"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Thursday, February 24, 2011

I finally read it! Lord of the Flies

This week I finally read Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Now I "get it" why this book is a staple in America's high school English classes. I will no longer allow any boy to whine to me about having to read this book. It is way too exciting, too scary in it's truthful and enlightening prose about the nature of mankind.

Here are a few of the highlights for me from this reading experience.
  • A teacher referenced Lord of the Flies today and I knew what she was talking about. Ha!
  • I listened to the book on audiobook and the reader was Golding himself! He explained that he wrote the book about boys because he understands boys because he was one.  I also said that the crux of the story come when Ralph and Jack are discussing things and Jack says lets go hunt and have fun, why do we need rules anyway.  Ralph replies that rules are all they have. Watching what is happening in the world today with all of the uprisings and revolts, it sure seems that he was on to something.
  • One of my students found a connection between the Printz Honor book, Nothing by Janne Teller, and Lord of the Flies.  Now that she mentioned it I see what she means.
  • Though I've wanted to read the book for several years, I finally got to it because of the "Books I Should have Read in School...but Didn't" Challenge.  Here's a shout-out for all those challenges that get us outside our usual reading materials and force us to read books that have been on some vague list for years.
Now I am listening to A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Here's to classic literature.

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4 comments:

  1. Mrs. DeRapsFebruary 25, 2011 at 5:44 AM

    I love this classic...I've taught it several times, and each time it just gets better and better. I have used it with The Hunger Games and that combo works well together. Good for you for getting all of the LOTF references now that you've read it!

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  2. Helen's Book BlogFebruary 25, 2011 at 6:07 AM

    Lord of the Flies is one of the required English books that I actually agree with. I love the idea in the comment above about using it with Hunger Games! There is also a great Simpsons episode that is a take off on Lord of the Flies.

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  3. Teacher/LearnerFebruary 25, 2011 at 7:55 AM

    Way to go! I really liked this book, which I read in high school, and I think it still rings true for boys (and even girls). The part about rules being all we have is true, though we bend & sometimes break them to see how much we can get away with ;)

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  4. Roof Beam ReaderFebruary 25, 2011 at 9:08 AM

    YES! One of my favorites - so glad you finally got around to it. :)

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