Lord of the flies Movie and Book comparisons “Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become. ” Linking the movie and novel of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” there are many apparent differences. Despite the common plot, Hook failed to give the viewers the right idea of what Golding was trying to convey. Likewise, it is not only a change with the actual story line but also with some of the ways the characters acted. The 3 major differences that were seen are the shattering of the conch, the pilot’s presence, and Ralph’s attitude towards Piggy.
Due to these major differences the novel left a greater impact on its readers than the movie on its viewers. The first major alteration that the movie had done that was different from the book was that the pilot was present. He was considered the adult on the island, however Golding was trying to show that there were no adults and that they were all alone. Furthermore the pilot who ran away from the camp and hid in the cave was found to be the beast or “monster”. In the book version the beast was a dead parachuter.
Most likely the director changed this sense in the movie compared to the book because possibly he wanted to show the chaos that the boys had on the island. The pilot that was under their supervision had run away and was later found dead by the boys. This showed and frightened the boys that their lack of responsibility and order that was very much needed or they would not survive. The second major difference between the novel and the book was the way Ralph acted towards Piggy. In the novel, Ralph and Piggy had not known in each other whereas in the movie they seemed to have a relationship from the start.
In Golding’s novel, Piggy began trusting Ralph and revealed some of his secrets such as how his name Piggy was discovered. Ralph used the information he learned about piggy to make fun of Piggy whenever the chance was possible. Ralph assumed that by making fun of Piggy it’s attract the boys, and he would become popular. Furthermore, by being verbally abusive, this was something he had in common with Jack and this helped him gain superiority. In contrast t o the novel, Ralph would constantly support piggy, and stick up for him when he was being bullied.
Lastly, the conch represented civilization and initially helped bring peace among the boys. The conch as well brought order to the island. In both the novel and the movie the boys had started off with both order and civilization but ended off losing all sense of society. When the conch had shattered in the book it had showed had civilization was completely destroyed but, when it did not break in the movie it did not represent anything of order or civilization, it looked like a shell that was just there.
It did not have the same symbolic representation like it did in the book. The 3 major differences that were seen are the shattering of the conch, the pilot’s presence, and Ralph’s attitude towards Piggy. Due to these major differences the novel left a greater impact on its readers than the movie on its viewers. Seeing the movie and as well reading the book, personally the book was a better. The book has a very different approach of that showed these 3 major differences to their full extent. Out of the two though, I would choose the book as more pleasant and unforgettable.
