It& #39;s interesting to see the quick popularity of the Guardian& #39;s "real life" Lord of the Flies story, but reactions to it do seem slightly one dimensional. Essentially it& #39;s a single case study, and there are a lot of aspects which make it differ from Golding& #39;s premise. 1/

Can& #39;t help thinking of Pitcairn, WW2 Japanese hold-outs, & other egs. This blog post looks at the story of the 6 boys on & #39;Ata with a more nuanced sense of social/cultural context, & the advantages gained from the island having been previously inhabited: http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-atan-utopia.html">https://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2020/05/a... 2/

Perhaps the most interesting aspect the reaction the Guardian article is generating is just that, i.e. - the fact that a positive story of innate human goodness & cooperation is striking a chord in these distinctly challenging times of global pandemic, polarised politics, etc. 3/

There& #39;s also a long tradition of fictional cast away stories as metaphors for utopias/dystopias, from & #39;Robinson Crusoe& #39; to & #39;Silent Running& #39; & many more. & #39;Lord of the Flies& #39; is one iteration, & it& #39;s worth remembering Golding wrote it as a reply to Ballantyne& #39;s & #39;Coral Island.& #39; 4/

I could probably write a whole blog post on this subject, but this thread will have to suffice for now. Me and Wilson have got other fish to fry first. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😉" title="Winking face" aria-label="Emoji: Winking face"> END/