Lord of the Flies, by William Goldman

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Another approach from original review on August 9, 2020

Lord of the Flies isn’t just a survival story—it’s a study of human nature stripped down to its essentials. William Golding uses the castaway boys to build a miniature society where each character mirrors a familiar impulse: Ralph’s instinct for order, Piggy’s reliance on logic, Jack’s hunger for domination, and Simon’s quiet moral clarity.

What struck me reading it again is how recognizable they feel. We see versions of these characters in workplaces, communities, families—and, sometimes, in ourselves. The book reminds us how fragile cooperation can be and how quickly fear or ambition can reshape a group.

Golding’s novel has endured because it isn’t really about an island. It’s about the fragile structures that hold us together and the inner forces that can either preserve or unravel them. A classic worth revisiting, especially if you’re interested in how human behavior shifts under pressure.