Why Lord of the Flies had people buzzing for the wrong reason.

Lord of the Flies written by Sir William Golding is rich in themes and other material that is studied in many schools and other academic institutions. But some of these themes have caused parents and other groups to want the books removed.

The reasoning behind schools challenging and some even banning the book from library shelves all together have been different for each school. The American Library Association has listed the some of these reasons including that some schools think the book is "demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal." Some schools banned or removed the book due to it's violence and course language. Other places have banned the book due to the use of the word nigger and other derogatory terms towards African Americans, God, Women and the disabled.

On the other hand other organisations and reviewers have praised the author and his books including receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983, In response to some of the reasons the book has been banned, Jen the author of the blog Devourer of Books says, 'Lord of the flies is violent... but, in my opinion this is not handled in a gratuitous way... This is a novel about the dangers of what we can become if we completely ignore the rules of society and civilization.  Whether you agree with Golding’s assessments of human nature or not, it is sure a good conversation starter.  We read this freshman year in high school and I would not consider it too violent and graphic for us, primarily because it isn’t just trash, it is literature, and we discussed it as literature, working through some of the difficult issues in the book with our teacher and as a class'.

In conclusion like with other books on the list I have discussed Lord of the Flies is another book that really is no worse than other books out there, while it may be more violent and dark than some other books on the list really if parents don't want their children reading it then its up to them they shouldn't dictate what other children can and cannot read.

REFERENCES

Devourer of Books 2008, Banned books week spotlight - Lord of the flies, Devourer of Books, viewed  31 March 2011.
http://www.devourerofbooks.com/2008/10/banned-books-week-spotlight-lord-of-the-flies/

American Library Association 2011, Banned and/or challenged books from the Radcliff Publishing Course, top 100 novels of the 20th century, American Library Association, viewed 13th April 2011
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned/index.cfm