Hi everyone! No I’m not the “lord” of ROW updates, however, I am reviewing Lord of the Flies this week so thought I’d be clever. For a moment. Yeah. Overall I had a good week, but we’ll get to that in a minute. First…
Review of “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
Primal and visceral are the heart of Lord of the Flies. Take a group of mostly preteen boys and drop them on a deserted island and then watch a society evolve out of the chaos. Without the presence of an adult the boys at first act in the interest of survival but lack of knowledge and experience drive them in different directions, pitting intelligence against might. The two micro-societies that evolve, one desiring rescue and peace, the other following the cruel rules of survival-of-the-fittest come into heated conflict. In the end, the harsh conditions of life on the island and the boys superstition drive most of the boys to savage behavior culminating in several murders and climaxing in a page turning man hunt.
William Golding did a fantastic job in showing the various power structures that sift into adult society and by using boys (rather than adults or girls) he removed the strictures of civilization so that the fallacies of polite society would be exposed for the readers viewing. While I did see the movie version of this story years ago the book captures a depth that was compelling, frightening and spot on. Lord of the Flies is a gripping tale and if you haven’t read it already I’d highly recommend this book – just don’t read it alone at night on a deserted island – the beast may find you.
And now, this weeks ROW update…
-Write 7k of fiction a week. I continue to exceed this amount and have spent the week writing test scenes/chapters for my WWBC project in an attempt to find the key element I’ve been struggling with. This led to a change of the main character’s profession and a strong overview of the story world and what I want to do. I feel the story concept getting stronger and think I should have a handle on it soon.
-WWBC assignments in on time. Working on this as noted above. While it isn’t moving as fast as I’d like, progress is progress and I’m determined to succeed here.
-30 minutes of treadmill 6 days a week. I “only” was able to get 5 walks in this week but am still in good shape. I gave up a walk to go with my wife to see Leonardo Live featuring the Da Vinci exhibit at the National Gallery in London. Well worth the watch. I’ll be walking every day this coming week to make up for it and am still in excellent shape to meet the Marcia Richards challenge this round (48 walks in 60 days – 14 completed so far).
-Read one craft and three fiction books by March 21. The craft book is done as is the first fiction book (Lord of the Flies). I am making a slight change to this goal: two craft books and two fiction – which leaves me with one and one. I received a copy of Christopher Vogler’s “The Writer’s Journey” earlier in the week which is one I’ve wanted to read for months. I’m already close to 100 pages into it and loving every second. Vogler is a fantastic writer and mind with a depth of experience revolving around Joseph Campbell’s “Hero of a Thousand Faces” monomyth concept.
-Keep up sponsor duties. I visited 28 fantastic ROWer’s last week and plan as many stops between today and tomorrow. I know many Word Press users have found it difficult to post on Blogger sites. Here is a solution: I’ve found that using Name/URL rather than Open ID or Word Press ID works the best (never failed to post with this method). As a secondary, Google ID works well and the account is easy to set up if you already use G-mail. Since part of ROW is supporting each other I’d encourage all participants to make commenting as easy as possible without compromising your security.
That’s all for today. Carpe diem.
Peaceful Journeys!
Gene Lempp ~ Writer 
That’s one book I’ve always meant to read, but haven’t. Thanks for the review. You’re having another amazing quarter, ROWbro. Keep it going. ~clink~
Lord of the Flies was one of the ONLY books I was assigned in High School that I liked (Heart of Darkness is still a stain on my brain.) I still remember the power in the words. Thanks for reminding me!
I thought I was the only one, going back and reading the classics I missed as a kid…in the middle of The Invisible Man right now.
Kerry: Thanks, ROWbro, will do 🙂
Laura: For us it was the Outsiders, (and some other book I actually cannot remember which is probably a good thing), which I really enjoyed. Read the Invisible Man about 5 years ago along with War of the Worlds and Island of Dr. Moreau (love H.G. Wells). The classics are such for a reason 🙂
I remember vividly watching Lord of the Flies at school but can’t think if I have ever read it, will have to add it to the list! Great job all round and well done on the 5 walks.
Have a great week!
I remember Lord of the Flies from high school. A classic. I’ll be interested to read your review of the Vogler book – that will help me decide whether or not to get it.
Nice work on all your goals this week, Gene!
I too read Lord of the Flies in high school and loved it. I should definitely give it a re-read at some point. You’re doing fantastic hitting all your goals – great job! Anyone would forgive you for giving up a walk to spend time with your wife. Hope the exhibit was wonderful. Have a great week!
I admire your focus on all your goals, Gene. That’s what makes you successful every week. Loved Lord of the Flies in high school, but think I’ll reread it anyway and see how i view it as an adult. I look forward, also, to your review of Vogler’s book. Wishing you another great week ahead.
Lord of the Flies – definitely a favorite!
Congratulations on exceeding your writing goals – 7k alone is impressive. Keep up the awesomeness 🙂
I think that if you walked around the gallery, that should be included in the healthy activity department 😉 But that’s just me.
You’re a great role model Gene – a highlight to my week is stopping by your blog.
marie
Rocking the goals. 🙂 Well done.
I remember watching Lord of The Flies at school and being very disturbed by it. I don’t think I’ve actually read the book. I should do really.
Have a good week.
xxx
Sucks to your assmar, Gene! 😉
Awesome job with your writing goals! Very jealous of your 7k. Keep it up!
First of all WOO HOO. Thanks for posting that little note for Blogger users. I should have done that as well. Second, I read Lord of the Flies in high school and I remember being a little disturbed by it then, probably because I was about the same age as the children. My teacher pointed out A LOT of religious symbolism in the book that I would have never seen, but I guess that’s the job of an English class.
You amaze me with your word counts. Surely your first draft will be done by the end of this round at your pace. Great work with all your goals. ROCKIN the ROW. or do you prefer Lord of the Row? 🙂
You’re rocking the ROW! Even though you didn’t get those 6 walks, you got 5! That’s great!
Keep it up!
Have a great week!
Funny how most of us are social exercise people. We do better when we make goals together or exercise together. I just find that interesting because I fail at my exercise goals when doing it alone. And as always, I am amazed at how much you get done in a week Gene with everything you have going on. It sounds like you and your wife had a wonderful time together seeing Leonardo. Very cool. Well, I’m off to visit a couple of more ROWers. Have a great week Gene. 🙂
Gene, I read a lot of classics but this is one I haven’t tackled. I like action, sci-fi, thrillers but some that are so psychological give me night mares. Maybe one day I’ll gather the courage to read it.
Your review however is well done. If I were in the mood for this book your review would sell me on the idea.
I’ve often thought about reading Lord of the Flies, but for some reason always changed my mind. I wasn’t sure I would like it.
You are doing so well on your goals. You are an inspiration to the rest of us!
I’ve found the same thing about commenting on Blogger sites. However, there are a few that don’t have the Name/URL option. For that, I used Google, but even though I was signed into Google at the time, my name didn’t show up as a valid link, and the blogger had trouble finding out who I was because she wanted to find my blog. I don’t know if all people who have Blogger sites have the option to offer Name/URL or not, but I assume they do since most have it.
Fantastic week Gene – you are a machine. I love it!
I haven’t read Lord of the Flies since high school. I remember it as good yet disturbing so despite your review I don’t think I’ll be picking it up again soon. Great work with your goals! Best of luck for the upcoming week.
Em: Thanks and I hope you enjoy Lord of the Flies – you’ll learn a lot about why men need order 🙂
Kathy: I can already tell you about Vogler’s book – get it. Kristen, Piper and Donna all recommended this one to me and as I near the halfway point in it I can see why. Thanks for the support 🙂
Lauren: Leonardo was great, but, it was the movie version not an “in person” experience. The exhibit is in London and I’m in Illinois, all the same my lovely wife and I had a fantastic time and were the youngest people in the theater. When the lights didn’t come on at the end I led the others out with the light from my cell phone 😀
Marcia: I bet you’re adult side, especially your parent side, will have a much different view of Lord of the Flies then your teenager side did. Enjoy the read and try not to yell at the characters too much.
Marie: Wish I could count it but can’t, it was a movie (see my comment to Lauren above). Thanks for all your support my friend 🙂
Laura: I don’t blame you for not wanting to re-read it, the story, because it involves kids, it a bit beyond intense at points.
Jess: But I have the conch! Thanks for the support, Jess 🙂
Nicole: Thanks, I’ll stick with just being Gene, that is challenging enough most days. If you get a chance re-read Lord of the Flies as an adult, I bet you’ll pick out quite a bit more than you noticed the first time.
Juliana: Thanks – hope your move is going well!
Karen: It is definitely easier to exercise when you know you are accountable to someone. That said, there are plenty of people in ROW and #hotwriterbods (Marcia’s hashtag) that are happy to support making those exercise goals. Decide what you want to accomplish and find an accountability partner, it will make all the difference.
Lauralynn: I’d recommend the book for this reason, it shows the basis of human nature in the face of the unknown and is a greater “horror story” for that reason than any I’ve ever read. Not that it is a horror story, but it teaches principles that can easily be applied there – no demon, evil spirit or beastie required.
Natalie: Thanks!
Raelyn: Don’t blame you, it is an intense ride. Thanks for the support 🙂
Wow, amazing progress on your goals, Gene, especially given how ambitious those goals are! All these marketing goals I’m dealing with at the moment are kinda hard to quantify, which makes it a little frustrating. But even back in the day when all I was shooting for was word count, I was never able to get 7,000 words a week on a regular basis. Kudos!
Keep up the excellent work, Gene, and have a great week! 🙂
Lord of the Flies is one of my all time favorites! I must go back and re-read it…
Great job on your goals this past week! I am awed at your word count 🙂
Amazing as always! I will always be envious of your drive and word counts. Keep up the awesome work!
We read Lord of the Flies in the 8th grade and had to do live book reports/skits on it. What a tremendously disturbing book! I never forgot it, that’s for sure. “Of Human Bondage” by W. Somerset Maugham had a big impact on me too.
I’ve started Chris Vogler’s book several times and I need to finish it. I saw him give an all-day workshop on The Hero’s Journey that was just amazing. I wish it had been 3 days – he’s a wonderful teacher. 🙂
See how you got me so wrapped up in your amazing booklist that I forgot to say: Way to ROCK THE ROW, Gene!!!
Hi Gene. I have always enjoyed reading. As a child I often read my older sisters’ assigned reading when they were done with their books. A copy of this book drifted down through the academic ranks of my family but I never read it. From the reviews it sounded too much like my day at school.
The idea of using children in a story this way is a notion that I will file in my data bank thank you.
I loved most of the books I read in high school, but Lord of the Flies is one that really stuck with me, perhaps because Golding’s descriptions are, as you say, incredibly visceral. It’s definitely one that I’d like to revisit in the future.
You are doing a phenomenal job with your goals this week — I’m in awe of your consistency with working, and all the reading and writing you’ve done. Great job!
Wow! Sounds like you’re doing GREAT on your goals! Consistency has been my greatest goal this session. I haven’t always succeeded, but I think it’s key to satisfaction in not only reaching goals, but in balancing them with regular life. I think you’ve already learned that!
The amount of folks you are able to visit and encourage along with such a wonderful word count just blows me away. I wish that I could keep up all that. I only get close to 7,000 words when you include my blogging. You are amazing and I hope to figure out how balance my schedule so I can be more like you. Have a great day!