Lord of the Flies; Flawless or not

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding was written just after World War II. It is the classic story of a group of boys stranded on an island attempting to build a society. The Lord of the Flies has faced its share of criticism from many writers. One such writer, R.C. Townsend, criticizes Golding’s work in “The Lord of the Flies: Fool’s Gold”. Townsend argues that children should not be reading Golding’s work because his views on the defects of human nature are ludicrous. Also, he argues that Golding contradicts his main theme in the conclusion of novel. Despite Townsend’s criticism, Lord of the Flies should be a required reading because it expresses the opinions of many people who have lived through World War II.
One of Townsend’s main points was that The Lord of the Flies attempts to convert children to Golding’s way of thinking. He says about Golding, “he is…exploiting the thousands of students who are committed to the book” (2). Townsend truly ...