Lord of the Flies; Pincher Martin; Rites of Passage

by William Golding

Three novels by William Golding in one Lord of the Flies Pincher Martin Rites of Passage

517 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1984

About the author

Sir William Gerald Golding was an Engish novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel Lord of the Flies (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980, he was awarded the Booker Prize for Rites of Passage, the first novel in what became his sea trilogy, To the Ends of the Earth. He was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Literature.

As a result of his contributions to literature, Golding was knighted in 1988. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2008, The Times ranked Golding third on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

Reviews

[Naveen Leon-Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello, I am Naveen Leon-Kelly speaking for the New York Times, and I will be interviewing Piggy whose story is told in Lord of the Flies By William Golding. Piggie is a 12-year-old English child stranded on an island after a plane crash. He and many different children around his age had no choice but to adapt to their new environment.

N: Piggy, how would you describe yourself?

P: I am thoughtful and intelligent, and I would like to be heroic and strong. Unfortunately, the reality is that because I am not in good shape, have asthma, and need specs, I am at a disadvantage compared to the other boys on the island.

N: How do you feel about how the boys treat you?

P: I do not like how the other boys treat me. Although Ralph and I have the same views, I get ridiculed because of the way I look.

N: Why are you loyal to Ralph?

P: First of all, Ralph and I have the same views on what we should have done as soon as we got to the island. We both are rational thinkers while everyone else thinks with their stomachs. Along with that, Ralph is the only boy on the island that is decent to me.

N: Who do you feel is the worst boy on the island?

P: Jack is the worst boy on the island. Not only does Jack have more complete views than me, but he is also violent. Jack also picks on me the most. He always looks at me with a strange look in his eyes as if wanted me GONE.

N: How do you feel about the island?

P: To be honest, the island frightened me from the beginning. I tried to work through the fear, and even enjoyed not having any rules. Quickly, though, I realized that things were going to be difficult for me because the island is a place where I have to fend for myself and try to survive. Food, in particular, is hard to get my hands on because I am not a hunter. I feel like the island is not a good place for me.

N: What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

P: My greatest strength is my brain. I am intelligent, and I know right from wrong. I knew from the beginning that something was wrong with the hunters’ ideas. I knew that their approach was wrong. My greatest weakness is that I don’t speak up for myself enough. Anytime I try to speak up I get shut down, and I give up. The other boys would probably respect me more if I was more forceful.

N: Why are you called Piggy?

P: I have been called Piggy almost all my life because I am short and fat. Now on the island, I feel that the other boys call me Piggy because they see me as less than a human. They see me like a pig. I am no different than one of the pigs on the island to them.


N: What is something on the island that you want to change?

P: I want to change the idea of majority rules. On the island, most of the boys have sided with the hunters. As a result, Ralph and my ideas get completely shut down. Nothing we say matters and there is no room for discussion even when we are holding the conch which is supposed to be a means of communication.

N: What would be the one thing you change about yourself?

P: The one thing that I would change about myself is that I would lose weight and work to be physically stronger. Unfortunately, because of my weight and poor health, I am weak and at a disadvantage compared to the other boys on the island.

N: What is the one thing you learned?

P: I have learned that not everyone is inherently good. I have seen this through the words and actions of some of the other boys on the island, especially when they disagreed with me or my ideas. I have suffered from their hostility, and I have seen how the hunters kill more pigs than they need to. They kill more pigs than they can eat and seem to enjoy the hunt more than they enjoy eating. This makes me fear that deep down humans are just animals in costumes…


Thank you so much piggy for this insightful interview, you heard up any questions me and the viewers had. Thank you so much for letting us get a view of how being stranded must have been for you. Lord of the flies was such an amazing book and you really showed me how you felt during your experience. Have a good day and again thank you for your time.

[Vasilis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The volume contains three novels that differ considerably stylistically from one another. In a sense, they showcase William Golding's writing prowess and his ability to be particularly versatile as an author. The first novel is the famous "Lord of the Flies". I found it sober and fast-paced. The juxtaposition between the ideal tropical island and the evils of human nature was very successful. The second novel is "Pincher Martin". This is a static, difficult novel, written in a cryptic language at times. However, I am a sucker for an existentialist novel, so I particularly enjoyed this. The third novel is the "Rites of Passage". Golding won the Book Prize for it. Interestingly, I enjoyed this the least, since its pompous language in imitation of a 19th century aristocrat's writing was a bit too much for me. However, this book, as well, confirmed Golding's stylistic versatility and the ability to make use of different writing stratagems to achieve his goals.

All in all, I was left satisfied with the book, especially if one considers the fact that I picked it up from a second hand shop sometime ago for just two pounds. For that meagre sum, it offered me excellent company for a week or so.

[KimmGr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up in a secondhand shop: three novels for three quid. I re-read Lord of the Flies after decades, and found it terrifying! I had forgotten the level of violence in it, and marvelled that we give this novel to schoolchildren. And then for the first time I went on to the other Golding novels - I'll add a note about those on the relevant pages.

I went on to read more about the man himself. His five years of wartime service in the Navy traumatised him in some way, it seems, and the sea features in all three stories. He suffered from nightmares for many years - I hope one day his dream journal will be published. Although each book is approached in a highly original way, each is a nightmare brought to life. The first and the third of these show what a mob can do to an individual, as does The Spire, which I've read since.

[Eduardo Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

U

[Grada (BoekenTrol)]

Lord of the Flies and Rites of Passage are on the 1001-list

[Jenna Bartow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reread!