Daily Thoughts
I've always thought that Lord of the Flies should have a larger fandom. Or at least, expanded onto the LJ front instead of sticking inside fanfiction. And then I skim the fics, and I kind of realize why it doesn't exist off of fanfiction.net. Besides the fact that most of it is just bad, it appears as though half the authors never bothered to read the book. Or, if they did, take an absurd romanticized view upon it.
This is not a nice book. There is plenty of mindless murder and thoughtless violence. To turn up the nightmare fuel, most of the participants are pre-teens and the equivalent of kindergartners. It's about the primal effect of both an island and constant isolation. It's about the human instinct to achieve survival and power at any and all cost. These are merely the basics that one should take from the book, but it appears that many people miss these points completely.
There are those who choose to put a girl, or a troop of girls, on the island. Problem #1: How the hell would one girl get there, let alone a troop? Another plane crash seems highly unlikely, and incredibly cliche. Problem #2: I don't believe a girl on her own would survive. Most of the fics set up some love triangle with two boys, or just pair girl and boys up together. Do I think a girl would inspire attraction and/or lust in the boys? Yes. Do I think they would go about it the right way? Absolutely not. Honestly, if a boat had never come, and the boys are of a reasonable age to have romantic relationships, and they meet a girl, I truly believe that girl would not live out the night. Honestly, she'd probably be gangraped and then murdered, possibly sacrificed, because those are the instincts that would win out in the boys. Never could I imagine a lovely little story where some OFC innocently seduces Jack away from murder and chiefdom, and then they live happily ever after. Just, no.
I might be biased, considering the fact that I have a special place in my heart for (well-writen) Jack/Ralph. But even if I wasn't a slash fan, I still think my opinion would remain similar. No girl could survive on that island alone. A group of them? Perhaps. But I think of troop of girls would have to fight just as violently for their survival. None of this, let's pair up each OFC with our favorite boys and then they can live out romantic lives on a deserted island. I could see the tribes coming together to procreate at some point, since rescue might not have happened, but nothing with an element of romance. Only necessity. I think the boys are already too far gone for anything resembling normal relationships.
On the other hand, some of the slash relationship fics have the right idea, but don't carry it out to the full extent. I've found maybe three 'Jack takes Ralph prisoner instead of killing him' fics that are enjoyable to read, but when they are done right, they are truly excellent. I wish more people could really grasp the concepts of LotF and run in a darker direction with them. Those are the pieces that would really capture the tone of the original work.
This is not a nice book. There is plenty of mindless murder and thoughtless violence. To turn up the nightmare fuel, most of the participants are pre-teens and the equivalent of kindergartners. It's about the primal effect of both an island and constant isolation. It's about the human instinct to achieve survival and power at any and all cost. These are merely the basics that one should take from the book, but it appears that many people miss these points completely.
There are those who choose to put a girl, or a troop of girls, on the island. Problem #1: How the hell would one girl get there, let alone a troop? Another plane crash seems highly unlikely, and incredibly cliche. Problem #2: I don't believe a girl on her own would survive. Most of the fics set up some love triangle with two boys, or just pair girl and boys up together. Do I think a girl would inspire attraction and/or lust in the boys? Yes. Do I think they would go about it the right way? Absolutely not. Honestly, if a boat had never come, and the boys are of a reasonable age to have romantic relationships, and they meet a girl, I truly believe that girl would not live out the night. Honestly, she'd probably be gangraped and then murdered, possibly sacrificed, because those are the instincts that would win out in the boys. Never could I imagine a lovely little story where some OFC innocently seduces Jack away from murder and chiefdom, and then they live happily ever after. Just, no.
I might be biased, considering the fact that I have a special place in my heart for (well-writen) Jack/Ralph. But even if I wasn't a slash fan, I still think my opinion would remain similar. No girl could survive on that island alone. A group of them? Perhaps. But I think of troop of girls would have to fight just as violently for their survival. None of this, let's pair up each OFC with our favorite boys and then they can live out romantic lives on a deserted island. I could see the tribes coming together to procreate at some point, since rescue might not have happened, but nothing with an element of romance. Only necessity. I think the boys are already too far gone for anything resembling normal relationships.
On the other hand, some of the slash relationship fics have the right idea, but don't carry it out to the full extent. I've found maybe three 'Jack takes Ralph prisoner instead of killing him' fics that are enjoyable to read, but when they are done right, they are truly excellent. I wish more people could really grasp the concepts of LotF and run in a darker direction with them. Those are the pieces that would really capture the tone of the original work.