When Novels Turn to Movies

The characteristics that make the Lord of the Flies movie different to the book written by the novelist William Golding are the fact that for one, the boys are American. The boy also had an authority since the begging. The last contributing factor would be that the boys arrived together to the deserted island.

Since in the movie the boys were American instead of British, it changes they were raised. For example the movie does not include dialogue of them talking of tea time because they never had any. Also, this changes their cultural background. They use stronger language than the one they used in the book; especially when directing derogatory comments to other characters.

When the characters arrive to the island, some of the boys have authority since they first step into the island. Ralph is referred to as the coronel and that gives him power above the other boys. Since they came from the same military school, they know each other’s ranks and their social status. Ralph wants to become chief, as in the book he’s chosen by the boys and he didn’t really want to be a chief for the tribe; however in the movie he makes it clear that he should be the chief and its evident that he wants to be in charge. From the beginning he proves his importance to the boys and choosing him for chief is a no-brainer.

The last point is that the boys arrive together to the island, meaning that they didn’t have to go look for the other boys once they crashed. Also, the boys landed on the water and got to the shore by some sort of life boat. The boys also came from the same schools, instead of coming from several different schools as the book states. These changes take away part of the significance the conch had in the book. The blowing of the conch was what brought them together in the book, but not in the movie and there it only serves for the right to speak.

All these contributing factors are what marks the difference between The Lord of the Flies novel--written by William Golding--and The Lord of the Flies movie—Directed by Peter Brooke. At mere view they have the same plot, but when analyzed in depth they have significant differences and essence.