This week’s “Book of the Week” is Lord of the Flies by William Golding! Lord of the Flies is a dystopian novel about a group of young boys who get stranded on an island and have to survive. Most students read this book during their sophomore year in English class. This week, I talked to 10^th grade English teacher, Ms. Caine, and asked her a few questions about Lord of the Flies.

Harriton Banner: Why do you think Lord of the Flies is placed into Harriton’s 10^th grade English curriculum?

Ms. Caine: I think that it’s in the high school curriculum in general because it’s an engaging story and kids like the adventure story. There are also many themes that kids can connect with. I think that it is in the Harriton curriculum though because it plays off of books that we have already read, like 1984.

Harriton Banner: What do you think is the most important message to take out of this book?

 Ms. Caine: I think that the most important message to take out of the book is that as people, we can very easily show and carry out the worst part of ourselves. Often it’s very hard to fight that, but we can always redeem ourselves.

 Harriton Banner: What makes teaching Lord of the Flies enjoyable for you?

 Ms. Caine: I really enjoy seeing how kids find connections in the book. Students have more confidence in analyzing literature because they feel comfortable in doing that in Lord of the Flies.

Harriton Banner: Why would you recommend others to read this book?

 Ms. Caine: I think that there are many cultural references to it, so if you’ve read it you have a really good understanding of what the implication is. It is just one of those books that people still talk about as adults. It’s a fun adventure story, but also the fact that it explores the darker side of human nature makes it worth it.