There's this debate about Lord of the Flies - did it include a specific criticism of the British Empire and the peculiarities of the public school system that trained the leaders of the Empire, or was it a broad commentary on human nature in general?
I think it's clear why the British Empire's champions and defenders would push for the latter interpretation. However, the final scene in which the boys are rescued by a British naval officer does seem to point towards the former.
If you dislike that particular source I linked to, note that this view is not uncommon, for example this commentary:
> "Prior to publishing Lord of the Flies, Golding taught at an exclusive all-male boarding school attached to Salisbury Cathedral. I read that he was often distressed by the savage behavior of some of the students. I've yet to find where he ever taught working-class students, so his teaching universe concentrated in the British upper-middle classes."
> "There is well-documented historical disregard for human life in the British aristocracy in their pursuit of riches abroad, e.g., the massacre of unarmed civilians in Amritsar, India; the Boer atrocities; the Opium Wars and two centuries of profiteering from slavery. (The Nazis had to come along to make the Brits look good.) It's not at all inconceivable that some of Golding's pupils were descended from those who committed crimes against humanity."
> "The book's title calls attention to the nobility. Was Golding pointing an oblique finger at the British aristocacy? He was certainly in a unique position to do so."
I think it's clear why the British Empire's champions and defenders would push for the latter interpretation. However, the final scene in which the boys are rescued by a British naval officer does seem to point towards the former.
If you dislike that particular source I linked to, note that this view is not uncommon, for example this commentary:
> "Prior to publishing Lord of the Flies, Golding taught at an exclusive all-male boarding school attached to Salisbury Cathedral. I read that he was often distressed by the savage behavior of some of the students. I've yet to find where he ever taught working-class students, so his teaching universe concentrated in the British upper-middle classes."
> "There is well-documented historical disregard for human life in the British aristocracy in their pursuit of riches abroad, e.g., the massacre of unarmed civilians in Amritsar, India; the Boer atrocities; the Opium Wars and two centuries of profiteering from slavery. (The Nazis had to come along to make the Brits look good.) It's not at all inconceivable that some of Golding's pupils were descended from those who committed crimes against humanity."
> "The book's title calls attention to the nobility. Was Golding pointing an oblique finger at the British aristocacy? He was certainly in a unique position to do so."
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1180391-is-lotf-a-criti...