Lord of the Flies is no Adolescence |
There are certain works that have attained, through their inclusion in GCSE and A-level syllabuses, an enduring place in the vague memories of several generations of Britons. Of Mice and Men, An Inspector Calls and The Owl Service come to mind, as does Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, an excellent poem which has unfortunately become quite irritating due to its use by smart alecks trying to debunk patriotism.
The dynamics of schoolboy groups are captured beautifully: the bravado, the rapid changes of mood, the undercurrents of violence and the instinctive formation of hierarchies based on strength, competence and charisma
Then of course there is Lord of the Flies, William Golding’s disturbing allegorical exploration of the fragility and uncertainty of civilisation, first published in 1954. We remember Piggy and the conch, something about glasses and a monster, and possibly even the understated poignancy of the ending, when the stranded boys, who have descended into chaos and barbarism, are rescued by a British naval officer and almost immediately revert to their old personalities and hierarches in the presence of an authoritative adult.
All the more remarkable, then, that the BBC’s new four-part series based on the book is the first ever TV adaptation. Released in full yesterday, it is really........