XPost: alt.books.cs-lewis, rec.arts.books, rec.arts.books.childrens   
   XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: dthierbach@usenet.arcornews.de   
      
   Steve Hayes  wrote:   
   > On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 12:48:45 GMT, "Arindam Banerjee"    
   >>"Derek Broughton"  wrote in message   
   >>> Arindam Banerjee wrote:   
      
   [Lord of the *Flies*]   
      
   >>>> It was our Rapid Reader course book in English, in Std 8, St, Xavier's   
   >>>> School, Doranda, Ranchi, India in 1969.  A strange, wrong, book - well   
   >>>> written in parts.   
   >>>   
      
   >> My classmates found it ridiculous as a whole - looks like the   
   >> indoctrination of the concept of evil being inherent in humans did   
   >> not make any inroads into their young minds.   
      
   Considering that the prevalent idea some time ago was that children   
   are "naturally innocent", attributing "indoctrination" to Golding is   
   an ... hm, interesting ... idea :-)   
      
   And if you have the chance, try to watch some small children. They can   
   be very cruel once they discover that they can exercise power over   
   others. And this seems to work universally accross cultures, before   
   they have had chance to get indoctrinated a lot (in fact, it's usually   
   the adults who have to "indoctrinate" them to stop that behaviour.   
   But that doesn't seem to work in all cases, unfortunately). Golding   
   got this part quite correct, I'd say.   
      
   >> In my case, the parts I liked were those related to Simon, who   
   >> stood for research, and thus, when the wrong supernatural elements   
   >> in the book are deleted, found out that the reasons for our fears   
   >> are unfounded -   
      
   And it's the reaction of the other children to this idea that's the   
   interesting part. (And if you think of that reaction, maybe it sounds   
   now familiar, and you've seen it in other contexts? Maybe even   
   recently, when opening your newspaper? :-)   
      
   >> ... it is fear for its own sake that is the greatest   
   >> enemy, and indeed such was the cause of his death.   
      
   Hm. I'd say the cause was not so much fear for it's own sake, but the   
   strange effect that happens when individuals switch off their brain and   
   turn into a mob -- and in this way actually killing the very thing   
   (reason, here in the form of Simon) which could have lessened their   
   fear. Tragic, if it wasn't so stupid. Again, any similarities to the   
   "adult" world are of cause pure coincidence ... :-)   
      
   Do you still think the book is just "wrong"?   
      
   - Dirk   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)