Comments for sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/the-truth-is-better-than-what-you-learned-in-english-class

Comment #3242

2020-11-20T22:00:32Z

I had started re-reading "Lord of the Flies" before your post and finished it today.

I do suppose reading the Bible is enough to get an understanding of the depravity in man, but for those who don't read it, Golding's book comes pretty close to an apology of original sin. It's unclear to me whether at the end the boys cry out of disappointment at themselves or disappointment at being rescued from their own war into that of the adults. Certainly Golding was deeply marked by the war and casting about for an explanation as to how that could have happened. When you're traumatized as a society, I suspect there's a need for plumbing the roots of that trauma as much as there's one for stories of healing.

I interspersed "Lord of the Flies" with "Coral Island," which is a lot more optimistic about British civilization and the salutary effects of missionaries. The difference, aside from the general tone, is one of maturity: Ballantyne's boys are a bit older and were hired as sailors on the ship that foundered on Coral Island. I can also easily see the Tongan boys relying on the values they received from their elders or other figures of authority, as well; Golding's chorister clique and the easily scared littluns make an early case for the problems of peer orientation.

Comment #3241

2020-06-24T11:51:03Z

That's true! Thanks for the reminder. If I hadn't in a misplaced fit of decluttering years ago let Porter sell my Heinlein books on eBay, I'd pick it up and reread it right now. That was back in the days when I still believed libraries were interested in being book repositories, and figured why have them take up shelf space at home when I could get them at any time from the library? I learned too late that most libraries are only interested in housing the most popular books, and any book without enough checkouts is discarded. So, books that are readily available at amazon.com I can find in the library, but those that are not (or are horrendously expensive) I cannot. Seems backwards to me.

I just checked: Tunnel in the Sky is not available at our library, nor Hoopla, nor Overdrive. I could buy it on Amazon—for a lot more money than my original copy sold for.

Live and learn. We still donate books to the library, but mostly with some grief, as I have to acknowledge that I may never see the book again. (And, as you know, I am a great re-reader.)

Comment #3240

2020-06-23T18:38:46Z

Another fictional story of stranded teenagers that isn't so negative is "Tunnel in the Sky" by Heinlein, which I'm sure you've read. (It was probably your copy that I read, actually.)