Lord of the Flies

Lost is one TV series that has been catching the attention of viewers worldwide. There is nothing new about a bunch of airplane crash survivors on an island with its perils. But it is the characterisation that works for the series. However this post is not about the series...

This series reminded me of a book I had to learn during my 9th or 10th class by William Golding called 'The Lord of the Flies'. I dont know if it is the way the book was written or the way my English teacher took us through the book...

The book talks about a bunch of kids stuck on an island in a similar fashion. Even amongst the kids, we have the natural leader who institutes governance and a semblance of civil society and then we have the rebel group who is against anything that is governed. As a result, we have some gruesome incidents where there are murders on the island all depicted by some gory imagery and this from a bunch of kids who are expected to be 'pure and innocent'.

Basically the point that the author was making was that, in the absence of a civil society, Man is not too far away from chaos and violence even if he is not exposed to it....

So therefore it really hits me when Lost has its bunch of adults who come from different backgrounds, prejudices and fears. All this would be a definite recipe for chaos. The series works because of the strength of the characters....the book works because of the strength of the message...