LOTF: Book vs. Movie(1990 version)

 Although much of the books action was captured in the film, it failed to perpetrate the allegory, character and plot development, as well the whole feel and mood of the book.

In the 1990 version of Lord Of The Flies, the conch was just the shell they used to call meetings, not a huge symbol of civilization and democracy as it was in the book. There was no connection whatsoever to what was happening in the outside world, no allegory towards Nazi Germany at all. Partially because Harry Hook decided that a group of disciplined English schoolboys could be easily replaced with a bunch of potty mouthed American Military Cadets who came as one huge group instead of a union of many small ones. There was no Lord Of The Flies scene in the movie which was in one sense the climax of the storyline. A connection to The Catholic Church and The Devil was completely absent in the film. Harry Hook just decided that the title of the book meant absolutely nothing and trashed that whole part of the storyline. Instead of a union of society then a segregation of it, it started with a brief period of union.

Many characters were bluntly nameless or just non-existent in the movie, Sam and Eric didn’t have names and it's like Harry Hook completely forgot about half of the boys and just decided to leave them out. Even the characters who were there were missing some of their fundamental attributes. Piggy's words filled with wisdom and logic are replaced with whining and crying. Ralph's bravery, remorse, and self blame was slightly captured in the movie. Yet, Ralph did have a few annoying attributes which were absent in the book, for one, he was a snotty American potty mouthed brat just like Jack. Jack was just... wow. Apart from the fact that both Ralph and Jack didn't look their parts Jack was by far the worst portrayed character. In the book, he was obviously evil but being evil doesn’t necessarily mean he was a complete and utter idiot as Harry Hook thought he quite clearly was. The amount of language which was spewing out of Jack's mouth was one worthy of much note.


The Island and the whole paradise feel of it was completely absent. With no halicunations the feel of the tribes men was pure evil. With no real beast in the story the whole point of the revolution was non-existent. Harry Hook failed miserably to capture the Lord Of The Flies into a book. If he had even got the mood right it would have been 20 times better, but quite frankly, he did not. It's an embarrassment to the book that even some of the most basic scenes were switched with all-new ones which weren't even part of the book in the first place. Also, the fact that they were suddently Americans in the time of the Cold War slaughtered the whole ironic feel and pretty much killed off any hope for the movie at the very start.


In conclusion, Harry Hook should have probably never titled it Lord Of The Flies. If he had called it something else and said it had been based very loosely off Lord Of The Flies then changed the characters names it would have passed as a perfectly normal movie and wouldn't be the brunt of shunning movie reviews who despise it. In fact, if he had named it anything different, very few people would have known it had much to do with Lord Of The Flies, because it was just that bad.

Lies, A Gone Novel:

Lies, by Micheal Grant

Publisher: Kathrine Tegen Books(imprint of Harper Collins Publishers)

Genre: Fantasy

Where I got it: I bought this book myself after reading the first two novels in the series, which were recommended to me by a friend.

One sentence summary: In the midst of a civil war between “normals” and “freaks”, the force that set up the FAYZ reveals itself and both sides are forced to unite under Sam once more to combat a greater evil.

First Sentence: Smashed Windows, Human Crew Tags, and their logos, warning freaks to get out.

First Chapter Review: The first chapter is really more of an introduction and reminder of the characters in the last two books. It is clearly shown the separation between the people who developed powers and those who remained normal, sprouting jealously and envy which turned into hate. Sam is in deep trouble and needs to prove himself as a leader and rally his own troops.

Verdict: Although not as action packed as the last books, the building suspense and tension makes this book one that you'll find yourself reading very late at night. It gets you hooked very early and is hard to put down. Like the rest of the series, a great book.

Cover comments: The cover shows Sam and Astrid standing apart from each other, symbolizing how they've both kind of broken apart because of Sam's ruthless campaign to get everything under control.

Lone Survivor

Marcus Luttrell is the "Lone Survivor" from Seal Team 10, he holds the memory of all his friends who died fighting along side him and trying to save his life. Being the "Lone Survivor" he has the hold all the weight of their deaths on his shoulders. He is the only one, he is the "Lone Survivor".

The memoir tells the story of Marcus Luttrell, and how his Navy SEAL training, Operation Redwing, and the death of his comrades changed his life forever. It is about how his determination, his will to live, and his faith in God and his country pushed him forward to survive against impossible odds. It speaks of how they were betrayed by the farmers they let live, soon a battle of four Navy SEALS vs over 150 Taliban insurgents began.

His vivid descriptions of the hardships he went through in training and in the fateful Operation make the reader feel like they are right there, in the heat of combat. Even things he only learned about later, like his rescue helicopter full of his closest friends being shot down he manages to capture his feelings about and get them down on text.

Although the book starts in New York, where Marcus is going on a tour around the country in an attempt to console his fallen team mates family members, it flashes back and then forward again. It goes backwards in time to the SEAL Training in Colorado, then to Operation RedWings, then back to his country-wide trip of the United States.

The book show's how Marcus was ultimately changed by these events in his life, how the training made him a stronger man both mentally and physically, how Red Wings turned his life upside down but strengthened his patriotism and determination to never give up. And how he feels that he can change the lives of the 16 families he visited over his state side tour.

Marcus Luttrell's "Lone Survivor" is by far the best military novel I have ever read, not only does it actively capture the intensity and the heat of the battle. He made you know and love every single one of the characters, and managed to portray how they fought to the death with extreme courage. Although he has very strong views against media, he never swings too far out to one side, making this story enjoyable for both liberals and conservatives alike, despite the disagreements over the war.
He makes it very clear that you can hate the war, hate all that it stands for, hate the president who started it, but he believes you have to pay respects to it's soldiers.


Lines we love:

"Any government that thinks war is somehow fair and subject to rules like a baseball game probably should not get into one. Because nothing’s fair in war, and occasionally the wrong people do get killed. " pg. 142

"You can’t negotiate with someone who is trying to cut your head off" pg 257