"Lord of the Flies". William Golding

William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Cornwall, England. Although he tried to write a novel as early as age twelve, his parents urged him to study the natural sciences. Golding followed his parents’ wishes until his second year at Oxford, when he changed his focus to English literature.

 

The novel I want to discuss is written by this outstanding writer. Now it remains one of the most important contributions to English literature made this century.

I'd like to say, that I was impressed by the book. The essential plot is quite interesting and exciting. Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a tropical island after their plane is shot down during a war. Though the novel is fictional, its exploration of the idea of human evil is at least partly based on Golding’s experience with the real-life violence and brutality of World War II. Free from the rules and structures of civilization and society, the boys on the island in Lord of the Flies descend into savagery. As the boys splinter into factions, some behave peacefully and work together to maintain order and achieve common goals, while others rebel and seek only anarchy and violence. In his portrayal of the small world of the island, Golding paints a broader portrait of the fundamental human struggle between the civilizing instinct—the impulse to obey rules, behave morally, and act lawfully—and the savage instinct—the impulse to seek brute power over others, act selfishly, scorn moral rules, and indulge in violence.

 

In fact, the novel is written in the form of the fable (A fable is a tale that tells one story through another. The characters exist on two levels: as individuals and as types). Golding employs a relatively straightforward writing style in Lord of the Flies, one that avoids highly poetic language, lengthy description, and philosophical interludes. Much of the novel is allegorical, meaning that the characters and objects in the novel are infused with symbolic significance that conveys the novel’s central themes and ideas. In portraying the various ways in which the boys on the island adapt to their new surroundings and react to their new freedom, Golding explores the broad spectrum of ways in which humans respond to stress, change, and tension.

 

To my mind, The central concern of "Lord of the Flies" is the conflict between two competing impulses that exist within all human beings: the instinct to live by rules, act peacefully, follow moral commands, and value the good of the group against the instinct to gratify one’s immediate desires, act violently to obtain supremacy over others, and enforce one’s will. This conflict might be expressed in a number of ways: civilization vs. savagery, order vs. chaos, reason vs. impulse, law vs. anarchy, or the broader heading of good vs. evil. Throughout the novel, Golding associates the instinct of civilization with good and the instinct of savagery with evil.

 

All in all, I should say, that "Lord of Flies" is not for every taste. There are some moments which have chocked me a lot... And I should confess, the novel is one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. Using a group of innocent schoolboys stranded on an island, the author very realistically portrays human behavior in an environment where civilization no longer has meaning. But I'd like to add, "Lord of the Flies" has something interesting and unusual which makes you to read it till the end and reread repeatedly.           

 

"Animal Farm". George Orwell

Do you know that George Orwell was just a pen name of Eric Blair? He is a British political novelist and essayist whose pointed criticisms of political oppression propelled him into prominence toward the middle of the XX century. In fact, his the most famous work is "Animal Farm", written in 1944.

 

Animal Farm, without a doubt, is most famous in the West as a stinging critique of the history and rhetoric of the Russian Revolution. Retelling the story of the emergence and development of Soviet communism in the form of an animal fable, Animal Farm allegorizes the rise to power of the dictator Joseph Stalin.

 

The essential  plot of  "Animal Farm" deals with the story which describes the happenings on a farm, when the animals, angry about the way the human, Farmer Jones, runs the farm and treats the anima, stage a successful revolution. They rid themselves of Jones and his tame crow (which represent the Church) and establish an equal system of government, a republic organized along social lines. The revolution is organized by the pigs, the most intelligent animals on the farm. Gradually, the day of the glorious revolution is forgotten. The pigs begin to show sings of corruption and inequality. They become more and more like their masters had been. After the rebellion, the animals say that all the animals are equal. Later the animals create another  saying : " All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others".

 

What about my personal opinion, I don't like the book. I can't understand it. Most of our past generation remembers the time of Soviet Union as something good. My grandmother always tells me that those times were better than now. No doubts, I am sure there was some bad points such as exploration and so on, but there were more advantages! Thanks to the book, it has awoken in me a great sense of patriotism. I think Orwell didn't know the country very well.

 

However, in my opinion, all the teenagers should read it. Because the book shows all the stereotypes of the West about our country. Personally, I understand what a bad opinion the West has about the USSR.

"The Picture of Dorian Grey". Oscar Wilde.

Part gothic novel, part comedy of manners, part treatise on the relationship between art and morality, The Picture of Dorian Gray continues to present its readers with a puzzle to sort out.
The essential plot of the novel is a devastating story of an elegant young man corrupted by decadence and sin. He remains eternally young and beautiful, but his portrait reveals his true and hideous nature.

In my opinion there are three main heroes Lord Henry Wotton, Basil Hallward  and, surely, Dorian Grey.
At the opening of the novel, Dorian Gray exists as something of an ideal: he is the archetype of male youth and beauty. As such, he captures the imagination of Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton Dorian into an unremitting pleasure-seeker. Dorian is exceptionally vain and becomes convinced. The thought of waking one day without these attributes sends Dorian into a tailspin: he curses his fate and pledges his soul if only he could live without bearing the physical burdens of aging and sinning. He wishes that the portrait could age in his stead. As Dorian’s sins grow worse over the years, his likeness in Basil’s portrait grows more hideous. Dorian seems to lack a conscience, but the desire to repent that he eventually feels illustrates that he is indeed human. Despite the beautiful things with which he surrounds himself, he is unable to distract himself from the dissipation of his soul. His murder of Basil marks the beginning of his end: he cannot shake the thought that he has killed his friend.
Lord Henry is a man possessed of “wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories.” He is a charming talker, a famous wit, and a brilliant intellect. Given the seductive way in which he leads conversation, it is little wonder that Dorian falls under his spell so completely. Lord Henry’s theories are radical; they aim to shock and purposefully attempt to topple established, untested, or conventional notions of truth. In the end, however, they prove naive, and Lord Henry himself fails to realize the implications of most of what he says. Lord Henry is a relatively static character—he does not undergo a significant change in the course of the narrative. He is as coolly composed, unshakable, and possessed of the same dry wit in the final pages of the novel as he is upon his introduction.
Basil Hallward is a talented, though somewhat conventionally minded, painter. His love for Dorian Gray changes the way he sees art; indeed, it defines a new school of expression for him. Once he has painted Dorian as he truly is, however, he fears that he has put too much of himself into the work. He worries that his love, which he himself describes as “idolatry,” is too apparent, and that it betrays too much of himself. Though he later changes his mind to believe that art is always more abstract than one thinks and that the painting thus betrays nothing except form and color, his emotional investment in Dorian remains constant. He seeks to protect Dorian, voicing his objection to Lord Henry’s injurious influence over Dorian even after their relationship has clearly dissolved. Basil’s commitment to Dorian, which ultimately proves fatal, reveals the genuineness of his love for his favorite subject and his concern for the safety and salvation of Dorian’s soul.

I think the main theme of the novel is The main theme of The Picture of Dorian Gray is the relationship between beauty and morality. Oscar Wilde plays on the Renaissance idea of the correspondence between the physical and spiritual realms: beautiful people are moral people; ugly people are immoral people. His twist on this theme is in his use of the magical contrivance of the portrait.

To sum up, I should say, that the novel is not for everyone mind. I like books with something mystery. However, others claim that the novel is immoral.
 

"The Birhday of the Infanta". Oscar Wilde

The Birthday of the Infanta is one of Oscar Wilde’s fantastic and truly meaningful fairytales written for adults rather than for children.The author took inspiration from the famous Velasquez’s painting “Las Meninas”.

 

The short story is about a hunchbacked dwarf found by courtiers of King Philip IV of Spain in the woods and brought to palace for the amusement of the Infanta, on her twelfth birthday. Her birthday is the only time she is allowed to mingle with other children; she enjoys a lot the many festivities arranged to mark it, especially the dwarf's performance who,indeed, dances as he usually does in the woods, unawared of his audience's laughing at him. Amused, the Infanta asks for a second dwarf’s performance after dinner. The poor dwarf mistakenly believes the Infanta can love him since she had given him a white rose, so one day he tries to find her, passing through a garden where sundials and fishes ridicule him . Inside the palace, he searches through the rooms eventually stumbling upon a grotesque monster that is miming his movements. When he realizes that the monster is his own reflection, he understands that the Infanta does not love him at all .So he falls down kicking and screaming. The Infanta and the other children come upon him and thinking it to be another act of his funny performance, start laughing and applauding him, while the Dwarf’s heart is actually and dramatically stopping . The Infanta demands more entertainment but in vain: the poor Dwarf’s heart has stopped. 

 

To tell the truth, I was shocked how ugly may be soul of a young girl. The Infanta hasn't got compassion to others. She is indifferent to feelings of others, she just want to have fun. The Infanta is protective, cruel, violent and selfish. Everybody think that she can't be such an awful person, because of her beautiful and pretty face.

On the contrast, there is the character of Dwarf. Everybody disgusts him because of his ugliness. However, he doesn't understand it, because he is naive and ingenuous. When he is dancing on the birthday of the Infanta, he even doesn't understand that everybody laughs at him but not with him. The Dwart is very kind and romantic. I'm sure he is faithful friend. He loves nature and helps animals.

 

In my opinion, the main idea the author is trying to convey is that the appearance doesn't say about a good soul and kind heart. The themes of the tale, sure, are the human's soul, the relationship between

father and daughter and social dividing.

 

What about my attitude of the tale I don't really like it, because it is too dark and tragic for me. The fairy tale is not for children. You should be a grown-up to understand the conception of the story. But I should say that the fairy tale gives much food for thought. "Don't judge a book by its cover".

 

"Pigmalion". George Bernard Shaw.

George Bernard Shaw was an outstanding playwright. He is famous as a brilliant master of paradox. The paradoxical contradictions of idea in his plays have one motive - criticism of morals and mode of life.

"Pygmalion", a play by George Bernard Shaw, was written in 1912. It is the story of Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics, who makes a bet with his friend, Colonel Pickering, that he can transform a common flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into a "proper" lady. Higgins succeeds in teaching her how to speak with a proper upper-class accent. But in the end we understand that not only her speech has changed, her behavior has also changed, she becomes a true lady.

May be you know, that in Shaw's time, upper-class pronounced their words clearly. However, the working class in London spoke with strong Cockney accent and often used incorrect grammar, as well in "Pygmalion". Higgins believes that he can teach anyone to sound like a member of the English upper-class.

As I said earlier, Shaw is master of paradox. The paradox of the play is that a man from upper-class seems to be nobler, wise, polite and reasonable, however, Mr. Higgins is unpleasant man. He is unconventional man who goes in the opposite direction from the rest of society in most manners. He is indifferent to feelings of other people, selfish and rude.
In my opinion, besides Higgins another leading character is Eliza Doolittle. She is a poor girl from the streets who turns out to be a brilliant and beautiful lady. She is smart, independent and feisty. It should be said that a lot  of time Eliza functions as comic relief. After she has been taught grammar and manners, I realized that she is nobler and intelligent girl.

Anyway, the main idea the author is trying to convey is that even fostered, intelligent man from an upper-class can have morals worse than ill-mannered poor girl. I also found  another idea: nobody can play with lives of other persons.
The themes of the play are society divided; the position of a woman in bourgeois society. With "Pygmalion"  we learn that even the smallest changes in appearance can have a great effect on how a person or thing is perceived.

Speaking about my attitude about the play, the plot of the play is origin and interesting. The peculiarities of Eliza's speech and behavior arouse my sympathy. However, I do not like Henry Higgins at all, he has no morality. The book contains much food for thought and teaches us not to ignore feeling another people. I have read it with great interest and I advise everybody to read it.

 

"Jane Eyre". Charlotte Bronte.

The next book for my review is "Jane Eyre", written by a well-known writer Charlotte Bronte.

The novel was first published in 1847, under Charlotte's pen-name Currer Bell. It deals with contemporary issues and criticism. The main theme of "Jane Eyre" is the position of the women in bourgeois society.

The essential plot of the novel is original and complicated. It deals with the story of a girl who is orphaned at very young age. She suffered a lot during the time at Mrs. Reed's place and during the school time. Jane goes on to find employment and falls in love with his employment. The story episode by episode shows how Jane  Eyre is building up her relationships and is making her own way of life.
The setting helps us to realized the time and the place of the story. It takes place in early decades of XIX century. The novel is stretchered around five separate locations, all supposed in Northern England.

So, the protagonist of the novel, as you guessed, is Jane Eyre. She is intelligent, honest, plain-featured   young girl, forced to contend with oppression, inequality and hardship. Although she meets with a series of individuals who threaten her autonomy, Jane repeatedly succeeds at asserting herself and maintains her principles of justice, human dignity and morality. She also values intellectual and emotional fulfillment. Jane has strong belief in gender and social equality.

What about my attitude of "Jane Eyre", it is very well paced. The structure of the novel is amazingly coherent. In my opinion, Charlotte Bronte has a very lucid and precise style. She seems to paint pictures with words.  I advise everyone to read the novel. It broadens our mind and arouses a big interest. "Jane Eyre"  also has a deep main idea: if you have strong character, you will overcome all the difficulties and troubles of life.

"Oliver Twist". Charles Dickens.

Do you know anything about Charles Dickens?

He was born in the family of poor clerk at Portsmouth. When Charles was 9 his family moved to London. He had to earn his living at a blacking factory, as his family was put into a prison for debt. Quite unexpectedly a relative of the family left Mr. Dickens a legacy. So, his father's debts were paid off, and young Dickens was sent to school. When he was 24, he published his first book "Sketches by Boz" (Boz - the nickname of Charles's young brother and Charles's pen-name).
 Dickens saw the evils of the bourgeois society of his time and attacked them in his works. He wrote about the workhouses of England and the tragedy of poor children who had to live in them-"Oliver Twist". It is the novel I want to discuss.

The essential plot of "Oliver Twist" is fascinating, ironical and original. It deals with the adventures of an orphan, who faces a cruel world, but at the end he finds new friends and family. It is unfolded though the descriptions, dialogue of the personages. The narrations is interrupted by additions of the author.

The setting helps us realize the time and the place of the story: London and some villages nearby. The time is 1830s. London is repeatedly described as labyrinth or a maze-once you get into it, it is hard to get back out.

All the characters of the novel are divided into bad and good. The main evil character is, without doubt,  Fagin. He is characterized as a money pincher with no true affections. His main goals are exploit the people around him so he can improve his station and strengthen his power. Fagin himself represents the evils of greed and unholiness.
Oliver, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He represents all good in society. He abhors the thought of stealing, violence, mistreatment and though he is eager to please, he will not go against the morals instilled in him. Also Oliver is the author's mouthpiece.

Thus, I have read the novel with great pleasure. It shows us, that there is no evil people who can change nobler characters into cruelty. The story tells us that Good always overcome Evil in the end.