Lord of the Flies

So yes, it is Christmas Eve and I'm posting on Lord of the Flies--how unappropriate you may say (and so I thought too). I finished this classic late last night, not being able to stop reading. I'm unsure whether I kept going because it was suspenseful or whether I really wanted to be done with all of the gory details.

I used to like disgusting murder books like the Fear Street series when I was younger, but I wanted to chuck this book across the room many times, furious that it is read by 9th graders everywhere. We live in a culture that is much too violent. Having been a teacher for a year (it feels like a LOT longer though) and having spent a lot of time with children and wanting to continue to do so, I find myself making a lot of choices about my parenting style and reflecting on the style of my parents. Although they could be true duds at times, I look back and want to say "thank you" for the rate at which they sheltered us from television, video games, etc. Of course that didn't last long, but I've found that it has had a lasting effect on me as I want to purge my insides when I spend time with children who spend all of their time that way--especially when they are in Christian homes--nothing frustrates me more than that.

My gut tells me to shelter my kids from gore, war, myopia, apathy, etc. I think that is genuinely one side of the coin when it comes to good parenting--good sheltering. But then as I read through Lord of the Flies, and especially as a much older person, I found so much truth in it. That the true beast, the true savage is the one that lives within us and around us in others. And yes, this is very Gospel, just go hang out with Augustine. So as a parent, I'm also obligated to show the other side of the coin--the ugliness of our true nature. This book can have a positive impression and is very teachable, and I would say don't just let a developing child (by age or mental age) just pick up this book without help navigating it.

The controversy doesn't really end there for me though. At what point is a kid ready to know those hard truths of the Gospel? That this world and even our very selves are destroyed and destructive beyond imagination? I'll be honest, I have no idea. But I can also say that for me, I lived a life that was pretty screwed up to begin with, so it wasn't too much of a shock. But the real shock was seeing the imperfection of perceived good people. When you realize that adults aren't always going to act like adults. But this is one reason why I'm really drawn to those with screwy lives, that can get this end of the Gospel. The hard part is teaching them to hope and dream.