Janie Slaven: THE TEACHER'S DESK: Nature of Man?

Mar. 15—It is that time of the year again. We are reading the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding in my English class. The story involves a group of schoolboys whose airplane is shot down and crash lands on a deserted island. The boys' culminating actions on the island reveal Golding's opinions and predictions of humanity. I've always wrestled with Golding's view.

The book was published in 1954 and has a bit of an anachronistic feel to it. However, it is actually written as if World War III is taking place. In the story, as the horror of war goes on in the civilized world, the boys on the island evolve into their own state of conflict. In many ways, Golding is saying war is inescapably a part of man's construct; conflict is almost a natural state of his existence, and when left to his own devices, he will eventually always return to that state.

The older I get, the more I can see Golding's point of view. A quick glance at online news reveals the following headlines even as I write this column:

A Gaza family uprooted by war and grieving their losses

Russia reports Ukrainian drone strikes on targets deep inside its territory and a border incursion

Haiti's prime minister says he'll resign as violent gangs rampage

"This is a war on children"

Gaza food aid ship delayed as...

Ironically, while I try to impart the lighter side of Golding's work, such as the use of characterization and the sense of adventure the boys experience on the island, his true message is all around us in the constant state of the world.

In the novel, without guidance, the boys on the island reverted to a sense of savagery. They had no authority and as such, chaos ensued. I remind my students that this is similar to a teacher leaving their classroom for an accumulated amount of time. Students would become slightly disruptive, if not disobedient. For example, while briefly standing outside of my room I have had a student drop an apple in my coffee; pile textbooks so high that if they had fallen, they would have surely hurt someone; and one student actually wrote Superman is better than Batman on my whiteboard.

Comparatively, I wonder if the world has lost proper guidance; has the teacher been taken out of the room? I can't help thinking of a quote by William Mueller in regards to mankind in context of Golding's book. He states, "Lord of the Flies uncovers the fallen and unredeemed heart; it sketches the enormities of which man, unrestrained by human law and resistant to divine grace, is capable."

William Golding experienced the horrors of war. I can't imagine what he saw firsthand and do not want to. However, the other day I came upon a website that presented pictures of the current major conflicts in the world. I regarded the photos with a curiosity of what we are capable of on this planet. I am sad about the wars. I am scared. And I am angry.

There was one picture that I cannot seem to forget. The photo depicted the dirty little hands of children, five or six years old, reaching through a cold wire fence with empty pans and bowls waiting for food. Adults stood behind them, pressing the young against the wire as their little arms reached out. The children's' faces were dark with dirt, and their mouths were open as if they were yelling, attempting to gain the attention of whatever hand-out might be coming. It was their eyes that really sticks in my heart. They were wide and dark and desperate. A five-year-old with war-torn, desperate eyes should never be a thing.

However, it is the enormity of which man is capable.

Brian Theodore is a language arts teacher at Corbin High School and lives in Corbin with his wife, who is also a teacher at CHS. He can be contacted at Theteachersdesk.theodore@gmail.com.