jacopoferrari

I can not but feel that mankind would be better off without this book and others of its kind. Golding did much that was right, crafting complex characters, a compelling setting and plot, but he failed when it came to the necessary contrast between good and evil. Any book of caliber must have this contrast. Great books will give us a hero with qualities we admire and strive to emulate, which qualities are then contrasted against evils. One source of contrast derives from other characters of less than noble ideals, another source is the evils and trials thrust upon our hero by the world, still more contrast is found within the confines of our hero's mind as he struggles with choices where his interest conflicts with his ideals. Most, if not all, great works will use a combination of these methods. Now, I fully admit that the Lord of the flies does have contrast, compelling contrast even, but it flops, quite miserably, because of the unbalanced nature of that contrast. In Lord of the Flies the good qualities we see in the characters exist solely to contrast the evil that crushes them. Golding places a few good characters in amongst the rest simply because he needs victims, upon whom to inflict his evils. If he did not have victims we (his readers) would be unable to fully comprehend the horror of his book. William Golding's book failed in contrast not because it was lacking, but because he forgot this one simple truth: The bad exists only to contrast the good. The Lord allows evil in his creation for the sole purpose of contrast. Without evil we could not appreciate the good, indeed we would be unable to work towards good because there would be no evil to work against. But it is imperative that we never forget that life exists so that we may find joy, and the joy is out there. A good book will show us men and women that flourish despite the evils surrounding them, and the trials assailing them. Such books inspire and strengthen us. The Lord of the Flies shows hate ruling unchallenged by love, and madness conquering reason. It is a book wholly dark and disturbing with nothing to lift it up. Such a combination in characteristics I cannot help but feel mankind would be better off not reading in their novels. Note: A gospel take on contrast can be found here: Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi, chapter 2, verses 11 - 16 (just read the whole chapter it is a good one)

2022-10-13 02:59