Lord of the Flies was included on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–1999, for its controversial stance on human nature and individual welfare versus the common good.
The book has been criticised as cynical for portraying humanity as inherently selfish and violent. It has been linked with the essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin and with books by Ayn Rand and countered by “Management of the Commons” by Elinor Ostrom.
Lord of the Flies has been contrasted with the Tongan castaways incident from 1965, when a group of schoolboys on a fishing boat from Tonga were marooned on an uninhabited island and considered dead by their relatives.
The group not only managed to survive for over 15 months but “had set up a small commune with food garden, hollowed-out tree trunks to store rainwater, a gymnasium with curious weights, a badminton court, chicken pens and a permanent fire, all from handiwork, an old knife blade and much determination”. When ship captain Peter Warner found them, they were in good health and spirits. The Dutch historian, Rutger Bregman, writing about the Tonga event, called Golding’s portrayal unrealistic.
Awards
Lord of the Flies was awarded a place on both lists of Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 41 on the editor’s list and 25 on the reader’s list. In 2003, Lord of the Flies was listed at number 70 on the BBC’s survey The Big Read, and in 2005 it was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923. Time also included the novel in its list of the 100 Best Young-Adult Books of All Time.
Popular in schools, especially in the English-speaking world, a 2016 UK poll saw Lord of the Flies ranked third in the nation’s favourite books from school, behind George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
In 2019, BBC News included Lord of the Flies on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels.
In other media
Film
Three film adaptations were based on the book:
Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook
Alkitrang Dugo (1975), a Filipino film, directed by Lupita A. Concio
Lord of the Flies (1990), directed by Harry Hook
A fourth adaptation, to feature an all-female cast, was announced by Warner Bros. in August 2017. Subsequently abandoned, it inspired the 2021 television series Yellowjackets. Ladyworld, an all-female adaptation, was released in 2018.
Television
In April 2023, the BBC announced that the British production company Eleven Film would produce the first ever television adaptation of the novel, written by screenwriter Jack Thorne.
Stage
The book was first adapted for the stage and performed in 1984 at Clifton College Preparatory School. It was adapted by Elliot Watkins, a teacher at the school, with the consent of Golding, who attended the opening night.
Nigel Williams wrote his own adaptation of the text for the stage some ten years later. It was debuted by the Royal Shakespeare Company in July 1995. The Pilot Theatre Company toured it extensively in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
Kansas-based Orange Mouse Theatricals and Mathew Klickstein produced a topical, gender-bending adaptation called Ladies of the Fly that was co-written by a group of girls aged 8 to 16 based on the original text and their own lives. The production was performed by the girls as an immersive live-action show in August 2018.
Radio
In June 2013, BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast a dramatisation by Judith Adams in four 30-minute episodes directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. The cast included Ruth Wilson as narrator, Finn Bennett as Ralph, Richard Linnel as Jack, Caspar Hilton-Hilley as Piggy, and Jack Caine as Simon.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel based of the book, adapted and illustrated by Aimée de Jongh, was published on 12 September 2024 in 35 countries. The Dutch version of the book was sold out in a day.
Influence
Literature
Author Stephen King named his fictional town of Castle Rock after Jack’s mountain camp in Lord of the Flies. The book itself appears prominently in King’s novels Cujo (1981), Misery (1987) and Hearts in Atlantis (1999). His novel It was influenced by Golding’s novel: “I thought to myself I’d really like to write a story about what’s gained and what’s lost when you go from childhood to adulthood, and also, the things we experience in childhood that are like seeds that blossom later on.” In 2011, King wrote an introduction for a new edition of Lord of the Flies to mark the centenary of Golding’s birth. King’s town of Castle Rock inspired the name of Rob Reiner’s production company, Castle Rock Entertainment.
Alan Garner credits the book with making him want to become a writer.
Music
Iron Maiden wrote a song inspired by the book, included in their 1995 album The X Factor.
The Camerawalls include a song titled “Lord of the Flies” on their 2008 album Pocket Guide to the Otherworld.
