Harry Hook vs. William Golding

Comparative Analyisis

Differences between Harry Hook’s 1990 film, Lord of the Flies, and William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies are clearly shown through: foul language, nationality, and where the story is begun. Although Harry Hook’s movie does a good job of physically portraying some of the characters well, William Golding’s book has a more accurate description of what happened on the island and has a deeper meaning.

One of the main differences between Lord of the Flies, the movie and the book is the foul language used. In the novel, there is not much foul language said amongst the boys on the island. In the movie, the boys say lots of swear words to each other throughout the film. I believe this makes the boys seem more violent and are more prone to becoming savage. Also, in Harry Hook’s film version of Lord of the Flies, the swear word said are more modern, which makes it seem as though the story is taking place in more modern times instead of during World War Two, like in William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies.

The boys in Lord of the Flies, the book, are British, while in the movie, they are American. This is yet, another aspect that distinguishes the movie from the book. Due to the fact that the boys are American in the movie, and the typical American stereotype is that they are lazy and have short tempers, it leads me to believe that the boys on the island have that personality. But, in Lord of the Flies, the book, the boys are British. The stereotype for someone from Britain is well- mannered and civilized, which leads me to believe that the boys act like that and it would take longer for them to become savage.

Another difference between the film and the novel is the pilots’ survival. In the movie, the boys rescue the pilot when they land in the ocean and help him to safety. He is wounded, but still alive. In the book, the pilot does not survive and the story begins when Ralph and Piggy are on the island and realize that there are no adults with them; only the two of them and the other school boys. Golding did not have the pilot survive in the book because he wanted to show what it was like and what would happen since there was no adult supervision, which adds a deeper meaning to the book.

It is these three aspects that make William Golding’s Lord of the Flies so much better than Harry Hook’s 1990 film of Lord of the Flies. Even though Hook did a good job of portraying some of the characters well, it did not have as good of an accurate description of what happened on the island amongst the boys and did not have deeper meanings like Golding did in his novel.