• sailor_redstar [she/her]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I may be a tankie, but I defended anarchism in school when we were forced to read this and the teacher was going on about how the theme is "anarchy bad".

      • RNAi [he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        What? Fucking no. The big message is "if you obey a narcissistic authoritarian sociopaths shit's gonna hit the fan" and it can be twisted a little to say "so, did you know kids that most world leaders are actually like the sicko kid?"

    • VYKNIGHT [none/use name]
      ·
      4 years ago

      In my school, we were taught that the author modeled the kids after the children that he has taught, and that he hated these fucking kids.

    • Evilsandwichman [none/use name]
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      the book was forcing some selfish view of humanity down our throats

      Ironically there was a real case of kids getting stranded on an island only to be rescued a year and a bit later, and you know what? They actually worked together and made it a rule that they would never drag out any hostilities, that they would resolve them and never take it any further.

      EDIT: You can still find the true story if you google 'real lord of the flies kids'

      • JuneFall [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        lord of the flies is hobbesian, randian garbage and by far the worst book I was forced to read. even when I was a kid I knew the book was forcing some selfish view of humanity down our throats. I hope it’s no longer required reading for kids now.

        https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

    • Circra [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Golding was a strange one alright. Got lucky with my teacher apparently cos they said from the outset that it's an allegory and isn't supposed to be read as real. She also pointed out and highlighted that it was Golding's religious beliefs in stuff like origonal sin that led him to basically believe the worst in people in their natural state. She also highlighted how it's also kinda demeaning primative tribal societies as pagan and brutal.

      Only other thing I know about Golding is that he had a breakdown as a young man, hooked up with some woman and they lived in a room at a retirement home his parents owned. Dunno why that stuck with me. Prob just the mental image.

    • RNAi [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      I really don't know what's the take away besides "eh things can get really shitty if there's a psycopath/sociopath in the room or worse leading shit". I enjoyed it cuz it was weird and totally different from what they have made us read so far

    • TimeCubeEvangelist [none/use name]
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      even when I was a kid I knew the book was forcing some selfish view of humanity down our throats

      haha you should have gone Lord of the Flies on your PMC teacher

      :RedGuard:

    • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      It was more anti-Utopian, a response to the Coral Island which was about three boys stranded on an island who create a paradise.

      the book was forcing some selfish view of humanity down our throats

      I mean... humans are selfish. You don't need a book to tell you that. And any Saudi Prince or Guaidoian Liberal can demonstrate how it isn't just the English.

      I think Brits and Americans focus entirely too heavily on dystopia. But I can't blame them, given the state of their respective nations.