Lord of the Flies by William Golding

So, your child is reading "Lord of the Flies" in class and you're wondering what might be in it.  Hopefully I can shed some light, considering I've taught this book on two separate occasions to two separate classes - both of which were in middle school. 

"Lord of the Flies" by William Golding follows the story of a group of boys who are stranded on an island.  The boys must find a way to work together if they ever hope to survive, but as time wears on, the stamp of civilization starts to fade and the boys find themselves fighting their darker instincts. 

I'm going to try to keep this as unbiased as possible because this is, quite frankly, my second favorite book to teach. (The first is "Animal Farm.")  I have seen students connect with the characters, understand the darkness that lies in humanity's heart and be truly changed by this novel.  But I also heavily believe that it is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that the students are understanding this in an empathetic way.

What I liked about this book:

• Everything.
• The educational value in the novel is priceless.
• The characters are varied and three-dimensional.
• The ability to teach multiple levels of figurative language, from the basics learned in middle school to the more advanced in high school.

What I would warn parents about this book:

• It's violent and the boys commit atrocities that they would never commit in the "real" world.
• The boys get naked when they take a bath.  There's no girls on the island, but it does mention that they're naked - no details, though. 

Overall, I think the success of "Lord of the Flies" as a novel and as a staple in middle and high school curriculum shows just how important of a novel it is.  William Golding's ultimate theme is that there is a darkness in all of humanity's heart that is inescapable but can be tamed.  That theme makes for a great debate, a great essay or more.  Both classes I taught this to took away valuable lessons.