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"This was awesome! The explanations were well thought out and the songs connected really well with what you were saying. The only thing I'm confused about is the title. I'm not sure if piggy's specs were supposed to be an important part of it but it kind of threw me off when they were barely mentioned."

(I changed the title because of this review: thank you Emma!)

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As Ralph becomes steadily discouraged in Shadows and Tall Trees, Simon encourages Ralph to be hopeful. His words to Ralph don't come out so crystal clear at first but he says that it's "'All the same. You'll get back all right. I think so, anyway'" (Golding 111). Simon maintained this optimism throughout his time in the story. "Keep Ya Head Up" by 2Pac delivers a similar message of optimism. The singer asks that "... even though you're fed up, huh, you got to keep ya head up." When Simon, a symbol of the faith in the boys' civility is killed, their humanity similarly dies off.

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In the chapter Fire on the Mountain, Ralph and many other boys admire the dangerous bonfire they have accidentally made. As "The smoke increased, sifted, rolled outwards...Ralph realized that the boys were falling still and silent feeling the power set free below them. The knowledge and the awe made him savage" (Golding 44). Lord of the Flies offers many moments where the boys are seemingly driven simply by nature: devoid of thoughts. "In Case of Fire" by Olivia Olson illustrates the seeming instinctual astonishment that something as simple as a fire could cause. As if written from Ralph's perspective, the singer claims, "No one saw it coming/...the sparks flew/ And the blaze grew.../ I just admired/ The higher degree." Civility is a result of deeper levels of thought. However, when logic is absent, it leaves room for the more natural state of savagery to take place.

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The underlying fear within the group rears its head in Beasts From Air when Samneric see the beastie. The two of them were shocked "Then as though they had but one terrified mind between them, they scrambled away over the rocks and fled...'Ralph! Wake up!'...'We saw—' ' —the beast—'" (Golding 98).  After the assembly where there was much theorizing about the beastie, seeing actual proof was alarming for Samneric as well as the other boys once everyone was informed. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen matches the energy Samneric brought as they reported their sighting to Ralph and makes similar claims. The singer says, "I see a little silhouetto of a man..[It was] very, very frightening..." The focus on Samneric's perspective on the matter merely personifies a general feeling present throughout the whole group at this point.

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Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (Live at Rock Montreal, 1981) [HD]

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Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (2011)

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At the end of Huts on a Beach, Simon goes to a secluded part of the island. The text describes this place when "[Simon] came at last to a place where more sunshine fell" (Golding 56). Simon was always a timid person that was easily overwhelmed by stressful interactions with the others, so this clearing in the island served as a happy place he could escape to. In "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, the singer similarly describes a place where "...the clouds are far behind me/ Where trouble melts like lemon drops." As events throughout the story change, Simon's clearing serves as a mark for the changing mood.

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OFFICIAL - Somewhere Over the Rainbow 2011 - Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole

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When the Chips are Down - Composed and written by: Anaïs Mitchell - Performed by: Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Kay Trinidad 

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When Ralph is the target of a manhunt in "Cry of the Hunters" he is forced to be vicious in order to survive. In one of many stressful encounters Ralph reminds himself that "The stake was in his hands, the stake sharpened at both ends...[Ralph thought,] Now he's seen you. He's making sure. A stick sharpened. Ralph screamed, a scream of fright and anger and desperation. His legs straightened, the screams became continuous and foaming. He shot forward, burst the thicket...screaming, snarling, bloody" (Golding 199). During this chapter, Ralph refers to the boys only as savages; Ralph had to become one just to match their rabid bloodthirst.  The release of Ralph's own savagery when faced with survival is similarly preached in "When the Chips are Down" written and composed by Anaïs Mitchell. The singers claim that one must "Aim for the heart, shoot to kill/ If you don't do it then the other one will/ What you gonna do when the chips are down?" When it is necessary for survival, people resort to their primal instincts.

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The astonishment at the idea of destruction from "Fire on the Mountain" evolves into entrancement and violence as the boys kill Simon in "A View to a Death". Even though Ralph and Piggy prided themselves on their civility, "Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society...'Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!' The movement became regular while the chant lost its first superficial excitement and began to beat like a steady pulse" (Golding 152). Simply by nature, someone as against all this as Ralph has lost himself due to the attraction of power and violence in his hands as part of a collective. Ralph's retrospective view is expressed by "Kids With Guns" by Gorillaz. The singer implies that something is "...turning us into monsters/ Turning us into fire/ Turning us into monsters." It was not simply spears and chants, but the mob mentality and the violence in their nature that caused the boys to commit such a fatal attack.

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Gorillaz - Kids With Guns (Official Video)

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contrary to Ralph's original enthusiasm, at the the end of Beasts From Water, Ralph questions his own leadership after he once again fails to corral everyone. He tells Piggy, ""Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a theorem. 'If I blow the conch and they don't come back; then we've had it...I ought to give up being chief. Hear 'em'" (Golding 92-93). "What do I Do Now" by Sleeper matches Ralph's uncertainty and highlights his confusion as rules start to lose their authority and consequently cause the decline of order within the group. The song questions, "What do I do now?/ Are we going under?/ What did I do wrong?/ I thought we had it sorted/ Out..." The development of Ralph's perspective on order and authority shows that there is an initial joy in the freedom that not having rules brings. However, without the rules that keep society to certain standards, civility begins to dwindle.

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Song: "You call me good for nothing/ A waste of space.../When you're angry, you're a jerk/ And then you treat me like I'm worth nothing."

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I Did Something Bad - Taylor Swift (2017)

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Jack has always been rather inclined to malevolence, but he is strangely prideful when Piggy is killed in "Castle Rock". Everyone was tense when Piggy was killed and they realized that "...Piggy was gone.... [and] the silence was complete. Ralph's lips formed a word but no sound came. Suddenly Jack bounded out from the tribe and began screaming wildly. 'See? See? That's what you'll get! I meant that! There isn't a tribe for you anymore" (Golding 181). Jack showed no remorse and instead rejoiced in the display. Jack's elated reaction is similarly felt by the singer in "I Did Something Bad" by Taylor Swift. The singer questions, "They say I did something bad/ Then why's it feel so good?" When power is given to the wrong people, it can amplify heartlessness into evil.

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By "The Shell and the Glasses", Ralph's deteriorating mental fortitude leads his case of homesickness to worsen. As Ralph settled for bed he also"...settled himself for his nightly game of supposing...Supposing they could be transported home by jet...by car; no...by train...His mind skated to a consideration of a tamed town where savagery could not set foot" (Golding 164). Ralph simply can't take the stress of it all anymore: especially as he senses the rising threat that is Jack's tribe. Ralph's words are echoed by the homesick lyrics of "Runaway" by AURORA. The singer begs, "But no, take me home/Take me home where I belong/ I can't take it anymore." Ralph wondered throughout the story if maybe he should just let go and go savage. He really starts slipping in this chapter, not just mentally, but away from his resolve to stay civil that he'd been holding for so long.

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Simon's clearing in the forest deteriorates as if to mirror the rift between the boys finally making a tear in "Gift For the Darkness". As the Lord of the Flies talks to Simon, "Simon's mouth labored, brought forth audible words. 'Pig's head on a stick.' 'Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!' said the head...The laughter shived again" (Golding 143). At first glance, it may seem that this is supposed to be a moment where Simon goes crazy, but truly it is him confronting the internal evil that the pig head represents. "Devil's Train" by Lab Rats describes a similar experience. The singer laments, "The world creeped as I slipped to the awfulest place/ You could imagine.../Laughing in a raspy tone, covered in maggots/That snacked on his mass to the bone, I couldn't grasp it." When their society almost fully crumbles into savagery, the evil in their nature comes to head—see what I did there— and ultimately results in the demise of the one person who had the most faith in their humanity.

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During the chapter The Sound of the Shell, Ralph is overjoyed at the thought of being free from under the thumb of adults. Ralph echoes the terrible news that there are no grownups and "[Ralph] said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him...'No grownups!'" (Golding 8). Ralph is immediately overjoyed at the thought of freedom to have fun like he's always wanted. However, Ralph's initial joy is just the start of an exploration of the value of rules and people to enforce them using Ralph's perspective.  In "The Good Life" from the show Phineas and Ferb the singer is similarly liberated from responsibilities. They joyfully proclaim that "The sun is up, the sky is blue/ I can do whatever I want to..." Ralph's perspective of being happy and freed matches the song's sense of joy from their liberty.

[When I first emailed my musical expert, Brandon Nelson, I had originally said I would only use songs from the show this song is from: Phineas and Ferb. Due to these limitations, he replied, "Thanks for reaching out, it's good to read from you! Unfortunately, while I have seen a little Phineas and Ferb I am not familiar with the music." This greatly encouraged me to have a change of heart in terms of song selection. Without this feedback, I probably would've greatly struggled to find and explain songs, so I'm very thankful.]