Why Lord of the Flies is still relevant today

Somewhere on your high school reading list, or maybe your upcoming summer reading list, William Golding's Lord of the Flies will probably appear.  Before you start groaning about it, I'm here to tell you that the book has earned it's place in the classic category and that the themes discussed are really relevant today.  Yes, the book was first published in 1954 so the world was in a completely different state then, but the story is one that nearly all young boys can imagine no matter when or where they lived.  Twelve middle school age boys become stranded on an uninhabited island.  With no adults and no rules, the book tells the story about their newly created "society" and their slow descent into chaos.  Ralph, the protagonist, sees early on that he must maintain order on the island or the boys will be destroyed by their own primal instincts.  Slowly but surely, some of the boys begin to succumb to their animal desires after one boy named Jack defects from the group.  While Jack and Ralph start out as similar as any two guys in a class, they quickly differ in how they perceive leadership (Jack rules with an iron fist and Ralph is more benevolent).  If you think about your grade, you can probably see characteristics that mimic these two - as well as many of the other - characters in the book.  Themes in the novel include order vs chaos, nature vs nurture and survival vs sacrifice.  There is a fine line that divides each of these, and Golding draws those lines with clear detail.  The most amazing thing about reading Lord of the Flies now is the recognition that if 12 boys were stranded on an island today, whether they had 1950's radios or iPads, spectacles or contact lenses, the twisted reality that would ensue might be exactly the same.   So my advice is - read this with an open mind.  Ignore what older students might tell you about the book, and listen to what some of your favorite current authors might be saying instead: 

"Lord of the Flies is one of my favorite books.  That was a big influence on me as a teenager, I still read it every couple of years." - Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games