Resolution of all the Fruitless Searches

I love finishing something. There's such pleasure to be had from crossing something off the old to-do list (or adding something to the completed list). And there's always so much to be learned from reading.

√  Flat tire fixed... well, I think.
√  Lord of the Flies

So, what is the true natural condition of man? Pleasure-seeking, fighter, rule-abiding, anarchist, selfless, selfish, ethical, logical, meaningful, playful, serious, lover, follower, leader, hater... When we're one, I'd almost guarantee that there's a nearly equal part opposite. And which ultimately wins out? The good, the bad, or the ugly? But then when one wins out, is it over or just the beginning? Are we destined to continually repeat ourselves -- cycle, one might say -- until the end of time? When left to their own devices, the boys prove that there's initially order, then anarchy. Would order have returned? Would any one of them have grown a conscience?

Golding is much better at intimating his own theme:

The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable.

Anyway, very interesting, engaging, and fun read. And one of the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council's "30 Books Every Adult Should Read Before They Die", Random House Modern Library's "100 Best Books of the 20th Century: Fiction", and The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels. Just FYI... in case you were interested.

Returned from the ATL yesterday; lounged around the house today (cleaning, taking TWO walks -- Cooper was in heaven, playing around online, working, reading, watching b-ball, talking, etc.); plan to do the same tomorrow. Before I start (tomorrow), here are a couple more of the Chateau Elan from my week o' meetings: