[anasawad]

What do you think of William Golding saying after world war 2:

Before the second world war, i believed in the perfectibility of social man.But after the war, I did not. I had discovered what one man could do to anther...anyone who moved through those years without understanding that man produces evil as a bee produces honey, must have been blind or wrong in the head.

And what are your opinions on the book Lord of the Flies ?

[MB.]

Great book: Sir William Golding is a classic tory author who has some very valuable things to say about human nature, and the role of the state in controlling violence. I am also a big fan of his pre-historical book, the The Inheritors, written right after Lord of the Flies. Golding observed children on a daily basis during his job as a grade-school science teacher (until he changed to teaching English before the War) and he would write his books in his free-time after class. A master of allegory and pacing, Golding is hated by English socialists for his bleak portrayal of humanity without the state.

[Pgardner1947]

I agree. A great novel (as are The Spire, The Inheritors and Pincher Martin). I first read Lord of the Flies when I was at school. Perhaps it was the resultant hero-worship that led me to be struck by the resemblance between his photo on the back cover and photos I'd seen of a bust of Socrates. I understand that his experiences on D-Day were crucial to his opinion about the human potential for bad things (I don't like to use the word "evil").

[One Degree]

It has been a very long time since I read 'Lord of the flies', and I try not to think about what he had to say. I think he understood human nature perfectly, and I prefer to pretend otherwise.

Edit: Of course there is the theory if we all pretend long enough then the pretense becomes the new reality.

[Suntzu]

Seems to me an accurate portrayal of human nature.

[Pgardner1947]

Including the origins of religion.

[Silviarose]

When I was young, my dad made me read and summarise Lord of the Flies when I was 'sick' from school. At the time I was too young to really understand the deep character study of humanity, I was mostly just annoyed at being punished for skipping school! But now I realise it wasn't a punishment at all - having re-read it subsequently, I appreciate what a masterpiece it really is.

[colliric]

It's an interesting book, but not amoung the truly great works about the dark places of the human soul.

Conrad's Heart of Darkness and H.G. Wells War of the Worlds explore similar themes of the degeneration of human society better.