Lord of the Flies reaction

I thought that Lord of the Flies was a very confusing book. There were a lot of parallels drawn as well as symbols, themes and motifs. I could appreciate the allegories that Golding used, such as the creepers in the forest being likened to snakes and the parallel being that a snake caused the fall in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of time. The conch symbolized order on the island and when Piggy was killed and the conch shell broken, that symbolized loss of order on the island. However, I didn't think that Lord of the Flies is a book that could be understood and comprehended just by reading it once. Because there are a lot of parallels and metaphors and symbols in the book, you would have to read it all at once and very slowly. I did like that Golding explored the descent of human nature into evil even in childhood, without any adult guidance. The killing of the pigs symbolized a loss of childhood civililzation, as did the warpaint. "'For hunting. Like in the war. You know- dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else- like moths on a tree trunk" (Golding 63). The boys also try to lie after Simon was killed, showing that, without adult guidance, no one focuses on honesty. " 'It was dark. There was that-that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain. We was scared!' " (Golding 156). I think that William Golding's ultimate purpose in writing "Lord of the Flies" was to show that even children, which are perceived as innocent, can deteriorate into killers and uncivilized humans without human guidance. But also, to show adults that we need to be careful because children have adults to fix their mistakes early but in adulthood, there is no one to teach adults how to behave.