Editing Lord of the Flies (section)

== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
Its first print run of 3,000 copies was slow to sell, but ''Lord of the Flies'' went on to become very popular, with more than ten million copies sold as of 2015.<ref name="Guardian LOTF" /> [[E. M. Forster]] chose ''Lord of the Flies'' as his "outstanding novel of the year". It was described in one review as "not only a first-rate adventure but a parable of our times".<ref name="Guardian LOTF" /> In February 1960, [[Floyd C. Gale]] of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'' rated ''Lord of the Flies'' five stars out of five, stating, "Golding paints a truly terrifying picture of the decay of a minuscule society... Well on its way to becoming a modern classic".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gale |first=Floyd C. |date=February 1960 |title=Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf |url=https://archive.org/stream/GalaxyV18n03196002AkFhd/Galaxy%20v18n03%20%281960-02%29%20ak%20fhd#page/n163/mode/2up |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction |pages=164–168}}</ref> 

[[Marc D. Hauser]] called ''Lord of the Flies'' "riveting" and said that it "should be standard reading in biology, economics, psychology, and philosophy".<ref>[[Marc D. Hauser]] (2006). ''Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong''. page 252.</ref>

{{Quote box|width=29%|align=right|quote=''Lord of the Flies'' presents a view of humanity unimaginable before the horrors of Nazi Europe, and then plunges into speculations about mankind in the [[state of nature]]. Bleak and specific, but universal, fusing rage and grief, ''Lord of the Flies'' is both a novel of the 1950s, and for all time.|source=—[[Robert McCrum]], ''The Guardian''.<ref name="Guardian LOTF" />}}

''Lord of the Flies'' was included on the [[American Library Association]] list of the 100 most frequently [[Book censorship in the United States|challenged]] books of 1990–1999, for its controversial stance on [[human nature]] and individual welfare versus the [[common good]].<ref name="ala" /> 

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]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Ray |date=2021-05-24 |title=How The Lord of the Flies is a Myth and a False Representation of Humanity |url=https://raywilliams.ca/lord-flies-myth-false-representation-humanity/ |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Ray Williams |language=en}}</ref> 

''Lord of the Flies'' has been contrasted with the historical [[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 more than 15 months, but they "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" according to reports. When the Tongan boys were found by a ship captain, [[Peter Warner]], they were in good health and spirits and had developed an orderly adaptation to their stranding. When writing about the Tongan event, the Dutch historian, [[Rutger Bregman]], said that comparing the incident to Golding's fictional portrayal made him consider the ''Lord of the Flies'' as unrealistic.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bregman|first=Rutger|date=2020-05-09|title=The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months|access-date=2020-05-09|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=9 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509171546/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a 2025 ''[[PopMatters]]'' reappraisal, cultural critic Charles Switzer stated, "That’s why ''Lord of the Flies'' still resonates. In an age when young people face constant pressure to conform, perform, and pick sides — whether online or in real-world social hierarchies — the breakdown on Golding’s Island feels painfully familiar. The fear of being cast out, the seduction of belonging at any cost, the ease with which violence becomes a form of power — these aren’t relics of colonial history. They’re part of the emotional architecture that today’s young people still must navigate."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Switzer |first=Charles |date=5 May 2025 |title=Lord of the Flies 2025 or: How the Empire Struck Inward |url=https://www.popmatters.com/lord-of-the-flies-2025 |access-date=16 May 2025 |website=PopMatters}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kyrie O'Connor|url=http://blog.chron.com/memo/2011/02/top-100-novels-let-the-fighting-begin/|title=Top 100 Novels: Let the Fighting Begin|publisher=Houston Chronicle|date=Feb 1, 2011|access-date=12 December 2019|archive-date=30 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730002806/http://blog.chron.com/memo/2011/02/top-100-novels-let-the-fighting-begin/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2003, ''Lord of the Flies'' was listed at number 70 on the [[BBC]] survey, [[The Big Read]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100_2.shtml |title=The Big Read – Top 100 Books |date=April 2003 |access-date=18 October 2012 |work=[[BBC]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028135830/http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100_2.shtml |archive-date=28 October 2012}}</ref> and in 2005, it was chosen by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine as one of the 100 best [[English-language]] novels since 1923.<ref name="time" /> ''Time'' also included the novel in its list of the 100 Best Young-Adult Books of All Time.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=100 Best Young-Adult Books |url=https://time.com/collection/100-best-ya-books/ |access-date=11 December 2019 |magazine=Time |archive-date=22 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122090732/https://time.com/100-best-young-adult-books/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

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]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=George Orwell's Animal Farm tops list of the nation's favourite books from school |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/george-orwells-animal-farm-tops-list-of-the-nations-favourite-books-from-school-a6994351.html |access-date=11 December 2019 |work=The Independent |archive-date=11 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211201248/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/george-orwells-animal-farm-tops-list-of-the-nations-favourite-books-from-school-a6994351.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, [[BBC News]] included ''Lord of the Flies'' on its list of the [[BBC list of 100 "most inspiring" novels|100 most inspiring novels]].<ref name="Bbc2019-11-05" />