Top 10 Differences Between Lord of the Flies Book and Show

#10: Multiple Perspectives

William Golding’s novel was written in third person omniscient that mostly acts like third person limited, even providing the thoughts of the one adult. This BBC series, created by Jack Thorne, structures its episodes by the perspectives of the main four boys stranded on the island: Piggy, Jack, Simon, and Ralph. Piggy is the smartest boy and the voice of reason. Jack is the dangerous wild card who forms his own faction. Simon is the sensitive and spiritual one. And Ralph is the well-rounded elected leader until Jack challenges his authority. It’s a smart change, as these four represent the major themes of democracy vs. authoritarianism and civilization vs. brutality.

#9: Expanded Cast

For that matter, there is a more concrete ensemble for the TV series than the book. Although it’s clear that a good number of boys are stranded on the island, Golding’s novel doesn’t give a solid number, only describing three groups: Ralph’s boys, the littluns, and Jack’s tribe, former choir boys. The series also includes names from the book, like Maurice, Bill, and Robert, but makes the number of castaways a firm thirty. This explicitly named and counted group better suits the medium of live-action television and it allows for group dynamics to really come into play.

#8: Character Backstories

Upon the advice of his editor, Golding cut a first section of the novel that focused on the boys before they came to be stranded on the island. Thus, except for Ralph’s dreams, we aren’t ever given a complete picture of what the boys’ lives were like before the incident. The series, by contrast, gives Ralph, Piggy, Jack, and Simon more concrete backstories. Piggy is actually named Nicholas, or “Nicky,” and the death of his mother is recent. Simon confesses his father’s abuse of his mother. Jack also has an abusive father. This added layer gives context to the cruelty and persecution these kids inflict on each other, both the results of their circumstances and their repeating the patterns of their previous lives.

#7: Diverse Casting

In the book, all the boys are heavily implied to be upper-class white English schoolchildren who attend private school. Golding wrote the novel as a critical response to R.M. Ballantyne’s 1857 adventure novel, “The Coral Island.” The BBC series, however, decided to cast more diversely for both the main leads and the group, including mixed-race Winston Sawyers as Ralph and David McKenna as an Irish Piggy. Your mileage may vary on exactly how it changes the story. But suffice it to say the change does shift the thematic emphasis on youthful masculinity across color lines instead of class.

#6: Nuclear War Context

As we have mentioned before, Golding was obliged to delete the first part of the novel. But this section actually explained how the boys got marooned on the island in the first place, which was, essentially, nuclear war. The boys were supposed to be evacuating from the imminent threat when the plane crashed on the island. Dark stuff, indeed. This context is returned to the TV series, which does include a flashback to the boys escaping on the plane, experiencing turbulence. Golding writing this in the midst of the Cold War and the cruelty of the Holocaust is unfortunately still relevant for us.

#5: Queer Subtext with Simon

In the novel Simon is the sensitive, unconventional one of the group, one of Jack’s choirboys who defects his side early. It is Simon who has that mystical encounter with a pig’s head swarming with flies, whom he dubs the titular Lord of the Flies. Described as “queer,” Simon is often viewed by critics as a Christ figure, with his Biblical name and spirituality. The BBC series expands Simon’s queerness to hints about his sexuality, as Simon gets upset when Jack steals his diary, revealing his feelings for him. He also confesses to Ralph that he and Jack were alone together in the “long vacs.” An interesting complication to the dynamic.

#4: Finding the Pilot

In both the novel and the series, the boys find a dead pilot. But the scene plays out differently in each. In the book, there is an air battle near the island. When a fighter pilot descends via parachute, the boys mistake it for the Beast, causing a superstitious frenzy. In the show, the boys find the pilot of their own crashed airplane at the top of the mountain, throwing him off the edge. This is obvious foreshadowing for the savagery the boys will descend into. Either way, the event triggers superstitious fears of a beast.

#3: Jack & Ralph Fight

In the book, Ralph begins as the elected chief of the castaways, using a conch as a way to signal authority and permission to speak. It isn’t long, however, before he clashes with hunter Jack, who gains popularity among the rest of the boys by saying he will kill the beast. The series follows this dynamic faithfully, but introduces the bifurcation early on, as Jack and his choir boys meet with Ralph and the rest of the survivors. The series also includes more detailed scenes of Jack and Ralph physically fighting. Ralph even tries to renounce his authority to Jack, something that does not happen in the book. Unfortunately, it doesn’t save him from his fate.

#2: Piggy’s Death

One of the most memorable and heart wrenching scenes in the book is changed a little for the show. In the novel, Jack steals Piggy’s glasses. While Ralph and the rest demand their return, Roger drops a boulder on Piggy, who dies quickly. In the series, Roger throws a rock at Piggy who, although mortally wounded, doesn’t actually die until later. Ralph manages to escape with Piggy, caring for him until the latter finally perishes. It’s an horrific scene, made all the more gut-wrenching when Piggy reveals his mother had recently died. Well, now we’re crying.

#1: The Ending

In the ironic finale of Golding’s novel, Jack and his tribe hunt Ralph, setting fire to the forest. While fleeing, Ralph falls at the feet of a recently arrived British naval officer, who is coldly embarrassed by the ragged looks and emotional sobs of the rescued children. This ironic reprieve from the horror is faithfully captured by the show, but with certain differences. While in the book all the boys weep at their discovery, the series has only Ralph break down. The pilot in the series is also more emotionally disturbed by the scene he had just witnessed. Honestly, so are we.

What ways do you feel the BBC series does the novel justice—or changes things up unnecessarily? Let us know in the comments down below!