# Lord of the Flies

**Author:** William Golding
**Lexile:** 770L
**Grade range:** Grades 9–12
**Age range:** 14–18
**First published:** 1954
**Page count:** 224
**Genre:** Allegorical Fiction
**ISBN-13:** `9780399501487`
**ISBN-10:** `0399501487`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/lord-of-the-flies
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

A group of British schoolboys is stranded on a deserted island with no surviving adults. What begins as an attempt at cooperative order collapses as factions form around the bookish Ralph and the charismatic Jack. Golding's allegory of civilization, savagery, and the fragility of social rules is a staple of 9th- and 10th-grade English curricula worldwide.

## Themes

- civilization vs savagery
- human nature
- loss of innocence
- group psychology
- power and leadership
- fear

## Content notes

- violence
- killing of children by children
- animal cruelty

Common Sense Media age recommendation: 13+

## Where this book is assigned

### AP English Literature & Composition

- **recommended** · 11th grade — [source: AP Lit representative text list](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition)

### Cambridge IGCSE English Literature (0475)

- **required** · 10th grade — [source: Cambridge IGCSE Literature set text (current cycle)](https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-literature-english-0475/)

### Common Core State Standards (ELA)

- **recommended** · 9th grade — [source: CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 9-10 exemplar](https://achievethecore.org/page/2699)
- **recommended** · 9th grade · Texas — [source: TEKS English I frequently taught text](https://tea.texas.gov/)
- **recommended** · 9th grade · Virginia — [source: FCPS English 9 core text adoption](https://www.fcps.edu/academics)

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