Reflections on a Banned Book: Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, serves as a social commentary and explores what could happen when society breaks down.  The book follows a group of school boys who end up on a deserted island as the result of a plane crash.  The boys vary in age from as young as 6 to about 13 years old.  At first, the older boys do their best to establish a society and to work together to meet the needs of the group and ultimately be rescued.  Over time, however, the structure breaks down and priorities shift.  The boys continue on a downward spiral of degradation that appears will only end in their destruction.

The book was challenged for a number of reasons, according to the American Library Association (link below).  In 1981, Lord of the Flies was challenged at Sully Buttes, SD High School and Owen, NC High School because it was considered to be "demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal." It was also challenged in 1984 at the Olney, TX Independent School District for "excessive violence and bad language and in Waterloo, IA schools in 1992 for profanity, lurid passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women and the disabled.  I agree that all of these elements are in the book, it is certainly not the lightest of reads, but Golding is exploring a dark subject.  As with many books that deal with difficult subjects, it is at times course and brash, but I feel it would not be the same book or carry the same weight without some objectionable content. 

If I were choosing an audience for Lord of the Flies, I would probably assign it to eighth grade and up.  I feel young adults that age would be able to handle the material presented in a mature way and the book could certainly prompt a lot of meaningful, worthwhile discussion about human nature, leadership, and mob mentality.  Since it appears that the book was generally challenged at the high school level, this is the average age of the students who were reading it.  I disagree with the assertions that this book should not be read by students.  The racist remarks are coming from a time period when similar remarks were, unfortunately, not uncommon, and their presence in the book provides historical commentary which teachers can use to guide a discussion about why these words should not be used.  Similarly, the remarks about women and people with disabilities are unacceptable, but are also representative of a different period in time.  In the book, humans are portrayed as little more than animals, which could be offensive but can also spark discussion about human nature and the good vs. evil archetype.  The violence present in the book may be difficult for some younger readers to handle, but demonstrates the danger of a mob mentality and going along with the crowd.  These are also important subjects to discuss with young adults who are navigating more new found independence.

While I do not want to give away the ending for the book, I will share that I was pleased with how it ended and I feel that the ending helped to redeem some of the darker elements of the book.

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics/reasons