civilized way, Golding believed that men were inherently savage. Baker believes that “life on the island has only imitated the larger tragedy in which the adults of the outside world attempted to govern themselves reasonably but ended in the same game of hunt and kill” (294). Ballantyne believes, then, that Golding’s intent was to shine a light on “the defects of society” through his Lord of the Flies (296).

While most critics were discussing Golding as a Christian moralist, Baker rejects the idea and focuses on the sanitization of Christianity and rationalism in Lord of the Flies. Baker concedes that the book does flow in “parallel with the prophecies of the Biblical Apocalypse” but he also suggests that “the making of history and the making of myth are [ . . . ] the same process” (304). In “Why Its No Go,” Baker concludes that the effects of World War II have given Golding the ability to write in a way he never had. Baker notes, “[Golding] observed first hand the expenditure of human ingenuity in the old ritual of war” (305). This suggests that the underlying theme in Lord of the Flies is war and that, in the decade or so following the release of the book, critics turned to religion to understand the story, just as people consistently turn to religion to recover from such devastation as war creates.

By 1970, Baker writes, “[most literate people [ . . . ] are familiar with the story” (446). Thus, only fourteen years after its release, Lord of the Flies became one of the most popular books on the market. The novel had become a “modern classic” (446). However, Baker states that, in 1970, Lord of the Flies was on the decline. Whereas, in 1962, Golding was considered “Lord of the Campus” by Time magazine, eight years later no one seemed to be paying it much notice. Why is this? How did such an explosive book suddenly drop off after less than two decades? Baker argues that it is in human nature to tire of familiar things and to go on new discoveries; however, the decline of Lord of the Flies , he writes, is also due to something more (447). In simple terms, the decline in popularity of Lord of the Flies can be attributed to the desire for academia to “keep up, to be avant-garde” (448). This boredom, however, was not the main factor in the decline of Golding’s novel.

In 1970 America, the public was “distracted by the noise and color of [ . . . ] protests, marches, strikes, and riots, by the ready articulation and immediate politicization of nearly all [ . . . ] problems and anxieties” (447). 1970 was the year of the infamous Kent State shootings and all talk was on the Vietnam War, the destruction of the world. Baker believes that, with such destruction and terror ripping apart at people’s everyday lives, one hardly saw fit to entertain themselves with a book that parallels that same destruction. Lord of the Flies would force the public “to recognize the likelihood of apocalyptic war as well as the wanton abuse and destruction of environmental resources [ . . . ]” (447).

Baker writes, “[t]he main reason for the decline of Lord of the Flies is that it no longer suits the temper of the times” (448). Baker believes that the academic and political worlds finally pushed out Golding by 1970 because of their unjust belief in themselves. The intellectuals felt that the world had surpassed the point in which any person would behave the way that the boys of the island did; therefore, the story held little relevance or significance at this time (448).

These beliefs, that the youth of the time could master the challenges of those boys on the island, are expressed by the reactions of school boards and libraries from 1960 through 1970. “ Lord of the Flies was put under lock and key” (448). Politicians on both sides of the spectrum, liberal and conservative, viewed the book as “subversive and obscene” and believed that Golding was out-of-date (449). The idea of the time was that evil spurred from disorganized societies rather than being present in every human mind (449). Golding is criticized once again as being too heavily influenced by Christian ideals. The only possible explanation for the story is that Golding “undermines the confidence of the young in the American Way of Life” (449).

All of this criticism was based on the idea of the time that all human “evils” could be corrected by proper social structure and social adjustments. Golding believed, as is demonstrated in Lord of the Flies , that “[s]ocial and economic adjustments [ . . . ] treat only the symptoms instead of the disease” (449). This clash of ideals is the main cause of the fall-off in popularity of Golding’s most famous novel. As Baker puts it, “we perceive in [the book] only a vehement negativism which we now wish to reject because it seems a crippling burden to carry through the daily task of living with crisis mounting upon crisis” (453).

Between 1972 and the early-2000s, there was relatively little critical work done on Lord of the Flies . Perhaps this is due to the fact that readers simply moved on. The novel has been around for 60 years, now, so why read it? Or, this lack of study could be due to another factor that Baker raises: the fact that there is so much destruction present in everyday life, no one wanted to deal with it in their fantasy time. The mentality in 1972 was still that Golding wrote his book from a Christian point of view. Perhaps, the people of the Vietnam War generation were sick of the religious undertones of an out-of-date book.

It is possible, also, that the academic world felt belittled by Lord of the Flies . The only truly intelligent character in Golding’s novel is Piggy. The intellectuals may have felt threatened by the abuse that Piggy has to endure throughout the book and by his eventual demise. A.C. Capey writes, “the falling Piggy, representative of intelligence and the rule of law, is an unsatisfactory symbol of fallen man ” (146).

In the late 1980s, Golding’s work is examined from a different angle. Ian McEwan analyzes Lord of the Flies from the perspective of a man who endured boarding school. He writes that “as far as [McEwan] was concerned, Golding’s island was a thinly disguised boarding school” (Swisher 103). His account of the parallels between the boys on the island and the boys of his boarding school is disturbing yet entirely believable. He writes: “I was uneasy when I came to the last chapters and read of the death of Piggy and the boys hunting Ralph down in a mindless pack. Only that year we had turned on two of our number in a vaguely similar way. A collective and unconscious decision was made, the victims were singled out and as their lives became more miserable by the day, so the exhilarating, righteous urge to punish grew in the rest of us.”

Whereas in the book, Piggy is killed and Ralph and the boys are eventually rescued, in McEwan’s biographical account, the two ostracized boys are taken out of school by their parents. McEwan mentions that he can never let go of the memory of his first reading of Lord of the Flies . He even fashioned a character after one of Golding’s in his own first story (106). Perhaps it is this mentality, the release of religion from the pages and the acceptance that all men were once boys, that re-birthed Lord of the Flies in the late 1980s.

In 1993, Lord of the Flies again comes under religious scrutiny . Lawrence Friedman writes, “Golding’s murderous boys, the products of centuries of Christianity and Western civilization, explode the hope of Christ’s sacrifice by repeating the pattern of crucifixion” (Swisher 71). Simon is viewed as a Christ-like character who represents truth and enlightenment but who is brought down by his ignorant peers, sacrificed as the very evil he is trying to protect them from. It is apparent that Friedman believes the human conscience is at stake again, as Baker argued in 1970.

Friedman locates “the fall of reason” not in Piggy’s death but in his loss of sight (Swisher 72). It is clear that Friedman believes this time period, the early 1990s, to be one where religion and reason are once again lacking: “the failure of adult morality, and the final absence of God create the spiritual vacuum of Golding’s novel . . . God’s absence leads only to despair and human freedom is but license” (Swisher 74).

Finally, in 1997, E. M. Forster writes a forward for the re-release of Lord of the Flies . The characters, as he describes them, are representational to individuals in everyday life. Ralph, the inexperienced believer, and hopeful leader. Piggy, the loyal right-hand man; the man with the brains but not the confidence. And Jack, the outgoing brute. The charismatic, powerful one with little idea of how to take care of anyone but who thinks he should have the job anyway (Swisher 98). Society’s ideals have changed from generation-to-generation, each one responding to Lord of the Flies depending on the cultural, religious, and political realities of the respective periods.

Perhaps part of Golding’s intention was for the reader to learn, from his book, how to begin to understand people, human nature, to respect others and to think with one’s own mind rather than being sucked into a mob-mentality. It is Forster’s contention that the book “may help a few grown-ups to be less complacent, and more compassionate, to support Ralph, respect Piggy, control Jack, and lighten a little the darkness of man’s heart” (Swisher 102). He also believes that “it is respect for Piggy that seems needed most. I do not find it in our leaders” (Swisher 102).

Lord of the Flies is a book that, despite some critical lulls, has stood the test of time. Written after World War II , Lord of the Flies has fought its way through social upheavals, through wars and political changes. The book and its author have been scrutinized by religious standards as well as by social and political standards. Each generation has had its interpretations of what Golding was trying to say in his novel.

While some will read Simon as a fallen Christ who sacrificed himself to bring us truth, others might find the book asking us to appreciate one another, to recognize the positive and negative characteristics in each person and to judge carefully how best to incorporate our strengths into a sustainable society. Of course, didactic aside, Lord of the Flies is simply a good story worth reading, or re-reading, for its entertainment value alone.

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Book Review: The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

By: Author Laura

Posted on Published: 27th April 2022 - Last updated: 12th April 2024

Categories Book Reviews , Books

Wondering whether Lord of the Flies by William Golding is worth your time? This Lord of the Flies book review explains why you should read this short classic!

Lord of the Flies Summary

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a dystopian classic. When a group of schoolboys are stranded on a desert island, what could go wrong?

A plane crashes on a desert island. The only survivors are a group of schoolboys. By day, they discover fantastic wildlife and dazzling beaches, learning to survive; at night, they are haunted by nightmares of a primitive beast.

Orphaned by society, it isn’t long before their innocent childhood games devolve into a savage, murderous hunt …

Lord of the Flies Book Review

Lord of the Flies is a book that had been on my TBR (to-be-read pile) forever. I first read this in my mid-twenties and wish I had studied this at school, which is where most readers encounter this.

It’s all about a group of schoolboys who become stranded on a desert island. But don’t let the young ensemble lead you into thinking this is a children’s book. Lord of the Flies is a lot darker than I imagined and I was horrified at some of the events and scenes that took place.

At first, the young boys attempt to mimic an orderly adult society on the island. They group together to keep a fire lit so that any passing ships will see the smoke from the island.

But without any adults to supervise them, the boys begin to become violent, cruel and brutal in their bid to survive.

The small society they have attempted to build on this remote island eventually descends into chaos, prompting the reader to question the capacity for supposedly civilised humans to be savage.

And trust me when I say the ending really is just that – savage.

Although Lord of the Flies is a relatively simple tale, Golding’s writing is rich and the symbolism is clever. This story aims to show how savage humans can be when left to their own devices and there’s no order or morals.

Although Golding uses the island setting to demonstrate this point, this book leaves you feeling uncomfortable as you start to realise that man in a “civilised” society may not be any better.

Golding reminds us that we all have the capacity for darkness and cruelty. This story stays with readers long after they have turned the last page because it is so haunting. And it’s haunting because it’s clear that this could so easily happen in the society we live in today.

It also poses the interesting political question of democracy vs authoritarianism. Should we be forced to follow someone who is deemed to be a “rational” or “moral” leader, or be allowed to follow whoever presents a view that most aligns with our desires, whatever they may be.

Lord of the Flies is a classic for a reason. It’s well worth a read and really quite readable as classics go. If you’re looking for an short classic book to get yourself into reading classics then Lord of the Flies is a great book to start with.

Reading this book is also important so that you understand some Lord of the Flies references that get bandied about in conversation on occasion. Who are Ralph and Piggy? And what is a conch?

If you haven’t read this classic book yet then add this to your book wishlist ASAP. It’s chilling, but well-written and a good read.

Lord of the Flies Quotes

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.”

“The thing is – fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream.”

“We did everything adults would do. What went wrong?”

“The greatest ideas are the simplest.”

“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”

“We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything.”

Buy Lord of the Flies now: Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwells

If you liked this post, check out these: Books Like The Hunger Games Books Like The Handmaid’s Tale Young Adult Dystopian Books for Teens 15 Gothic Books to Read

Editor of What’s Hot?

FAVBOOKSHELF

Tuesday 30th of August 2022

absolutely adored the review! got convinced to pick it up by the end of the review and the quotes were definitely a cherry on top.

matthew atkinson

Tuesday 3rd of May 2022

What a great review...exactly what i was thinking but was unable to put that into writing! I didn't study this book at school either, i was i had, quite a strange and brutal read and setting.

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Lord of the Flies

By william golding.

'Lord of the Flies' is an adventure novel with a dystopian and allegorical twist that follows a group of stranded boys on an island.

Article written by Lee-James Bovey

P.G.C.E degree.

Taking its cues from the likes of ‘ Coral Island ,’ the book details the actions of a group of boys stranded on an island with no adults and without the constraints of society.

Spoiler-free Summary

When the novel opens, Ralph and Jack find themselves on an island, having just been part of a plane crash. They discover a conch shell and blow on the shell, which acts as a beacon and summons the remaining boys who were part of the crash.

The boys quickly elect Ralph as their leader because he is a good-looking boy and because he has the conch.

The novel details the struggles of the boys on the island and their belief that there is a terrible beast residing along with them. Tensions grow as there are two potential leaders with very different styles, and the boys try and decide how best to dedicate their time and effort towards hunting to bring in food or towards getting themselves rescued. This power struggle eventually ends in tragedy.

Lord of the Flies Summary

Warning : this will contain explicit spoilers.

‘ Lord of the Flies ‘ starts with Ralph on an island. He is there because the plane he was travelling on was shot down. He quickly meets Piggy. There are no adults on the island, and this is never really explained. Nor is it explained why the plane is shot down, but we know contextually that it was written against the backdrop of World War II.

The boys discover a conch shell, and another character, Piggy, points out that it can be used as an instrument. Ralph does this, and it draws together all the other victims of the crash. They discuss their situation and elect Ralph as the leader, partially because he looks the part but also because he has the conch. Jack is unhappy about this, but Ralph temporarily appeases him by putting him in charge of his choir. Ralph, Jack, and Simon then go on an expedition to discover if they are on an island, which they are.

Upon returning from their mission, Ralph calls a meeting and informs everybody of the situation. After some debate, it’s agreed that they will light and maintain a signal fire with the hope of getting rescued. The boys do this, but the fire gets out of control. Piggy suggests that they have to be more careful in the future. This highlights how Piggy is often the voice of reason throughout the novel.

Jack takes the choir into the woods, and they attempt to catch a pig. Jack fails in doing this but vows next time, he will kill the pig. The pig may well be symbolic of femininity or temptation, depending on how one interprets the novel. Later, Ralph calls a meeting where he complains about the use of Jack’s time and insists that maintaining the fire be a priority. This leads to increased tension between Jack and Ralph. Simon wanders off and spends some time alone in the forest.

This chapter sees a few social constructs unique to the island appear. For instance, referring to the younger children as “little ‘ens” and the older children as “big ‘ens.” This is a type of class divide. There are hints here as to the true nature of the boys as Roger throws stones at the little ‘ens but deliberately misses as the memory of societal norms acts as a barrier against doing things that society would consider bad. This is foreshadowing for later events.

Later, Jack and Roger go hunting, but they decide to use mud to cover up their faces to help them camouflage. Once again, this covering up of their faces can be seen as symbolic and their descent into savagery.

Piggy suggests building a sundial, so they can track time, but he is rebuked by Ralph, who just wants to play. Later still, the hunters manage to kill a pig, but as a result, the fire goes out. Ralph is angry as there was a ship, and they could have been rescued. Piggy further reprimands Jack, and as a result, Jack attacks Piggy breaking his glasses. Once again, this act is symbolic. Ralph snatches Piggy’s glasses to rebuild the fire.

Ralph holds a meeting to discuss the fact that many of the boys appear to be afraid. Jack dismisses this by highlighting that he and the hunters have been all over the island and have not seen a beast. He is using this as a power play to highlight his importance.

Ralph admits to being scared sometimes, and the discussion continues. The little ‘ens start crying out in fear, and one of them, Percival, confesses to Ralph that the beast comes up from the water. Jack takes his hunters to get rid of the beast, and Ralph contemplates letting Jack lead. He senses a power shift; however, Simon and Piggy convince him not to.

In the middle of the night, there is an air battle, and a parachutist falls on the island. Sam and Eric are out gathering and come across his body hanging from the trees and mistake it for the Beast. They run back to the camp in fear, and an emergency meeting is held.

During this meeting, Jack recommends a hunt for the beast. Piggy tries to rebuke this but is not allowed to talk even though he possesses the conch. Jack states that this rule doesn’t matter anymore, which is somewhat ironic given that earlier, he had claimed that the rules are what made them British.

Piggy stays with the little ‘ens while everyone else goes hunting the beast. As they “hunt,” Simon is frustrated with himself for not being vocal during the meeting. Ralph says he will face the beast alone as he is chief, but Jack follows him anyway. There is a momentary lull in their tension as they discuss their adventure from way back in Chapter 1. After not finding anything, Ralph decides that they need to keep the signal fire burning. This is unpopular, but the group agrees to it grudgingly.

This chapter begins with Ralph dreaming that he will be stuck on the island forever. He is reassured by Simon, who is developing into an almost prophetic character. Ralph joins in on a hunt and momentarily gets embroiled in the fervour surrounding such activities when he hits the pig with a spear. He then takes part in a hunting role play where fervent chanting gives way to physical violence as they all get a little heavy-handed with Robert, who plays the role of the pig.

The boys advance to the mountain, where they believe the beast to be. There is a lot of fear in Ralph, but Jack goads him into continuing the mission. In the last section of the mission, Jack goes alone and claims to see something atop the mountain. The boys all run in fear.

The boys discuss what they have seen. Piggy struggles to believe it. Jack says that he and the hunters can handle the beast, but this is dismissed by Ralph, who belittles the hunters, thus further angering Jack. Jack, who is frustrated, decides to call a meeting himself where he calls Ralph’s leadership into question. He calls for a vote, but he does not get voted in. He runs off, taking most of the hunters with him.

The remaining boys lit a fire on the beach. Meanwhile, Jack addresses his hunters, who decide to just hunt and not worry about the beast. However, they decide to leave tributes to appease it. They successfully kill a pig and leave its head on a pole. Later in the chapter, Simon sees this and converses with it in an almost trance-like state.

Jack decides to have a feast with the newly killed pig. But, since they don’t have a fire, they take the opportunity to raid the camp and steal burning logs to make their own fire. They then invite Ralph and the others to their feast, and the boys accept.

Simon awakens from his fit and comes to the realization that the beast is actually within the boys themselves.

There is more debate between Ralph and Piggy about attending the feast, but they do. At first, this is okay. Jack orders that they are given meat. However, Jack asks if they wish to join his tribe, which starts a heated debate between Jack and Ralph about the leadership of the group.

A storm swells, and the boys once again act out the killing of the pig through role play, but this time more violently. Simon stumbles across them, but due to the chanting and the storm, the boys cannot hear him and mistake him for the beast. The boys viciously murder him before his body is swept out to sea in what could be interpreted as a return to nature.

Sam, Eric, Piggy, and Ralph all try to come to terms with their guilt for their part in Simon’s murder. Meanwhile, at Castle Rock, Jack and his followers have tied up a boy and are beating him seemingly without reason. They decide they need to fortify their cave before hunting again and hatch a plan so they have a constant supply of fire.

Jack’s tribe attacks the boys, and a fight ensues. Piggy theorizes that they were trying to steal the conch, but actually, they were after his glasses.

Discovering that they have lost Piggy’s glasses Sam, Eric, Ralph and Piggy decide to confront Jack’s tribe and attempt to reason with them. Three of the boys take spears, but Piggy refuses to, instead of taking the conch as he believes it will highlight to the tribe what they are lacking.

They arrive at Castle Rock and are met by armed guards. Roger throws rocks at them from atop the mountain. Jack arrives, and Ralph tries to convince him to give back the glasses, but a fight ensues before Piggy reminds Ralph of the reason they were there in the first place. Jack orders for the twins to be tied up.

Once again, Ralph and Jack clash before Piggy demands to speak. While he is talking, Roger launches a boulder at him, and it kills him, destroying the conch in the process (a symbol of the end of civilization). His body is pushed into the sea. The twins are captured and tortured, and Ralph is forced to escape as the tribe attempt to kill him.

Ralph escapes and hides nearby Castle Rock. He takes the pig’s head (that has been dubbed the Lord of the Flies) and removes the spear from it.

He comes across Sam and Eric and tries to convince them to join him. They refuse as they are too scared. He tells them of his plan but later regrets this. The next day the whole tribe tries to capture Ralph and set fire to the island in the process. Eventually, Ralph is saved by a naval officer who shows up just in time and presumably saves the boys from the island.

What is the main point of Lord of the Flies?

The loss of innocence and a quick descent into savagery when social norms are broken is the main point of ‘ Lord of the Flies’ .

Who is the antagonist in Lord of the Flies ?

The main antagonist is Jack Merridew. He continually stands in the way of any attempts to organize the boys and reinstate democracy.

What are the 3 main themes in Lord of the Flies?

Three of the main themes of ‘ Lord of the Flies ‘ are loss of innocence, civilization vs. savagery, and the struggle to create democracy.

Lord of the Flies Book by William Golding Digital Art

Lord of the Flies Quiz

Test your understanding of human nature and survival with our " Lord of the Flies " Trivia Quiz! Do you have the insight and knowledge to navigate the complex dynamics and symbolism of William Golding's masterpiece? Accept the challenge now and prove your mastery over the gripping and thought-provoking world of " Lord of the Flies "!

1) What do the boys call the younger children on the island?

2) Who is the author of "Lord of the Flies"?

3) How does Piggy die?

4) What is the significance of the beast in the novel?

5) Who is the first boy to suggest the existence of a "beast" on the island?

6) What do the boys use to start a fire?

7) Who leads the boys in the brutal killing of Simon?

8) What tragic event occurs when the boys reenact the hunt?

9) Which character represents the voice of reason and intelligence?

10) What does the face paint symbolize for Jack's tribe?

11) What do the boys chant during their tribal rituals?

12) Who is elected leader of the boys at the beginning of the novel?

13) What is the main source of conflict between Ralph and Jack?

14) What does Ralph cry for at the end of the novel?

15) What happens to the boy with the mulberry-colored birthmark?

16) What does the "Lord of the Flies" symbolize?

17) What is Ralph's main concern throughout the novel?

18) What is Jack's main priority on the island?

19) What is the "Lord of the Flies"?

20) What theme does "Lord of the Flies" primarily explore?

21) Who discovers the true nature of the "beast"?

22) Who is responsible for maintaining the signal fire?

23) What happens to the conch shell?

24) What event causes the boys to be stranded on the island?

25) What object is used to symbolize authority and order?

26) How are the boys finally rescued?

27) Who is the last boy to remain loyal to Ralph?

28) What role does Roger play in the novel?

29) Why do Jack and his hunters attack Ralph's camp?

30) How does the naval officer react when he sees the boys?

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About Lee-James Bovey

Lee-James, a.k.a. LJ, has been a Book Analysis team member since it was first created. During the day, he's an English Teacher. During the night, he provides in-depth analysis and summary of books.

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Lord of the Flies

Publisher description.

At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want. Anything. They attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin and evil. And as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far from reality as the hope of being rescued. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies is perhaps our most memorable novel about “the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”

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Terrible Reviews of Great Books: The Lord of the Flies

There is no such thing as a universally loved book. Each month, we’ll feature a book from Time’s list of the best 100 English language novels of all time. From the nasty to the snarky to the downright absurd, we’ll highlight some of the strange reasons why some people hate these great reads. This month we’ll be taking a look at reviews for The Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

I read Lord of the Flies when I was in 8th or 9th grade. Other than the general plot, vague memories of Piggy, and one of the iconic scenes from the book, I remember very little about it. I don’t even remember whether I liked it or not. I certainly don’t remember it being one of my favorite books nor do I remember it standing out as a book I strongly disliked (e.g., The Old Man and the Sea). According to GoodReads, I gave it 3 stars.

Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 by Nobel-Prize winning English author William Golding. In the 1990s it was been one of the most widely challenged books on school curriculums. Not only is it on Time’s 100 best English-language novels list but it was also placed on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list, the BBC’s The Big Read list and Boxell’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before you Die List.

The book has 2,667 customer reviews on Amazon. The average rating was 4.0 stars. Unlike some of our other books, this one had a higher percentage of 1 star reviews at 8%. Let’s take a look at a sampling of one star reviews (my comments in blue):

NOTE: I did not edit for grammar or spelling. All reviews were copied exactly as posted on Amazon. You can read all 1-star reviews here .

I am obsessed with Survivor, so I thought it would be fun. WRONG!!! It is incredibly boring and disgusting. Maybe Golding should have thrown in a few challenges and voting?
The book overall was so unrealistic not to mention confusing. The end made no sense and the symbolism was just over the top. Everything had to have some deep meaning to it and other random concepts were pulled into it. Why would anyone compare a child to Hitler?
Don’t read this book. In fact, if I had a time machine, I would first go and tame a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The, while riding my T-Rex, I would go and punch Mr. Golding in the face. Seems like a lot of effort
Why is this constantly appearing on the required reading list of Junior High children? Why is every required reading for children dark, depressing and tragic. Would it be so awful to have them read something that encourages or gives them hope rather than dread? The true savages here are the author and the teacher who made this required reading. On a related note, children should not be exposed to Junior High.
If you see this book on the shelves, cover your innocent eyes from this evil, and run! DO NOT LOOK BACK! If this book was a horse, I would shoot it! It is very annoying to read and this book scares little children!
One star is too much for this piece of dung. Symbolism is nice and quite beautiful in some places and for certain writers, but this book had WAY too much of it. I hate it when there is too much of what I consider nice and beautiful in a book.
It’s pretty violent, but not in a cool kind of video-gamey kind of way. Sigh
Some people say it had adeeper meaning, a meaning that could change the readers life. To those people I say, “Get a Life!” There was no meaning or point to it at all! The book was about naked kids running around killing each other for no reason. Clearly, this reviewer is a master of literary analysis.
I’m sorry, but I really hated this book! It was so simpleton and complicated at the same time.
At the beginning of this book, I asked myself,”How did all these kids survive but not one adult did?” I think the book would have been a whole lot better if they had about 2 or 3 adults to keep the kids from talking about that ridiculous beast. Hmm, he/she really missed the point of this simpleton and complicated book.
The viewpoint of mankind presented is so degraded and ugly that it should be. There is NO REASON to expose our young people to such negativity. No wonder they have so many psychological problems! As a psychologist, I often trace back the root of people’s psychological problems to having been exposed to certain books.

We want to hear from you? Did you read this book? What did you think?

Coming up next month: Animal Farm by George Orwell

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Jen’s Rating system

★ Hated it & no redeeming additional qualities noted. Recommend avoiding it. ★★ Disliked it, may have 1 redeeming quality (writing style, novelty, etc). ★★★ Liked it or may have a few interesting qualities. ★★★★ Really liked it & it has at least a couple interesting qualities. ★★★★★ Loved almost everything about it. Only a few, if any, minor limitations noted.

Book Worm’s rating system

★ Bah I really hated this would not even pass this to my worst enemy ★★ I really didn't like this but would consider giving it to my worst enemy for vengeful purposes ★★★ this was an enjoyable way to pass the time not great not horrendous ★★★★ really enjoyed this book there was something about it that made me think ★★★★★ wow I loved this book I am now out recommending it to all my friends, will keep to re read even though I have banned re reads

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What About Laenor?

House of the Dragon has never been shy about bending the written histories of its source material , Fire & Blood . God knows the history books don’t get everything right. But dragonrider lore is a bit more fickle in the world of Westeros, and one of HotD ’s major deviations from George R.R. Martin’s book, the “death” of Laenor Velayron , now challenges an important dragon-riding tradition: the idea that dragons cannot claim more than one rider at a time.

See, in season one, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s first husband, Laenor, absconded with his lover Qarl Correy so that Rhaenyra and Daemon could fake their deaths and Rhaenyra could marry Daemon. In Fire & Blood , Laenor’s death is far more definitive: He’s stabbed to death by Correy for reasons that never become clear, though scholars theorize that Prince Daemon paid him a handsome sum to carry out the plot in order to free up Rhaenyra for marriage. (A theory HotD clearly builds upon.) There’s no hint in Fire & Blood that Laenor fled to live his best gay life (though congrats to Rhaenyra for getting to do that in HotD too). Because Laenor is dead in the book, his dragon Seasmoke is free to bond with Laenor’s half brother Addam of Hull later on. But with Laenor’s death averted in the series, Seasmoke bonding with Addam in episode six raises questions for book readers.

While Martin’s dragon lore isn’t written as gospel, the author himself has recently written , “[dragons] bond with men … some men … and the why and how of that, and how it came to be, will eventually be revealed in more detail in THE WINDS OF WINTER and A DREAM OF SPRING and some in BLOOD & FIRE.” We all know we might not ever get to read Winds , so in the meantime, Martin’s books scatter dragon-bonding evidence throughout. In A Song of Ice and Fire , Daenerys Targaryen speaks about the precious bond between dragon and a singular dragonrider, and history significantly backs this up. No one, not even Aegon the Conqueror, has ever claimed a dragon bonded to a living rider. There’s even more damning precedence in Fire & Blood . (To be very sensitive to spoilers, we’ll redact some specifics of the event where someone tries to ride a claimed dragon.) “She had never known another rider. Though [redacted] was known to her by sight and scent, a familiar presence whose fumbling at her chains excited no alarm, the great [redacted] she-dragon wanted no part of [redacted] astride her … Once in the air, [redacted] twisted beneath [redacted], fighting to be free of this unfamiliar rider.”

So, if Laenor is still alive in HotD , how can Addam ride Seasmoke? Clearly the show is taking great pains to demonstrate that Seasmoke is the one doing the claiming. The dragon is seen flying above Addam in multiple scenes, and in “ Smallfolk ,” Seasmoke makes it clear that any rider (RIP Ser Darklyn) won’t do. He wants Addam, Corlys’s bastard son. (In the book, Addam and Alyn’s mother Marilda claimed that Laenor was their father, but if he could’ve given a woman kids, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation. The book’s historians are also skeptical and ultimately determine that Corlys was their father). It’s rare, if not completely unprecedented, for a dragon to actually chase down a potential rider, as Seasmoke did with a terrified Addam at the end of last week’s episode, and it proved to be a successful bond, as Rhaenyra is told that Seasmoke has been spotted with a new rider and immediately flies off on Syrax to find him.

What’s going on here? Is Laenor dead? We never saw him reach Pentos — perhaps he died on his way, or had a good six years there before dying in another manner. House of the Dragon pokes at this idea in “ The Burning Mill ,” when Mysaria asks Rhaenyra about Seasmoke as he flies in front of them. “My late lord husband’s dragon,” Rhaenyra tells her. “He’s grown restless of late. We cannot know why.” Mysaria replies, “Maybe he’s lonely,” and Rhaenyra looks bewildered. Did she realize that Laenor is in trouble or dead here? Or was this scene actually just a set-up for that kiss ? I originally thought this conversation would prompt Rhaenyra to try to reach out to Laenor, but nearly four episodes later, that seems to be bottom of the Queen’s to-do list. If Laenor is still alive (and an offscreen death for the show’s rare happy ending would certainly be disappointing), then perhaps Seasmoke’s restless nature grows from being left behind. Laenor lives, but his bond with Seasmoke is as good as dead, so Seasmoke is free to find a new rider. (To be clear, this would be a completely new bit of dragon mythology that the show is casually dropping with no fanfare.)

But like it did with the introduction of Daeron, Alicent’s absent fourth child , perhaps House of the Dragon is saving Laenor’s return for a plot point in a later season. Maybe Laenor is alive and plans to seek out Rhaenyra and/or Seasmoke later on. It would be a massive book departure for Leanor to reappear from the grave, and there’s not an easy space in the source material to reintroduce him in a significant way. It would be tough to discuss Seasmoke custody during the already time-consuming Dance of the Dragons. Maybe “The Burning Mill” scene and Addam’s new bond is the end of the “Where’s Laenor?” question. Our main characters are in the midst of a great war and Laenor is as good as dead to everyone else. Perhaps it’s time to follow Seasmoke’s lead and move on.

More ‘House of the Dragon’

House of the Dragon Scorecard: Ride or Die
Dragon Diplomacy and Daddy Issues
What to Expect Next on House of the Dragon
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house of the dragon
house of the dragon season 2
fire and blood

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How long would it take to read the greatest books of all time?

The economist consulted bibliophile data scientists to bring you the answer, explore the 500 highest ranked books, one hundred years of solitude, gabriel garcía márquez, 1967.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925

James joyce, 1922.

The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger, 1951

Nineteen eighty-four, george orwell, 1949.

In Search of Lost Time

Marcel Proust, 1913

Vladimir nabokov, 1955.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee, 1960

Herman melville, 1851.

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen, 1813

Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë, 1847

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes, 1605

Crime and punishment, fyodor dostoevsky, 1866, anna karenina, leo tolstoy, 1877, the grapes of wrath, john steinbeck, 1939.

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy, 1869

The lord of the rings, j.r.r. tolkien, 1954, joseph heller, 1961, madame bovary, gustave flaubert, 1857, charlotte brontë, 1847, the sound and the fury, william faulkner, 1929, alice's adventures in wonderland, lewis carroll, 1865, middlemarch, george eliot, 1871, adventures of huckleberry finn, mark twain, 1884, heart of darkness, joseph conrad, 1899, toni morrison, 1987.

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri, 1321

Invisible man, ralph ellison, 1952.

The Odyssey

Homer, 740BC

Frankenstein, mary shelley, 1818, the stranger, albert camus, 1942, the brothers karamazov, fyodor dostoevsky, 1880, great expectations, charles dickens, 1860, to the lighthouse, virginia woolf, 1927, mrs dalloway, virginia woolf, 1925, homer, 750bc, midnight's children, salman rushdie, 1981, franz kafka, 1925, on the road, jack kerouac, 1957, the master and margarita, mikhail bulgakov, 1967, brave new world, aldous huxley, 1932, the magic mountain, thomas mann, 1924, gulliver's travels, jonathan swift, 1726, david copperfield, charles dickens, 1850, les misérables, victor hugo, 1862, gone with the wind, margaret mitchell, 1936, the sun also rises, ernest hemingway, 1926, their eyes were watching god, zora neale hurston, 1937, things fall apart, chinua achebe, 1958, the color purple, alice walker, 1982, the red and the black, stendhal, 1830, a passage to india, e.m. forster, 1924, slaughterhouse-five, kurt vonnegut, 1969, lord of the flies, william golding, 1954, absalom, absalom, william faulkner, 1936, daphne du maurier, 1938, the scarlet letter, nathaniel hawthorne, 1850, the life and opinions of tristram shandy, gentleman, laurence sterne, 1759, the diary of a young girl, anne frank, 1947, silent spring, rachel carson, 1962, the little prince, antoine de saint-exupéry, 1943, the portrait of a lady, henry james, 1881, voltaire, 1759, little women, louisa may alcott, 1868, one thousand and one nights, as i lay dying, william faulkner, 1930, a portrait of the artist as a young man, james joyce, 1916, richard wright, 1940, the handmaid's tale, margaret atwood, 1985, henry david thoreau, 1854, vanity fair, william makepeace thackeray, 1848, the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, douglas adams, 1979, animal farm, george orwell, 1945, virgil, 19bc, in cold blood, truman capote, 1966, robinson crusoe, daniel defoe, 1719, the bell jar, sylvia plath, 1963, for whom the bell tolls, ernest hemingway, 1940, oedipus the king, sophocles, 429bc, the old man and the sea, ernest hemingway, 1952, tess of the d'urbervilles, thomas hardy, 1891, william shakespeare, 1600, johann wolfgang von goethe, 1808, bram stoker, 1897, niccolo machiavelli, 1532, a clockwork orange, anthony burgess, 1962, the age of innocence, edith wharton, 1920, leaves of grass, walt whitman, 1855, vladimir nabokov, 1962, henry fielding, 1749, the picture of dorian gray, oscar wilde, 1891, the tin drum, günter grass, 1959, the golden notebook, doris lessing, 1962, jane austen, 1815, waiting for godot, samuel beckett, 1952, the leopard, giuseppe tomasi di lampedusa, 1958, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, ken kesey, 1962, charlotte's web, e.b. white, 1952, all quiet on the western front, erich maria remarque, 1928, jorge luis borges, 1944, the big sleep, raymond chandler, 1939, the canterbury tales, geoffrey chaucer, 1476, treasure island, robert louis stevenson, 1883, the count of monte cristo, alexandre dumas, 1844, fahrenheit 451, ray bradbury, 1953, paradise lost, john milton, 1667, the name of the rose, umberto eco, 1980, fyodor dostoevsky, 1869, frank herbert, 1965, michel de montaigne, 1580, love in the time of cholera, gabriel garcía márquez, 1985, wide sargasso sea, jean rhys, 1966, the unbearable lightness of being, milan kundera, 1984, the stories of anton chekhov, anton chekhov, 1900, a farewell to arms, ernest hemingway, 1929, the good soldier, ford madox ford, 1915, willa cather, 1918, under the volcano, malcolm lowry, 1947, on the origin of species, charles darwin, 1859, the complete tales and poems of edgar allan poe, edgar allan poe, 1902, the hound of the baskervilles, arthur conan doyle, 1902, the metamorphosis, franz kafka, 1915, journey to the end of the night, louis-ferdinand céline, 1932, sons and lovers, d.h. lawrence, 1913, first folio, william shakespeare, 1623, the wind in the willows, kenneth grahame, 1908, the heart is a lonely hunter, carson mccullers, 1940, doctor zhivago, boris pasternak, 1957, the second sex, simone de beauvoir, 1949, rabbit, run, john updike, 1960, fathers and sons, ivan turgenev, 1862, franz kafka, 1926, harry potter and the philosopher's stone, j.k. rowling, 1997, albert camus, 1947, nikolai gogol, 1842, song of solomon, toni morrison, 1977, sophocles, 441bc, joseph conrad, 1900, the autobiography of malcolm x, alex haley, 1965, the maltese falcon, dashiell hammett, 1930, the republic, plato, 379bc, the interpretation of dreams, sigmund freud, 1899, the man without qualities, robert musil, 1930, fyodor dostoevsky, 1872, orlando: a biography, virginia woolf, 1928, steppenwolf, hermann hesse, 1927, confessions, st augustine, 397, buddenbrooks, thomas mann, 1901, the house of mirth, edith wharton, 1905, portnoy's complaint, philip roth, 1969, the spy who came in from the cold, john le carré, 1963, doctor faustus, thomas mann, 1947, the talented mr. ripley, patricia highsmith, 1955, the tale of genji, murasaki shikibu, 1010, i know why the caged bird sings, maya angelou, 1969, the three musketeers, howards end, e.m. forster, 1910, the call of the wild, jack london, 1903, the long goodbye: a novel, raymond chandler, 1953, bleak house, charles dickens, 1852, an american tragedy, theodore dreiser, 1925, light in august, william faulkner, 1932, the woman in white, wilkie collins, 1860, winnie the pooh, a.a milne, 1926, all the king's men, robert penn warren, 1946, the house of the spirits, isabel allende, 1982, tender is the night, f. scott fitzgerald, 1934, the double helix: a personal account of the discovery of the structure of dna, james d. watson, 1968, franz kafka: the complete stories, franz kafka, 1971, fear and loathing in las vegas: a savage journey to the heart of the american dream, hunter s. thompson, 1971, blood meridian, cormac mccarthy, 1985, uncle tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe, 1852, brideshead revisited, evelyn waugh, 1945, a confederacy of dunces, john kennedy toole, 1980, a room of one's own, virginia woolf, 1929, the complete stories of flannery o'connor, flannery o'connor, 1971, the shining, stephen king, 1977, watership down, richard adams, 1972, the structure of scientific revolutions, thomas kuhn, 1962, the adventures of augie march, saul bellow, 1953, gravity's rainbow, thomas pynchon, 1973, upton sinclair, 1906, lady chatterley's lover, d.h. lawrence, 1928, the time machine, h.g. wells, 1895, the remains of the day, kazuo ishiguro, 1989, one day in the life of ivan denisovich, aleksandr solzhenitsyn, 1962, j.r.r. tolkien, 1937, poems of emily dickinson, emily dickinson, 1890, the secret history, donna tartt, 1992, the prime of miss jean brodie, muriel spark, 1961, the moviegoer, walker percy, 1961, the gulag archipelago, aleksandr solzhenitsyn, 1973, joseph conrad, 1904, and then there were none, agatha christie, 1939, communist manifesto, karl marx, friedrich engels, 1848, saul bellow, 1964, the waste land, t.s. eliot, 1922, a wizard of earthsea, ursula k. le guin, 1968, the awakening, kate chopin, 1899, gargantua and pantagruel, françois rabelais, 1532, u.s.a. trilogy, john dos passos, 1930, a wrinkle in time, madeleine l'engle, 1962, a house for mr. biswas, v.s. naipaul, 1961, giovanni boccaccio, 1349, a tree grows in brooklyn, betty smith, 1943, father goriot, honoré de balzac, 1835, the ambassadors, henry james, 1903, ian mcewan, 2001, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, c.s. lewis, 1950, dangerous liaison, pierre choderlos de laclos, 1782, fairy tales and stories, hans christian andersen, 1835, the pickwick papers, charles dickens, 1836, rudyard kipling, 1901, housekeeping, marilynne robinson, 1980, white teeth, zadie smith, 2000, collected poems of w.b. yeats, william butler yeats, 1933, euripides, 431bc, of mice and men, john steinbeck, 1937, war of the worlds, h.g. wells, 1898, the world according to garp, john irving, 1978, the corrections, jonathan franzen, 2001, atlas shrugged, ayn rand, 1957, william shakespeare, 1606, the god of small things, arundhati roy, 1997, tropic of cancer, henry miller, 1934, stephen king, 1978, women in love, d.h. lawrence, 1920, the adventures of tom sawyer, mark twain, 1876, cold comfort farm, stella gibbons, 1932, jude the obscure, thomas hardy, 1895, the once and future king, t.h. white, 1958, the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, robert louis stevenson, 1886, sinclair lewis, 1922, the complete sherlock holmes, arthur conan doyle, 1927, hermann hesse, 1922, a tale of two cities, charles dickens, 1859, kingsley amis, 1954, democracy in america, alexis de tocqueville, 1835, the charterhouse of parma, stendhal, 1839, samuel beckett, 1951, the good soldier svejk, jaroslav hašek, 1921, bonfire of the vanities, tom wolfe, 1987, the life of samuel johnson, james boswell, 1791, j.m. coetzee, 1999, american pastoral, philip roth, 1997, andré malraux, 1933, isaac asimov, 1951, oedipus at colonus, sophocles, 401bc, aeschylus, 458bc, if this is a man, primo levi, 1947, neuromancer, william gibson, 1984, the mayor of casterbridge, thomas hardy, 1886, the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay, michael chabon, 2000, jean paul sartre, 1938, confessions of zeno, italo svevo, 1923, the things they carried, tim o'brien, 1990, william shakespeare, 1605, go tell it on the mountain, james baldwin, 1953, giovanni's room, james baldwin, 1956, the murder of roger ackroyd, agatha christie, 1926, the counterfeiters, andré gide, 1925, a sentimental education, gustave flaubert, 1869, are you there god it's me, margaret, judy blume, 1970, sir walter scott, 1819, a.s. byatt, 1990, of human bondage, w. somerset maugham, 1915, the chronicles of narnia, anne of green gables, l.m. montgomery, 1908, the turn of the screw, henry james, 1898, the godfather, mario puzo, 1969, if on a winter's night a traveller, italo calvino, 1979, the adventures of oliver twist, charles dickens, 1837, twenty thousand leagues under the sea, jules verne, 1870, stranger in a strange land, robert a. heinlein, 1961, the left hand of darkness, ursula k. le guin, 1969, the wind-up bird chronicle, haruki murakami, 1994, brighton rock, graham greene, 1938, epic of gilgamesh, a prayer for owen meany, john irving, 1989, the haunting of hill house, shirley jackson, 1959, thus spake zarathustra, friedrich nietzsche, 1883, ivan goncharov, 1859, winesburg, ohio, sherwood anderson, 1919, the end of the affair, graham greene, 1951, jane austen, 1817, the sea, the sea, iris murdoch, 1978, the flowers of evil, charles baudelaire, 1857, the sorrows of young werther, johann wolfgang von goethe, 1774, a room with a view, e.m. forster, 1908, the stories of john cheever, john cheever, 1978, do androids dream of electric sheep, philip k. dick, 1968, invisible cities, italo calvino, 1972, the good earth, pearl s. buck, 1931, a season in hell, arthur rimbaud, 1873, at swim two-birds, flann o'brien, 1939, the moonstone, wilkie collins, 1868, pedro páramo, juan rulfo, 1955, marguerite duras, 1984, the joy luck club, amy tan, 1989, cormac mccarthy, 2006, knut hamsun, 1890, infinite jest, david foster wallace, 1996, jorge luis borges, 1962, white noise, don delillo, 1985, look homeward, angel, thomas wolfe, 1929, i, claudius, robert graves, 1934, the alchemist, paulo coelho, 1988, the tempest, memoirs of hadrian, marguerite yourcenar, 1951, the poems of robert frost, robert frost, 1913, the histories of herodotus, herodotus, 450bc, darkness at noon, arthur koestler, 1940, the confessions of jean-jacques rousseau, jean-jacques rousseau, 1782, mahabharata, vyasa, 400bc, children's and household tales, brothers grimm, 1812, a vindication of the rights of woman, mary wollstonecraft, 1792, the red badge of courage, stephen crane, 1895, djuna barnes, 1936, east of eden, john steinbeck, 1952, berlin alexanderplatz, alfred döblin, 1929, naked lunch, william s. burroughs, 1959, martin amis, 1984, a doll's house, henrik ibsen, 1879, finnegans wake, james joyce, 1939, out of africa, isak dinesen (karen blixen), 1937, the tartar steppe, dino buzzati, 1940, the old wives' tale, arnold bennett, 1908, the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum, 1900, metamorphoses, the elements of style, e.b. white, william strunk jr., 1918, the mill on the floss, george eliot, 1860, speak, memory, vladimir nabokov, 1951, zorba the greek, nikos kazantzakis, 1946, a bend in the river, v.s. naipaul, 1979, a good man is hard to find, flannery o'connor, 1953, pippi longstocking, astrid lindgren, 1945, cry, the beloved country, alan paton, 1948, thomas hobbes, 1651, let us now praise famous men, james agee, 1941, e. l. doctorow, 1975, his dark materials, philip pullman, 1995, samuel richardson, 1748, blaise pascal, 1670, a suitable boy, vikram seth, 1993, albert einstein, 1916, sophie's choice, william styron, 1979, death of virgil, hermann broch, 1945, émile zola, 1885, the power and the glory, graham greene, 1940, the general theory of employment, interest and money, john maynard keynes, 1936, the last of the mohicans, james fenimore cooper, 1826, pilgrim's progress, john bunyan, 1678, the day of the locust, nathanael west, 1939, malone dies, homage to catalonia, george orwell, 1938, the complete works of plato, plato, 387bc, a dance to the music of time, anthony powell, 1951, a brief history of time, stephen hawking, 1988, le morte d'arthur, thomas malory, 1485, the secret garden, frances hodgson burnett, 1911, stories of ernest hemingway, ernest hemingway, 1987, rabbit redux, john updike, 1971, the daughter of time, josephine tey, 1951, the princess of cleves, madame de la fayette, 1678, ethan frome, edith wharton, 1911, zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, robert m. pirsig, 1974, our mutual friend, charles dickens, 1864, the shipping news, annie proulx, 1993, the decline and fall of the roman empire, edward gibbon, 1776, i capture the castle, dodie smith, 1948, a christmas carol, charles dickens, 1843, the electric kool-aid acid test, tom wolfe, 1968, the bacchae, euripides, 405bc, 2001: a space odyssey, arthur c. clarke, 1968, black lamb and grey falcon, rebecca west, 1941, rabbit is rich, john updike, 1981, the crying of lot 49, thomas pynchon, 1966, virginia woolf, 1931, regeneration, pat barker, 1991, the feminine mystique, betty friedan, 1963, wings of the dove, henry james, 1902, the hunchback of notre-dame, victor hugo, 1831, a fine balance, rohinton mistry, 1995, the day of the jackal, frederick forsyth, 1971, the return of the native, thomas hardy, 1878, never let me go, kazuo ishiguro, 2005, the forsyte saga, john galsworthy, 1906, nights at the circus, angela carter, 1984, meditations, marcus aurelius, 161, the brief wondrous life of oscar wao, junot diaz, 2007, the poisonwood bible, barbara kingsolver, 1998, the rainbow, d.h. lawrence, 1915, kristin lavransdatter, sigrid undset, 1920, critique of pure reason, immanuel kant, 1781, bonjour tristesse, francoise sagan, 1954, so long, see you tomorrow, william maxwell, 1980, the civil war, shelby foote, 1958, murder on the orient express, agatha christie, 1934, the death of ivan ilyich, leo tolstoy, 1886, american psycho, bret easton ellis, 1991, through the looking glass, lewis carroll, 1871, witold gombrowicz, 1937, the thirty-nine steps, john buchan, 1915, das kapital, karl marx, 1867, the siege of krishnapur, j. g. farrell, 1973, art spiegelman, 1980, silas marner, george eliot, 1861, main street, sinclair lewis, 1920, the varieties of religious experience, william james, 1902, independent people, halldor laxness, 1934, schindler's list, thomas keneally, 1982, the french lieutenant's woman, john fowles, 1969, the phantom tollbooth, norton juster, 1961, the vicar of wakefield, oliver goldsmith, 1766, the private memoirs and confessions of a justified sinner, james hogg, 1824, sister carrie, theodore dreiser, 1900, don delillo, 1997, play it as it lays, joan didion, 1970, patrick süskind, 1985, where the wild things are, maurice sendak, 1963, the death of the heart, elizabeth bowen, 1938, the affluent society, john kenneth galbraith, 1958, notes from the underground, fyodor dostoevsky, 1864, the wealth of nations, adam smith, 1776, collected poems, wallace stevens, 1954, eugene onegin, alexander pushkin, 1833, a streetcar named desire, tennessee williams, 1947, waiting for the barbarians, j.m. coetzee, 1980, the golden bowl, henry james, 1904, the education of henry adams, henry adams, 1907, far from the madding crowd, thomas hardy, 1874, a hero of our time, mikhail lermontov, 1840, stanislaw lem, 1961, the man who loved children, christina stead, 1940, crash: a novel, j. g. ballard, 1973, james joyce, 1914, life and fate, vasily grossman, 1980, sophocles, 409bc, the autobiography of alice b. toklas, gertrude stein, 1933, marilynne robinson, 2004, moll flanders, daniel defoe, 1722, jeffrey eugenides, 2002, the alexandria quartet, lawrence durrell, 1957, black beauty, anna sewell, 1877, harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban, j.k. rowling, 1999, cloud atlas, david mitchell, 2004, the glass bead game, hermann hesse, 1943, life, a user's manual, georges perec, 1978, the savage detectives, roberto bolaño, 1998, john fowles, 1965, philosophical investigations, ludwig wittgenstein, 1953, the cherry orchard, anton chekhov, 1904, yevgeny zamyatin, 1924, the bluest eye, toni morrison, 1970, call it sleep, henry roth, 1934, the secret agent, joseph conrad, 1907, death in venice, thomas mann, 1912, the postman always rings twice, james m. cain, 1934, confucius, 479bc, the third policeman, flann o'brien, 1967, octavia e. butler, 1979, w.g. sebald, 2001, red harvest, dashiell hammett, 1929, ada or ardor, vladimir nabokov, 1969, nine stories, j.d. salinger, 1953, the fountainhead, ayn rand, 1943, the unnamable, samuel beckett, 1953, george eliot, 1859, henryk sienkiewicz, 1896, the right stuff, tom wolfe, 1979, breakfast at tiffany's, truman capote, 1958, rabbit at rest, john updike, 1990, the art of war, sun tzu, 475bc, the way we live now, anthony trollope, 1875, the english patient, michael ondaatje, 1992, the naked and the dead, norman mailer, 1948, the betrothed, alessandro manzoni, 1827, the souls of black folk, w.e.b. du bois, 1903, the book of disquiet, fernando pessoa, 1982, the thorn birds, colleen mccullough, 1977, prometheus bound, aeschylus, 479bc, season of migration to the north, al-tayyib salih, 1966, flannery o'connor, 1952, the house of the seven gables, nathaniel hawthorne, 1851, roberto bolaño, 2004, the federalist papers, alexander hamilton, james madison, john jay, 1787, journey to the west, wu cheng'en, 1592, de rerum natura, lucretius, 55, cousin bette, honoré de balzac, 1846, harry potter and the goblet of fire, j.k. rowling, 2000, charlie and the chocolate factory, roald dahl, 1964, the sheltering sky, paul bowles, 1949, the sonnets, william shakespeare, 1609, the nicomachean ethics, aristotle, 340bc, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy, john le carré, 1974, alan moore, 1987, effi briest, theodor fontane, 1895.

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History | July 23, 2024

The Real Story Behind Netflix’s ‘The Decameron’

Loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century collection of short stories, the series follows a group of Italian nobles and servants who flee to the countryside to escape the Black Death

The cast of Netflix's "The Decameron" playing a game outside

Meilan Solly

Associate Editor, History

When the 14th-century Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio published The Decameron , a collection of short stories about an outbreak of bubonic plague in Florence, Italy, he spared no detail in his description of the devastating disease.

“In men and women alike there appeared, at the beginning of the malady, certain swellings, either on the groin or under the armpits, whereof some waxed of the bigness of a common apple, others like unto an egg,” Boccaccio wrote . “After a while, the fashion of the contagion began to change into black or livid blotches, which showed themselves in many [first] on the arms and about the thighs and [after spread to] every other part of the person, … a very certain token of coming death.”

Despite its graphic imagery, The Decameron is less a chronicle of the medieval pandemic than a humorous, insightful meditation on human nature under dire circumstances. Set in 1348, the text follows ten Florentines who flee to the countryside to escape the Black Death. There, they entertain themselves by telling stories, sharing a total of 100 anecdotes over two weeks. Each member of the group is crowned king or queen for a day and tasked with selecting a topic for that day’s stories, whether it be doomed love affairs, trickery or acts of generosity. Many of the tales borrow from folklore and myth, referencing characters or real-life historical figures who would have been readily recognizable to Boccaccio’s contemporaries.

“The stories, in one way or another, are lifesaving, even as their being entertaining is one of the main ways they can save a life,” wrote novelist Rivka Galchen in a 2020 essay for the New York Times magazine . “Reading stories in difficult times is a way to understand those times, and also a way to persevere through them.”

“ The Decameron ,” a new series debuting on Netflix on July 25, is loosely based on Boccaccio’s book of the same name. But as showrunner Kathleen Jordan tells the Times , “I think an Italian medievalist will be disappointed if they come to this show expecting to see their favorite Decameron stories depicted.”

While the original text focuses on highborn young men and women, the television show’s chosen ten are a mix of nobles and servants, their interactions exposing the “chasm between the haves and the have-nots,” as more recently underscored by the Covid-19 pandemic, says Jordan in a statement . Some characters , like the crafty leader Pampinea (played by Zosia Mamet) and the charming Panfilo (Karan Gill), are featured storytellers in Boccaccio’s book; others, like Licisca (Tanya Reynolds) and Sirisco (Tony Hale), are minor characters (read: servants) now brought to the spotlight.

A Tale From the Decameron, John William Waterhouse, 1916

Netflix’s adaptation of The Decameron retains the setting and humor of its source material. But the series is interested in dissolving societal norms, while the source material focuses on celebrating “renewal and recreation” in the face of upheaval, according to scholar Frances Di Laura’s 2020 assessment of Boccaccio’s work in the Conversation . Per the Netflix statement, “As time goes on and social rules wear thin, the orgy of riches and liquor collapses into a struggle for survival.” In Reynolds’ words , “It’s like a medieval ‘ Love Island ,’ and it descends into Lord of the Flies chaos.”

Ahead of the show’s premiere later this week, here’s what you need to know about the 14th-century text that shares its name.

Boccaccio’s The Decameron

Born in 1313, Boccaccio was the illegitimate son of a wealthy Italian merchant and an unknown woman. He grew up in Florence but moved to Naples with his family as a teenager. There, he studied canon law and practiced banking, though neither interested him as much as literature. By the early 1330s, Boccaccio had shifted his focus to writing, producing both prose and poetry. Also in Naples, the burgeoning author met a woman who became his muse, inspiring the fictional Fiammetta , who appears in The Decameron and some of his other works .

Boccaccio returned to Florence in 1340 or 1341, a period of political and economic turmoil for the city. He continued writing, presenting his observations “nobly and illustriously by a display of learning and rhetorical ornament, so as to make his Italian worthy of comparison with the monuments of Latin literature,” per Encyclopedia Britannica . The poet also elevated the ottava rima , a verse form that had been more commonly associated with popular minstrels.

A 16th-century painting of Giovanni Boccaccio

The Black Death arrived in the Italian Peninsula in 1347, carried by Genoese ships returning home from Crimea. The plague quickly spread across the peninsula, striking Florence by 1348. Scholars are divided on whether Boccaccio was present in the city at the time, but he certainly witnessed the aftermath of the disease, which killed his father and stepmother, as well as up to 100,000 other Florentines.

In The Decameron , Boccaccio described the divergent ways in which people coped with the plague, from living “removed from every other and [shutting] themselves up in those houses where none had been sick” to making merry and “drinking without stint or measure” at local taverns. The poet lamented “how many valiant men, how many fair ladies, how many sprightly youths, … breakfasted in the morning with their kinsfolk, comrades and friends, and that same night supped with their ancestors in the other world.”

Boccaccio likely wrote The Decameron between 1348 and 1353. Presented as a frame story in the vein of One Thousand and One Nights , the text boasts “100 stories about knights and ladies, tricksters and reprobates, star-crossed lovers, and randy monks and nuns,” according to the Public Domain Review . During their 14-day stay at a villa in the countryside, the seven women and three men each take a turn at being king or queen for a day. One day of the week is set aside for chores, while another is reserved for marking the Sabbath, leaving ten total days of storytelling. Among the most memorable stories told by the brigata , as the group is known, are a bawdy recounting of the origins of the sexual euphemism “putting the devil in hell” and a story about a trio of young men who pull down the pants of a corrupt Florentine judge as a prank.

A 1485 illustration of Boccaccio and Florentines who have fled from the Black Death

Far from inventing all of these anecdotes himself, Boccaccio drew on ancient Greek myths, Indian folklore , local gossip and other sources, weaving together disparate tales to reflect on such overarching themes as fortune, love and chivalry. His account, written in the Tuscan vernacular rather than Latin, proved immensely popular, inspiring later authors like Geoffrey Chaucer , William Shakespeare and Margaret Atwood .

The Decameron gained new resonance in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced billions of people into isolation. The book “serves as a guide for preserving the mind” under such trying conditions, the Conversation wrote at the time. “Retreating from a stricken city to live a simple life in a communal isolation, the brigata entertain each other and, by following disciplined, structured rituals, recover some of the predictability and certainty that, according to Boccaccio, had been lost.”

Ultimately, Galchen argued in the Times in 2020, the brigata’s decision to return to Florence at the end of the retreat, despite the continued threat posed by the plague, speaks to the power of the stories they shared. The novelle , or news and stories, “of their days away made the novelle of their world, at least briefly, vivid again,” Galchen wrote. “ Memento mori —remember that you must die—is a worthy and necessary message for ordinary times, when you might forget. Memento vivere —remember that you must live—is the message of The Decameron .”

Sandro Botticelli painting The Banquet in the Pine Forest (1482-1483),

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Meilan Solly | | READ MORE

Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's associate digital editor, history.

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‘house of the dragon’ season 2, episode 6 recap and review: the flight of the dragonriders.

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House Of The Dragon

Updated 7.22.24 — See updates below.

Sunday night’s episode of House Of The Dragon continues what last week’s episode started, with each of the principle factions jockeying for power and pushing pieces around the board. Once again, we will take flight on our very own dragon, the black-and-red Rhaelyx—or ‘Shadow Flame’ in High Valyrian—who we first met in my recap of last week’s episode . Everything looks clearer when perched atop the back of a dragon. Just don’t ask Ser Steffon Darklyn his opinion on the matter.

Spoilers follow.

Also: Be sure to follow me here on this blog by clicking the button at the top-right of this post. That way you can get updates when I post! Huzzah!

The City Of Kings And Dragons

We’ll begin this week’s journey flying high above the red walls and tiled rooftops of King’s Landing. If the city looks different in House of the Dragon than it did in Game of Thrones, you can blame filming locations. The Thrones version of the city was filmed primarily in Dubrovnik, Croatia. That city’s distinct roof tiles—known as “kupe kanalice”—gave King’s Landing its unique look. The tiles were hand-made in the village of Kupari up until the year 1925, with the wet clay stretched out over the craftsmens’ thighs to give them their unique shape.

King’s Landing is primarily filmed in Cáceres, Spain for House of the Dragon, and we see less of it from above, more from ground level and the bustling streets. This location was also used in Game of Thrones but is the main filming location for the prequel series.

As we peer down, however, it is both these cities I imagine we see spread out below us. The red-tiled rooftops, the winding cobbled streets pressed in on both sides by brick buildings.

Here is Cáceres:

Best Nintendo Switch Games: It’s Mario’s World, We’re Just Visiting

Overview of the old monumental city of Caceres, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1986, ... [+] Extremadura, Spain, February 2016. (Photo by Cristina Arias/Cover/Getty Images)

And here, Dubrovnik:

Dubrovnic, Croatia, April 2009. (Photo by Luis Davilla/Cover/Getty Images)

Notice the peasants moving about, some are running up from the shoreline carrying bundles of food: Vegetables, loaves of bread, fish. Some have black and red banners draped over their shoulders. The Gold Cloaks and other soldiers are taken by surprise. In the High Sept, the Queen Dowager and her daughter the Queen are rushed out by their knights, alarmed by the howling mob that has whipped up like a storm.

It is Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s doing. They sent these “gifts” to the starving people of King’s Landing to bend the people toward Rhaenyra’s cause, and it’s clearly working. The Prince Regent, for all his cunning and skill in battle, has a great deal to learn about actually governing. “The enemy without may be fought with swords, the enemy within is more insidious,” his Master of Whisperers, Larys Strong, warns him. He reminds young Aemond that he has yet to choose a Hand; Ser Criston Cole was his brother Aegon’s Hand, not his.

Larys Strong

Larys plays his cards exactly how he might with Aegon or Alicent, but Aemond suffers neither fools nor lickspittles. He tells his spy-master to summon his grandsire, Otto Hightower, back to the city. Perhaps Alicent was wrong when she told him earlier, “You have the impetuous of youth, and its arrogance.”

Aemond is shoring up his power, and the first step he takes is to dismiss his mother from the Small Council. Last week we the Queen Dowager’s dawning realization that she was being cast aside after so many years pulling the strings. Aemond ignores her jabs. “I’m sure you’ll be pleased to return to more . . . domestic pursuits,” he tells her.

The Prince Regent also orders Ser Criston Cole to march on Harrenhal. He’s furious with the Lannisters when Jason Lannister sends a raven summoning Aemond to help march on Daemon. “He dares to summon me with haste,” Aemond fumes. “I am the prince regent, not a dog to be put to heel.”

Aemond One-Eye

Instead, he orders Cole to march from King’s Landing and the Lord of Casterly Rock to march from the west. The two will converge on Harrenhal and Aemond will join them “when the time is ripe.”

Aemond also instructs the younger Lannister twin to make an alliance with the Triarchy—the pirate alliance between the Free Cities of Lys, Myr and Tyrosh—in order to weaken the Sea Snake’s blockade of Blackwater Bay. (In the books, it is Otto Hightower who devises this strategy).

Aegon has been slowly healing from his grievous wounds, but Maester Orwyle says he “sleeps nine hours out of every ten” (a line taken directly from Fire & Blood ) and it’s clear that he is in terrible pain and anguish. He is paid visits by his mother, who tells him tearily “I’m sorry” and from his brother, who presses his Small Council stone into Aegon’s chest as he interrogates him: “What do you remember?”

“Nothing,” Aegon gasps. Aemond presses down harder. “You challenged Melys,” he says calmly. “It was foolish.”

Aemond and Aegon

“I remember nothing,” the King replies, and Aemond bends forward and kisses his brother on the forehead. When the Grand Maester enters, Aemond tells him to take good care of his brother. Orwyle is clearly nervous.

The last visitor Aegon receives is the Clubfoot, who instructs the nurse to withhold his Milk of the Poppy. “The drink takes the pain away but it dulls your mind,” he tells the King. And then he tells him the hard truths: “You will never be whole. Orwyle has exhausted his capabilities. Your mind is all that remains to you. I do not say that gladly.”

From our perch on the window, we can see Aegon in all his resplendent suffering. But it is more than mere pain on his face. There is fear there as well. You can smell it on him and in the air, sour andmixed in with the stink of bandages and sickness.

“I came screaming into the world,” Larys tells his liege. “My foot so twisted that my father named it sorcery. People will pity you behind your back or in your presence and they will stare,” he tells him, drawing from his own life. “And they will underestimate you. And this will be your advantage.”

Larys can see the fear on Aegon’s face.

“Your brother rules in your place now,” he says softly, “which means that your life is in danger. But I think you know that.”

“Help me,” Aegon whispers. I think Larys only wants to help himself. He only visits his fallen king after Aemond spurns his wish to become Hand. What a powerful moment between these men. Certainly we see a new side of the scheming Master of Whisperers.

Alicent and Gwayne

Out in the castle yards, Ser Criston Cole and his knights ready for the long ride to Harrenhal. Among them is Ser Gwayne Hightower, the eldest child of Otto Hightower. Alicent approaches him. “I wish to give you my blessing,” she says, and he smirks. “Well, my thanks to the Queen Dowager” he says, giving a mock bow, an edge to his tone. Something has changed in Gwayne since he’s returned from war. The cocky arrogance has been blunted by the harsh realities of battle.

Alicent asks about her youngest son, Daeron, who was sent to Old Town as Gwayne’s ward when he was young. “What’s he like?” she asks. Impatient, Gwayne says that she surely must know as they write letters to one another. She says they rarely do anymore. Gwayne softens.

“He’s stalwart,” he says. “Clever. As adept with his lute as he is with his sword. And a feature in the fancies of many a young lady I’d wager.” Gwayne pauses, thinking. “He’s kind,” he says at last.

Alicent seems both relieved and forlorn. “That’s good,” she says.

“You did well to send him to ward,” Gwayne replies. The Red Keep does not create much kindness in young men, he notes, clearly unimpressed with his other nephews.

“Was it the court or was it their mother?” Alicent says, the full weight of her mistakes weighing heavily now. “You did your best,” her brother replies, but I’m not sure either of them believe it.

Ser Cole gives Alicent a long, meaningful look as he makes ready to depart and she stares back. Their last words together were bitter, and there’s no telling if these lovers—bound together by hate more than by love—will ever see one another again. She gives him a slight nod and he turns and rides off.

We’ll depart this stinking city as well, dear readers. Come now, Rhaelyx, sōvēs! Fly! Nothing ever good happened in King’s Landing. Alas, nothing ever good happened where we’re going, either, but north and west we’ll travel ahead of Cole’s armies. Somewhere, the Lannisters march with their caged lions. We’ll get to Harrenhal before them.

The Man Who Would Be King

Daemon remains a prisoner of ghosts. This time, it is his brother King Viserys I he sees, and I am reminded of the biggest hole in House of the Dragon’s second season. It is a hole in the shape of Paddy Considine, whose performance as Viserys should have earned him an Emmy—if only he wasn’t up against that other show about kings and princes: Succession.

One of the best lines from that HBO series was Kendall’s “I am the eldest boy!” and there’s something just as sad and pathetic wafting about Daemon Targaryen, who viewed his older brother almost as a father. In his visions of Viserys, we learn something important about Daemon’s motivations. He doesn’t want the throne because it will give him power. He wants it because he wants his brother’s love and affection.

“Did you really say it?” Viserys intones from the Iron Throne as Daemon looks up, slightly baffled. “Heir for a day?” Viserys seethes.

“You can’t possibly still be angry about this,” Daemon replies (and yes, this is a very funny line—I’ve complained about the lack of humor in this show, but there is a lot of very subtle humor in Daemon’s recent storyline). Viserys’s anger, his rejection of his brother, naming Rhaenyra heir in his place, all of it has consumed Daemon for years, decades even at this point. It makes sense that he would bristle at his niece-wife’s rise to power when it also means accepting that his brother chose her instead.

He tries to flee the throne room but the door is locked and when it finally opens, Daemon tumbles to the floor before a confused Ser Simon Strong. “I do wonder if you’re getting enough sleep,” the steward of Harrenhal says, hilariously. (Strong is quickly becoming a Season 2 VIP). Daemon, still somehow not suspecting Alys’s witchcraft, draws his knife and presses it to Strong’s throat, accusing him of plotting against him, of poisoning him, of conspiring with Larys or Rhaenyra.

“Whatever your game is Strong I assure you your king is on his guard!” he proclaims as he backs warily from the room. Strong looks bemused more than afraid.

Daemon storms out of the castle, down toward where his dragon, Caraxes waits. I get the sense that Caraxes has spotted us, dear reader, or at least sense Rhaelyx nearby. But Daemon never makes it to the dragon. At the Godswood, Alys Rivers stands. He confronts her but she is unfazed by his bluster.

Alys Rivers

“There are older things in this world than you or I, or in living memory,” she says. “You are not the player but a piece on the board. As am I, for that matter.”

“I’m not like you,” he says tersely. She tells him that in some ways that’s true. “There’s an anger that blinds you,” she says. When he complains about Viserys choosing Rhaenyra over him, he exclaims that she never even wanted the crown.

Did you ever think that this is why he chose her? Alys replies. The very fact that she didn’t want the crown may make her the best possible choice. “Perhaps those who strive for it are the least suited to wear it,” she muses. “Viserys never wanted it himself if you recall. It’s not a prize to be won but a burden to bear.”

This is perhaps the best thing anyone could ever tell Daemon Targaryen, and they seem to land. He’s caught off guard and for once seems to listen rather than just speak. This is a side of Daemon I don’t think we’ve ever seen. He’s . . . almost vulnerable.

“If you have any counsel for dealing with the Riverlords I’d be glad of it,” he says.

“Daemon Targaryen asking for help?” she replies with a laugh. “Counsel,” he retorts, pathetically.

She tells him that the Riverlords will never unite without the Lord Tully. They’re too proud, too fractious. But Tully is old and useless and Daemon is at a loss.

“I need help, Alys,” he finally admits. This is the second proud, impetuous Targaryen prince to ask for help in one episode. Will wonders never cease?

Alys tells him to do nothing. “In a few days time the winds will shift,” she says.

Some time later, Daemon is awakened from another dream of his brother—this time mourning the death of his wife—with good news. Grover Tully has died. None of his healers could help him, and even Alys Rivers’ efforts could not save the old man. Daemon realizes immediately that she was behind his death, and when he’s alone again he weeps—though whether they are sobs of relief that he can now finally raise a host, or of grief from his vision we cannot say.

Rhaelyx is hungry. Perhaps we will fly north and east, over the rocky hills of the Vale. There are no dragons here save the younglings Rhaenyra sent with Rhaena.

But wait, what is this below? There is Rhaena walking with Rhaenyra’s young son, their retinue behind them. And there . . . bones and burnt earth, a huge scorched scar upon the ground. No baby dragon did this.

Back at the Eyrie, Rhaena confronts Lady Arryn telling her that the Vale does indeed have its own large dragon. The Lady replies, “It is large and formidable, but alas wild.”

Book spoilers and speculation ahead.

The dragon in question is a wild dragon named Sheepstealer. In the books, he is claimed by an urchin girl named Nettles who ends up going to Daemon with her dragon once it’s been claimed. I am 99% sure at this point that Nettles is going to be Rhaena in the show, and perhaps she’ll even hide her identity somehow and go to her father, and all the stuff we read about them in the book will be “fiction” and this will be the real story. This makes sense, as Nettles has not been introduced in Season 2, whereas Ulf the White, Hugh Hammer and Addam of Hull all have been, all of whom are the Dragon Seeds from Fire & Blood.

End book spoilers.

Curious happenings in the Vale, but not so curious as further south. We’ll fly quickly now, to Dragonstone and . . .

The Queen Of Dragons

We’ve already discussed Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s successful plan to send food to the inhabitants of King’s Landing—like some beneficent siege tactic. What we left out was the two women’s romantic moment. I think Rhaenyra is feeling very lonely, and both women have a shared history with Daemon. That their embrace turns to cautious touching and then a passionate kiss should not surprise us; I don’t think it means Rhaenyra prefers the company of women, necessarily.

But these two have found some solace in one another’s company, and Rhaenyra is almost certainly sick of the company of men. Her advisors have begun to speak out more boldly against her—she slaps one of them for good measure, telling him “It is my fault I think that you have forgotten to fear me.” Even her son doubts her, something that gnaws at her even more. How can she rule the Seven Kingdoms if she cannot convince Jace?

Much of this doubt comes after the loss of Ser Steffon Darklyn, who bravely agrees to try to ride a dragon. It almost seems as if he’ll succeed at mounting Seasmoke who, along with Vermithor and Silverwing, need riders. When she summons Ser Steffon because of his shared ancestry, she says “I do not compel you to do this. To claim a dragon you must also be prepared to die.”

Steffon bravely accepts his duty, and when he finally approaches the dragon and all seems well, he utters words that let us know he is surely doomed. “I’ve done it,” he says, breathing a sigh of relief. Seasmoke rises up and breathes out a great gout of flame, catching the knight and several dragon handlers in its inferno.

Seasmoke flies free and later his shadow falls over another relatively new character: Addam of Hull, younger brother of Alyn who the Sea Snake has asked to be his boatswain. Addam flees as the dragon swoops down, scrambling through the trees, falling over himself in a panic to get away. But Seasmoke lands in front of him and leans down, looking every bit like a monster going in for the kill.

Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s kiss is interrupted by news: Seasmoke has been seen flying far above with a rider on his back. “The Greens?” Mysaria asks. Rhaenyra can’t think of who else it could be—but we know, don’t we Rhaelyx? We’ve seen who flies on Seasmoke’s back.

The Queen of Dragons mounts Syrax and flies away from Dragonstone and we will follow her, but we won’t see where she goes because the scene fades to black and the credits roll.

All told, another fantastic and gripping episode of House of the Dragon which manages to be fascinating and compelling even without large-scale dragon battles or battles of any kind. Every scene crackled this week, just like last week, and all signs point toward epic battles to round out the end of Season 2, as armies march and dragons take flight.

Oh, and Mysaria is right: The sword very much becomes Rhaenyra. Perhaps it’s time she joined the war.

Scattered Thoughts:

I forgot to mention Ser Simon Strong literally shushing Daemon as the wild-eyed Targaryen holds the knife to his throat. This was easily one of the funniest things that this show has given us, and took me back to when my own kids were wee babes and I used to shush them when they wailed and cried. A good shush goes a long ways. I think Strong must have been a very good dad, because he’s a very good grandpa to Daemon.
I also forgot to mention Helaena and her little bird cages. Well, I thought at first that she had very small birds. She said “this one stopped singing” which one would usually say about a bird who may have died or fallen silent for some other reason. I didn’t expect them to be insects. It’s interesting that Helaena is clearly quite mad and sees visions and all the rest, but we’ve never seen it from her point-of-view; but Daemon has now been afflicted with what I can only assume is a very similar madness—though one foisted upon him through witchcraft—and we get a glimpse of what it’s like.
We hear the Greens discussing the Greyjoys and how they have not picked sides and are biding their time to see which way the wind blows. Sounds like not much has changed for the Iron Islanders between this time and the Game of Thrones timeline.
We see both Ulf White and Hugh Hammer this episode, characters who will become more important figures going forward. Ulf White provokes the guards as the anger brews in the city; Hugh Hammer robs a smaller man, taking the food he’s brought with him from Rhaenyra’s ships. This may be an important moment in judging his character, and what he might bring to the story later.
When I discussed Rhaena and her conversation with Lady Arryn I forgot to mention the bit about Prince Reggio and his offer to shelter her and Rhaenyra’s young sons in Pentos. Rhaena clearly doesn’t want to go. Will the boys board a ship without her and make their way across the Narrow Sea?
I really enjoyed Seasmoke as well. When he finds Addam, he’s almost playful, though the poor young man doesn’t realize this. I’m reminded a bit of the dragon Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon (a wonderful animated film with an even better sequel) who always reminded me of a cat—so much in fact that we named our cat (this was around when those movies came out) after Toothless. Dragons are a lot like cats, only sort of listening to people when they feel like it, willing to show affection or withhold it, never so eager to please as dogs.

That’s all for now. I’ll add any more scattered thoughts I have should they come to me. Thanks for reading!

Update 7/22/24

Curiously, I’ve had a lot of readers tell me that they didn’t like this episode, or tuned out halfway through, or that it was only okay. I disagree with these takes quite vehemently, but I do understand where they’re coming from.

One major complaint seems to be that the show is simply moving too slowly, and after last week’s very dense, character-driven, and dialogue-heavy episode getting another in the same vein might straing some viewers’ patience. I think that if you’ve made it this far in House of the Dragon, you should probably be used to getting back-to-back, plot-heavy episodes like this. I also think they serve a few important purposes:

Last week’s episode dealt a great deal with the fallout of the dragon battle between Rhaenys/Meleys and the Targaryen brothers on Sunfyre and Vhagar. Aegon’s injuries, the dragon being carted through the streets of King’s Landing creating fear and discontent in the populace, the grief at Dragonstone and Driftmark. There was a lot to unpack and power shifting that needed to occur, with Aemond taking charge of the Greens and so forth. This episode planted the seeds for last night’s, with Jace and Rhaenyra deciding to find new dragonriders.
Last night’s episode, meanwhile, started to put things back in motion. Aemond flexed his power, showing both his strong and unwavering leadership—a stark contrast to his older brother’s—and his, ahem, blind spots. Aemond has a mind for battle and ruthlessness, but no sense of how to govern or the dangers the people present to the Green cause. That being said, he also shows a shrewdness for delegation and his decision to recall Otto Hightower is a great illustration of this. Also, mommy issues. Last night’s episode not only shows the Greens marching back to war (as well as the Lannisters—green and red, like Christmas for Daemon) but also the failed attempt to have Darklyn ride the dragon and the successful bonding of Addam and Seasmoke, albeit offscreen.
My point here is that these last two episodes were like a long breath. The first was a deep inhalation, the muted collective gasp of everyone involved with Rook’s Rest and the tragedy and horrors of that battle. The next was the exhalation, as both sides began to marshall their forces for war—the Greens sending their vastly superior armies and the Blacks scrambling to gain dominance of the skies.

None of this is boring, but then I am a huge fan of the book Fire & Blood and a huge fan of the types of history books that George R.R. Martin was drawing from, such as The Plantagenets by Dan Jones. These stories are filled with battle, succession drama, betrayal, intrigue, and lots and lots of stuff that isn’t particularly exciting as well—stuff that lays the groundwork for the big battles and beheadings and so forth.

This is what last week and this week did. This is a war story, but in-between the battles we get character drama, court intrigue, strategy, and so on and so forth. I suspect that the final two episodes of the season will be action-packed.

Another reason we get episodes without major dragon battles is budgetary. Already, this season was slashed from 10 to 8 episodes almost certainly because of money limitations. The big difference between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones is this show has lots of dragons and lots of battles featuring dragons and that is incredibly expensive. It also has more war in general, more big battles, all of which would be expensive even without CGI winged beasts. So we have to be a little bit patient and not expect that every episode. I say, enjoy all the juicy character drama. Think how much great stuff played out next to the bed of king Aegon this week. Both the scenes with Aemond and Aegon and Larys and Aegon were crackling good.

The second big complaint I’ve heard is with regards to Daemon who has been languishing in Harrenhal having his visions for four episodes now (he landed at the ruined fortress in Episode 3). I sympathize with this complaint as I do feel we could have moved through this storyline a bit faster, or given Daemon something else to do—like fly over the Riverlands and frighten people or burn some insolent nobles—instead of see quite so many visions in this little horror side-story.

However, this week’s was by far the best of the bunch and certainly the most important. Daemon sees visions of his brother, Viserys, and both we and Daemon realize just how much his brother meant to him, just how badly he yearned for his brother’s approval and love, and how his own pride and bitterness—rather than anything Viserys did to him—often caused that rift between them to grow. It was a huge moment for Daemon and so well crafted.

Besides, we got Ser Simon Strong at his very best. Both the “you need more sleep” bit and the shushing were absolute comedic gold, which is the exact thing I keep asking for more of—so how can I not enjoy it when I’m given what I wanted?

That’s my two cents. But words are wind. Let me know your thoughts as well on Twitter , Instagram or Facebook . Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog . Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.

Past Season 2 Reviews:

Episode 5 Review
Episode 4 Review: The Red Dragon & The Gold
Episode 3 Review: Olf Feuds & Bad Blood
Episode 2 Review: I Love You, My Brother
Episode 1 Review: Blood And Cheese

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World’s first Oropouche virus deaths reported in Brazil

The illness is spread by infected flies and mosquitos and has killed two women in Bahia state

The Oropouche illness is spread by infected mosquitos and flies

Brazil’s health ministry says the country has recorded the world’s first Oropouche virus deaths, with two women dying of the illness spread by infected flies and mosquitos .

The women from the state of Bahia in northeast Brazil were “under 30 years old, with no comorbidities, but who had signs and symptoms similar to a severe case of dengue”, the ministry said in a statement, according to Agence France-Presse.

Symptoms typically last for three to six days, the health agency said, with similar symptoms to dengue, such as fever, muscle aches, stiff joints, headache, vomiting, nausea, chills or sensitivity to light. Severe cases can result in life-threatening complications such as meningitis .

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention website states there are currently known outbreaks of Oropouche in parts of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba and Peru.

The Brazil health ministry said there have been 7,236 cases of Oropouche infection recorded in 2024, with the majority being reported out of the states of Amazonas and Rondonia.

According to the CDC, symptoms of Oropouche viral infection usually begin four to eight days after being bitten.

Oropouche was first isolated in Brazil in 1960, according to the health ministry.

Most cases have been reported in the Amazon region of Brazil but outbreaks and isolated cases have been reported elsewhere in Latin America.

Meningitis,
Global Health Security,
Dengue fever,
South America
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House of the Dragon: Who Rides Seasmoke After Laenor?

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Ser steffon darklyn fails to tame seasmoke, seasmoke reaches out for addam of hull, seasmoke claiming addam breaks every rule in the book.

The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 6, "Smallfolk," which premiered Sunday, July 21 on HBO.

Claiming a dragon is a respected Targaryen tradition, but very rarely is it the other way around on House of the Dragon or Fire & Blood . When Rhaenyra Targaryen attempts to have a member of her council claim Laenor Velaryon's dragon, Seasmoke, little did she know that Seasmoke already had his eyes on someone else. That someone was not far from Dragonstone, on the island of Driftmark with Velaryon blood running through his veins.

At the end of Season 2, Episode 6, "Smallfolk," Queen Rhaenyra is informed that an unknown rider has taken Seasmoke as their dragon around the village of Spicetown in Driftmark. What viewers know that Rhaenyra doesn't is that the rider is Addam of Hull, one of Corlys Velaryon's illegitimate sons . The brother of Alyn, Addam has been stalked by Seasmoke for the majority of the season up until the sixth episode, when the dragon finally makes his move. The question is, why did Seasmoke wait until now to make things official with Addam?

Seasmoke burns Ser Steffon Darklyn in House of the Dragon

Two New Velaryons Are Key to House of the Dragon Season 2

Even though Addam and Alyn of Hull have only just been introduced on House of the Dragon, fans of the book know just how important they really are.

Before Addam claimed Seasmoke, there was another potential rider that Rhaenyra mistakenly believed could successfully mount the dragon. Rhaenyra has been on the hunt for nobles with Valyrian blood , no matter how thinned out, in order to gain more dragonriders for her army. The Black Queen summons Lord Commander Ser Steffon Darklyn to a council meeting, where she giddily announces that he has Targaryen blood through his great-grandmother, Aeriana Targaryen. She asks that he try to claim Seasmoke based on their shared heritage.

Although Rhaenyra insists that he doesn't have to do this, turning down an offer as generous as this would definitely sour the relationship between the Lord Commander and the Queen. Maybe deep down, Rhaenyra knew he couldn't resist because of her power over him. It ends up not working in her favor, however. Ser Steffon bravely steps out in front of Seasmoke with the help of dragonkeepers, and for a second, Seasmoke's calm and content state signals that Steffon was successful. That is until Seasmoke sets Steffon and a few dragonkeepers on fire, rejecting Steffon and leaving Rhaenyra without a Lord Commander.

House of the Dragon: Is Alyn Corlys' Son?

Alyn of Hull's true parentage has been a presiding issue in House of the Dragon Season 2. Thankfully, Rhaenys Targaryen gave clarity on his origins.

Seasmoke flies free and goes back to scouting Spicetown, which Rhaenyra remarks isn't unusual for the dragon. He had been previously spotted flying over the beaches, coincidentally where Addam of Hull works. This time, however, Seasmoke takes matters into his own hands. He approaches Driftmark's shores to take Addam as a rider . Naturally, the sight of a dragon getting close to the ground makes everyone scatter, including Addam. Seasmoke interprets this as a fun game of cat and mouse, and proceeds to chase the young man until he's cornered. Poor Addam probably thought he was going to get eaten alive, and couldn't interpret Seasmoke's playful nature.

Anyone who hasn't been around dragons at all would immediately translate Seasmoke's close attention to Addam as a sign of aggression. But in reality, Seasmoke is quite affectionate towards the man. The bond between Seasmoke and Addam changes everything for not only the Blacks, but the legendary status of Targaryens as a whole. As seen in the Season 2, Episode 7 trailer, Addam and Seasmoke are greeted by Rhaenyra and Syrax on a beach with hostility. Jacaerys Velaryon sharply calls attention to the fact that if anyone can mount a dragon, then what does that make Targaryens? Jacaerys' comment reeks of passive-aggressive classism. A commoner mounting a dragon signals to the world that anyone can be a dragonrider if they wish.

Addam's claim of Seasmoke is a threat to the Targaryens' prestige and god-like reputation. The smallfolk already fear the Targaryens less and less, as evident by the mob against Alicent and Helaena. The first domino was Meleys' head being paraded around like an easy trophy to obtain. The next will be a common-born shipwright riding a Targaryen dragon. If Rhaenyra plays her cards right, she can look past her son's arrogance and see this as a win. She previously was only looking for noble people with Targaryen blood. But there are probably dozens of smallfolk dragonseeds out there who can claim other wild dragons for an easy price.

Seasmoke ready to breathe fire on House of the Dragon

Who Will Be Corlys Velaryon’s Heir? What We Know From the HOTD Books & How the Show Could Differ

With an aging Corlys Velaryon as the head of House Velaryon, House of the Dragon may differ from the books in how it handles the succession crisis.

Addam riding Seasmoke is a classic example of why House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood should be treated as two different canonical entities. The moment where Seasmoke chooses Addam himself, rather than the other way around, is extraordinarily rare for the Targaryens. But it also violates a few rules of dragon-bonding in the A Song of Ice and Fire lore.

The brilliant mind behind all of this lore, George R. R. Martin, recently published a blog post that expands more on the biology and habits of his dragons. A lot of what he says contradicts Seasmoke's behavioral patterns in Season 2. According to Martin, dragons aren't nomadic. They won't fly anywhere unless there's a rider on their back telling them where to fly. Due to this rule, both Seasmoke and Sheepstealer's routines are negated. Even though dragons hunt or explore on their own, they don't go beyond their lairs to do so.

That being said, Drogon does disappear to the Dothraki sea in A Dance with Dragons while Daenerys Targaryen is in Meereen. In Game of Thrones , he travels all the way to Old Valyria on his own. The rules may bend a little depending on how independent a dragon is. They seem to bend a lot for Seasmoke, who, for all anyone knows, is the first dragon to claim a human. Never in the books do dragons actively search for riders. During the Sowing of the Seeds, Addam approached Seasmoke just like every other dragonseed when Jacaerys called for new riders.

House of the Dragon may have modified dragons' behaviors for dramatic effect. Seasmoke likely sensed Addam as Laenor's brother by blood and became attached to him, even though Laenor could still be alive. Dragons are also intelligent creatures who pick up on changing times. When Steffon tried to mount Seasmoke, the dragon knew that the Targaryens would only offer more victims. Seasmoke had to take action himself instead of wasting time. Since no other wild dragons have sniffed out their own riders yet, it's fair to say that Seasmoke's affection for Addam is a unique case in the history of dragonriders.

New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday at 9 P.M. ET.

House of the Dragon

Two centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone.

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‘House of the Dragon’ Ending Explained: Why Does Seasmoke Claim Addam of Hull as a Rider?

Where to stream:.

House of the Dragon

‘House of the Dragon’ Reveals Hugh the Hammer is the Son of Saera Targaryen, the Princess Who Became a Prostitute

‘house of the dragon’ season 2 episode 7 ending explained: how many dragons does rhaenyra have “the red sowing” explained, ‘house of the dragon’ season 2 episode 7 preview teases new dragon riders, from addam and seasmoke to prince daeron and rhaena.

HBO ‘s House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 6 “Smallfolk” ends with the shocking news that Seasmoke has a rider again. Rhaenyra ( Emma D’Arcy ) immediately worries that someone from Team Green has claimed Laenor’s ( John Macmillan ) old dragon. However, the truth might just be more upsetting to the Targaryens, who pride themselves on having the pure blood of the dragon.

As it happens, Corlys Velaryon’s ( Steve Toussaint ) bastard son Addam of Hull ( Clinton Liberty ) is Seasmoke’s new rider. Not only that, but Addam had to do precious little to earn the dragon’s trust. Seasmoke chose Addam.

Which is all the more distressing considering the fact that in the very same episode, Rhaenyra convinces Kingsguard member Ser Steffon Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan) to attempt to claim Seasmoke! You know, because he’s loyal to her and because his grandmother’s grandmother was Aeriana Targaryen. However, just when Ser Steffon believes he’s tamed Seasmoke, the dragon smothers him in a horrifying roar of fire.

So why would Seasmoke choose a random Velaryon bastard over the great-great-grandson of an actual Targaryen? Who is riding Seasmoke? And what does it mean for House of the Dragon moving forward?

Who Rides Seasmoke in House of the Dragon Season 2?

Too many dragons, too many names to keep track of, huh? So who rides Seasmoke in House of the Dragon?

As of House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 6 “Smallfolk,” Seasmoke has had two official riders. The first was his original rider, Laenor Velaryon. We watched in House of the Dragon Season 1 as a young Laenor (Theo Nate) rode Seasmoke during his father’s war against the Triarchy. That means that Seasmoke isn’t just another dragon; he’s one of the few dragons out there used to what battles are like.

‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 3 Ending Explained: How Daemon’s Epic Fight Against Crabfeeder Introduces New Dragon Seasmoke

In House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 7 “Driftmark,” Rhaenyra concocts a rather insane plan to fake the murder of Laenor so he can move to exile with his lover, Ser Qarl Correy (Arty Froushan). The only hiccup to this plan? (Uh, besides the fact that a random person had to die and that everyone now thinks Rhaenyra murdered Laenor?) Laenor has to leave Seasmoke behind.

By House of the Dragon Season 2, it seems that Seasmoke misses having a rider. As war breaks out, he becomes more restless at Dragonstone. Unbeknownst to Rheanyra, Seasmoke often flies over Addam of Hull, the shipwright bastard son of Corlys. After Ser Steffon Darklyn’s attempt to tame Seasmoke goes awry, the dragon pursues Addam, chasing him around Driftmark until the two meet face to face.

Yes, Seasmoke chose Addam to be his new rider. That is, the bastard half-brother of his first rider. But what does this mean for Team Black? And why would Seasmoke choose Addam over Ser Steffon?

ayo seasmoke really said #demdragons #houseofthedragon pic.twitter.com/GSUllgb1EB — breezy @ dreamcon 💨 (@demogorgussy) July 22, 2024

The bond between dragons and riders is more complex than just a person managing to tame a wild beast. There is a symbiotic relationship between a dragon and its rider, ergo there needs to be some sort of affinity between the two. House of the Dragon star Ewan Mitchell has publicly discussed how Vhagar was attracted to young Aemond because she could relate to not fitting in anywhere. We learned last week that Meleys “The Red Queen” wouldn’t accept the impetuous Daemon (Matt Damon) as a rider after his mother’s death, but allowed Rhaenys (Eve Best) to take her reins. This week, Seasmoke gave the timid Ser Steffon Darklyn a hard, fiery no.

But why Addam of Hull? It could be that Seasmoke prefers a rider who is blood-related to Laenor. Or maybe the lonely dragon relates to Addam’s own feeling of being left behind by a Velaryon. (In this case, Corlys has spent decades ignoring his base-born children.)

The big hiccup here is that Addam of Hull is not a Targaryen. As the House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 7 preview teases, this reality may not sit well with the existing dragonlords. Jace (Harry Collett) says, “House Targaryen is the blood of the dragon. If any may lay claim to it, what are we then?”

Addam is not a Targaryen, but he is a Velaryon, meaning he does have the blood of Old Valyria. (There’s also the lore that the Velaryons and Targaryens intermarried a lot before this time period, but maybe the show is leaning away from that.)

In any case, Seasmoke’s new rider is Addam of Hull. We’ll have to tune into House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 7 to find out what he wants to do with his new dragon. Will he fight for Rhaenyra, Team Green, or himself?

Clinton Liberty

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When the Paris Olympics Begin, the Seine Is His Stage

To open the Games, the theater director Thomas Jolly has masterminded a spectacular waterborne ceremony depicting 12 scenes from French history.

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Thomas Jolly, wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and black pants, sits on the wall of a bridge over the Seine in Paris.

By Catherine Porter

Catherine Porter met twice with Thomas Jolly in Paris to report this article, once along the banks of the Seine.

In French, the word for stage, “scène,” sounds exactly like the name of the river that runs through Paris.

That’s one of the first things the director Thomas Jolly liked about the idea of creating an opening ceremony that would float through the heart of Paris.

For the past two years, the river has become his workroom, offering challenges unknown to most theater directors: currents and wind tunnels, a vulnerable fish hatchery, a plan for thousands of athletes to float through in boats, 45,000 police officers scattered around for security. Also required: regular check-ins with the French president and Paris mayor.

As artistic director of all four Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies, he also has perks most directors could only dream of: a budget of nearly $150 million and more than 15,000 workers, including dancers and musicians. He can also expect a live audience of half a million and 1.5 billion spectators on television.

If Jolly pulls it off, this will be the first time an opening ceremony is unfurled outside the secure confines of a stadium. The Seine has not seen such a celebration in 285 years, since King Louis XV celebrated the marriage of his daughter to the prince of Spain.

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Lord of the Flies: book review in 2020
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BOOK REVIEW-LORD OF THE FLIES GROUP 1(UB00302 SECTION 38)
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Lord of the Flies Book Review
Our review: Parents say ( 12 ): Kids say ( 111 ): This novel has been a perennial favorite since its first publication in 1954, and when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, William Golding was lauded for his deep concern for humanity. Today, Lord of the Flies remains a staple of school reading lists, although some of its dated views ...
Their Inner Beasts: 'Lord of the Flies' Six Decades Later
Oct. 27, 2016. "Lord of the Flies" was published in 1954, the year that I turned 17, and I read it not long after. I was in the habit then (as I still am today) of finding, in each book I read ...
Lord Of The Flies by William Golding
The Lord of the Flies - It's the name given to the sow's head that Jack's gang transfixes on spear as an offering to the "beast.". The Lord of the Flies comes to symbolize the primeval instincts of power and barbaric nature that take control of Jack's tribe. Littluns- The littlest boys, around ages six and up.
LORD OF THE FLIES
A fantasy is a singular - and singularly - believable spellbinder, and within the framework of its premises achieves a tremendous impetus and impact. During an atomic war, a group of boys aged from about six to twelve crash-land on an uninhabited tropical island. There Ralph, a responsible boy, is chosen chief and a certain routine established; a fire is made and to be kept going as a signal ...
Review: Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Flies William Golding Penguin Books Published December 16, 2003 (Originally Published 1954) Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads About Lord of the Flies. At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys.
Book Review
WILLIAM GOLDING. The Man Who Wrote "Lord of the Flies": A Life. By John Carey. Illustrated. 573 pp. Free Press. $32.50. William Boyd's most recent novel, "Ordinary Thunderstorms," was ...
Review: Lord of the Flies
Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is a dystopian novel by nobel-prize winning English author William Golding, about a group of boys stuck on an uninhabited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. When it was first published, Golding's debut novel suffered from poor sales but when re-released in the 1960s it went on to ...
A Summary and Analysis of William Golding's Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies: plot summary. The novel begins with a plane carrying a group of British schoolboys being shot down; the boys land on a desert island. Two of them, Ralph and Piggy, find a conch shell on the beach, and they use it to signal to the rest of the schoolboys, who then start to form their own 'society', with a leader elected among them.
The Guardian
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Lord of the Flies Review: Golding's Inner Savage
3.4. Lord of the Flies Review. 'Lord of the Flies' is an interesting novel, despite the fact that in today's world it may be considered problematic. In some areas, the dialogue appears forced and stilted. The plot may feel stilted at some points but, most of the descriptions are wonderful. Pros.
Book review
Golding's book is one of those and is widely considered to be one of the all-time great novels. My lovely 1965 edition of Lord of the Flies is older than me and has a cover price of three shillings and sixpence! Lord of the Flies was Golding's first novel, published in 1954.
Lord of the Flies
His conversation with The Lord of the Flies (which is a rotting pig's head the boys have left as an offering to the Beast) is likened to the temptation Christ experienced during his fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). ... Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip ...
Lord of the Flies Themes and Analysis
Analysis of Key Moments in Lord of the Flies. There are many key moments in ' Lord of the Flies ' that highlight the boy's descent into savagery. Blowing the conch - this introduces us to the conch which acts as a symbol of society and civilization throughout the novel. It is both the device that brings the children together and in ...
The 1955 New York Times Book Review of Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is one of those books I will always love. What starts out as an adventure story of school boys stranded on an island turns into a full fledged gang war. The book is disturbing, generally we don't expect such behavior from kids. but the author has precisely depicted human nature. It's in our Blood.
Lord of the Flies Book Review
Lord of the Flies Book Review. Nobel Prize winner William Golding's classic "Lord of the Flies" explores and exposes the darkest parts of human nature, and the childhood desire of independence. Shield your eyes if you must, as insanity and gore take hold. When a group of British boys crash land on a desert island, their first reaction is "Yeah!
Lord of the Flies: A Critical History
The History of Lord of the Flies. Ten years after the release of Lord of the Flies, James Baker published an article discussing why the book is more true to human nature than any other story about stranded men, such as Robinson Crusoe or Swiss Family Robinson (1812). He believes that Golding wrote his book as a parody of Ballantyne's The Coral Island (1858).
Lord of the Flies
47677622. Lord of the Flies is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. The novel's themes include morality, leadership, and the tension between civility and chaos.
Lord of the Flies Book Review: A Short But Punchy Classic
Lord of the Flies Book Review. Lord of the Flies is a book that had been on my TBR (to-be-read pile) forever. I first read this in my mid-twenties and wish I had studied this at school, which is where most readers encounter this. It's all about a group of schoolboys who become stranded on a desert island. But don't let the young ensemble ...
Lord of the Flies: Lord of the Flies Book Summary & Study Guide
Book Summary. Lord of the Flies explores the dark side of humanity, the savagery that underlies even the most civilized human beings. William Golding intended this novel as a tragic parody of children's adventure tales, illustrating humankind's intrinsic evil nature. He presents the reader with a chronology of events leading a group of young ...
Lord of the Flies Plot Summary
By William Golding. 'Lord of the Flies' is an adventure novel with a dystopian and allegorical twist that follows a group of stranded boys on an island. P.G.C.E degree. Taking its cues from the likes of ' Coral Island ,' the book details the actions of a group of boys stranded on an island with no adults and without the constraints of society.
‎Lord of the Flies by William Golding on Apple Books
More Books by William Golding Lord of the Flies. 1959 Lord of the Flies. 2016 The Inheritors. 2012 El señor de las moscas. 2013 Rites of Passage. 2013 The Spire. 2013 More ways to shop: Find an Apple Store or other retailer near you. Or call 1-800-MY-APPLE. Choose your country or region.
Terrible Reviews of Great Books: The Lord of the Flies
The book has 2,667 customer reviews on Amazon. The average rating was 4.0 stars. Unlike some of our other books, this one had a higher percentage of 1 star reviews at 8%. Let's take a look at a sampling of one star reviews (my comments in blue): NOTE: I did not edit for grammar or spelling. All reviews were copied exactly as posted on Amazon.
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One of House of the Dragon's major deviations from George R.R. Martin's book, the "death" of Laenor Velayron, now challenges an important dragon-riding tradition: the idea that dragons ...
How long would it take to read the greatest books of all time?
Critics have lost cultural clout. The number of newspapers with book-review sections has dwindled. These days, it seems, everyone has their own personal canon. ... Lord of the Flies William ...
The Real Story Behind Netflix's 'The Decameron'
The new adaptation of The Decameron is "like a medieval 'Love Island,' and it descends into Lord of the Flies chaos," says ... book of the same name. But as ... to the Public Domain Review ...
'House Of The Dragon' Season 2, Episode 6 Recap And Review ...
None of this is boring, but then I am a huge fan of the book Fire & Blood and a huge fan of the types of history books that George R.R. Martin was drawing from, such as The Plantagenets by Dan ...
Brazil records world's first Oropouche virus deaths
Brazil's health ministry says the country has recorded the world's first Oropouche virus deaths, with two women dying of the illness spread by infected flies and mosquitos.. The women from the ...
House of the Dragon: Who Rides Seasmoke After Laenor?
The Black Queen summons Lord Commander Ser Steffon Darklyn to a council meeting, where she giddily announces that he has Targaryen blood through his great-grandmother, Aeriana Targaryen. ... Seasmoke flies free and goes back to scouting Spicetown, which Rhaenyra remarks isn't unusual for the dragon. He had been previously spotted flying over ...
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In House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 7 "Driftmark," Rhaenyra concocts a rather insane plan to fake the murder of Laenor so he can move to exile with his lover, Ser Qarl Correy (Arty ...
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Thomas Jolly, artistic director of all four Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies, in Paris. "I don't have a model to work from," he said. "It's creation in the extreme."

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Review: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies William Golding Penguin Books Published December 16, 2003 (Originally Published 1954)

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Review: Lord of the Flies – William Golding

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A Summary and Analysis of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies

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