Lord of the Flies HAS Relevance to Todays Modern AudienceLord of the Flies no more! was your headline (March 13). Really? Do you really think the modern day Australian audience can find no relevance at all, in a book like Lord of the Flies by William Golding? I strongly disagree.One point argued in the article was that the story was too far-fetched to be of relevance to the modern day Australian. The characters that are in the story remind you more of cavemen than of human beings. But if you understand what the book is trying to convey you would think otherwise. Many of the themes in this book- destruction, fear, death, authority and order, are still relevant today.In the book, Ralph symbolises democracy, and good leadership. Jack represents evil and fascism. Once Jack was in ...view middle of the document...
Golding conveyed that civilised "values" cant be automatically imposed when the environment is radically different. How often do western societies try to impose their values on others? Even in Australia, ever since the arrival of the first fleet and just recently, in the news there have been reports on how the Australian government are trying to impose their values on the Aboriginals. The Aboriginals have not been able to take these values on entirely as this is radically different to their traditional way of life.Lord of the Flies portrays how unthinkable human instincts can emerge under certain contexts. This is relevant to the modern Australian audience, as we find ourselves in conflict across the world.Another point the book argues is that people left to do whatever they want will destroy themselves. Is this not true in the western world? Teenagers allowed to wonder the streets at night, and go clubbing, are generally the ones who end up destroying their lives.Lord of the Flies shows that without balances and checks, the innate savagery in humans will prevail and there will be a natural tendency for bullies to gain the upper hand- how many times have we seen this is the modern age? It can be seen in our schools, workplace, governments, and internationally, especially in countries such as Bosnia and Zimbabwe.The book was born out of Golding's experience in World War II as part of the Royal Navy, and especially has great relevance in today's climate of war.On a lighter note, why else would there be television shows like Lost and Survivor if Lord of the Flies simply had no relevance whatsoever to a modern Australian audience?So please do not tell me that The Lord of the Flies bears no relevance to the modern day Australian audience.
