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Setting The story takes place on an island somewhere in the ocean. The island
is described by the author as tropical and boat shaped. Along the coast there
are sandy beaches followed by a variety of vegetation and creepers. There are
also the orchards, which rise up to the treeless and rocky and rugged mountain
ridge which extends out of the ocean. Judging from the predicament and dialogue
in this story the date in which it takes place is probably the mid 1900's during
World War II. The mood created in this story is very complex and rapidly
changing. It changes from that of a scary, recessive mood to a light, and cheery
one. The way in which the story is written the mood can change literally from
chapter to chapter. In the beginning it starts out light and happy and as the
novel progresses and the boys start to battle, it starts to become dark and
savage. Characters Jack is red-headed and thin he is also introduced as the
leader of the boys' choir. To his dismay he loses the election for leader and he
becomes the head hunter and is also in charge of maintaining the signal fire. As
the story progresses he and his hunters begin to slack-off and abandon their
duties in caring for the fire. In the end Jack and his hunters leave Ralph and
start their own tribe on the rocky side of the island. Ralph is a tall, blond
and is one of the oldest boys on the island. In the beginning of the story he is
pictured as the leader of the boys when he blows the conch shell to call the
first assembly. During the course of the story he tries to maintain the
structure of their civilization and is continually forced to compete with Jack
for approval from the boys. Piggy is a fat, asthmatic boy with bad vision.
Throughout the story his weaknesses are preyed upon by the other boys much like
that of the pigs on the island, thus the name. But despite his appearance, Ralph
begins to depend upon Piggy for intellectual and spiritual guidance. Do to his
vision, Piggy had unusually thick glasses, which was a benefit to the others on
the island, and aided in the lighting of the signal fire and in the roasting of
the pigs. Simon was a skinny, silent boy with black hair. He was neither liked
nor hated and was abnormally silent throughout the story. The way he is
portrayed in the story it is as if he were always contemplating life and his
situation on the island. Aside from thinking, Simon also does the necessary
chores and obeys all commands from his superiors. Exposition The story starts
with a large group of boys crawl on to the beach of a tropical island in the
middle of the Pacific Ocean. Their plane was been shot down, and World War II
has begun to take place. The boys figure that civilization, as they know it, may
no longer exist. Ralph is elected as the leader of the group and Jack decides to
be the hunter and provide food for the group. The boys explore the island. They
find that it is hard to believe that they're really on their own but their
adventuring proves their suspicion. While adventuring Jack's first try at
slaying a wild boar fails. Rising Action Another assembly is had and they talk
about the need for hunters. One of the smaller boys, says he fears a horrid
beast that he saw in the vast jungle. The fear of the beast, of the dark, and of
what is unknown about the island begins to affect the boys' ways of thinking.
Ralph makes an executive decision and convinces everyone that they need a signal
fire to aid in their being rescued. Starting a fire is impossible until they use Piggy's glasses, they are so thick they act as a magnifying glass, igniting the
tinder. To Ralph's dismay the boys begin to abandon the fire to play, finding it
hard work keeping the fire going. Their fears of the terrifying beast grow worse
when the twins, Sam and Eric, see the beast once again.
This is when Simon takes
into affect his method of thinking, suggesting that the beast is not a physical
beast but a beast in their heads, a figment of their imagination.. Jack and
Ralph laugh at Simon's claims and lead an exploration to the rocky cliffs. Upon
returning they were convinced, there was a beast on their island. It is at this
time that the inevitable occurs, Jack decides he no longer wants to be part of
Ralph's tribe. He then leaves, inviting the other boys to follow him. In spite
of their growing terror, Jack leads his newly found tribe of hunters into the
jungle for the slaying of another pig. He places its head on a stake, as an
offering to the unknown beast. Deserting Ralph, Piggy and the twins, the rest of
the boys join Jack's roast and his tribe. Climax Alone in the woods, Simon
begins to daydream and talks to the fly-covered pig's head on the stake. In
Simon's hallucination the head becomes the Lord of the Flies and says, Fancy
thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn't you?
I'm part of you? A great storm builds over the island, and Simon starts back to
where the other boys are. As he stumbles through the jungle, he discovers the
beast that the twins thought they saw. It was a dead man who had parachuted from
the sky and had gotten caught on the rocks. Terrified and sickened by the sight,
he then starts off to tell the others there is no beast. In the meantime, Ralph,
Piggy and the twins have given in and joined Jack's feast. Ralph and Jack begin
to dispute over who should be the leader. Instead of fighting, Jack suggests
they do their pig-killing dance. They begin to chant, Kill the beast! Cut his
throat! Spill his blood! as the storm overhead gathers force. Piggy and Ralph
join the circle to dance with the others as the storm continues to gather force.
When Simon returns, the boys have ceased to be boys playing a game and have
become a dangerous mob. They attack Simon, calling him the beast and killing him
with their hunting sticks. Only then does the storm finally break and the rain
begin to fall. During the night the tide carries the dead boy out to sea. The
next night Jack and two hunters attack Ralph and Piggy and steal Piggy's
glasses. Nearly blind without his glasses, Piggy decides that he and Ralph can
do nothing but ask Jack to give them back. Sam and Eric, the only others who
have remained with Ralph, go along. They take the conch with them. The fight
that has been building between Jack and Ralph over who should be leader finally
breaks out.
The hunters drag the twins off. A giant boulder is hurled over a
ledge, demolishing the conch and striking Piggy. Flung over the cliff, Piggy
dies when he hits the rocks below. Considering himself victorious Jack declares
himself chief. Falling Action With the war between good and evil being waged,
Ralph continues to stand his ground and fight for the side of good. But Jack and
his hunters continue their downward spiral into evil. Alone and scared he
retreats to the jungle, still not giving in to Jack's temptations and taking the
easy way out. He sneaks to the hunter's camp and converses with Sam'n'eric, who
have been converted to hunters. From them he discovers that Jack plans to kill
him, no matter what it takes, and place his head on a savage offering to the
beast. Resolution Frightened, and confused Ralph hides in the woods, fearing his
very life. But the hunters light the forest on fire, planning to smoke him out.
Ralph is forced to leave his hiding place and make a run for it. Ralph runs
through the jungle trying frantically to lose the savage hunters as they sing
their terrifying pig-hunting song. Finally as Ralph runs out of the forest and
on to the sandy beach he falls to his knees, at the mercy of the rampaging
tribe. As he looks up he sees a group of sailors standing before him. The boys
then see the evil deeds that they have done As they begin to talk with the men
they discover that the sailors had seen the smoke from their fire and came over,
the savage boys were finally going back to civilization. Theme Due to the book's
complicated make-up and sub-plots a variety of themes are created. The most
obvious of the themes is man's need for civilization. Contrary to the belief
that man is innocent and society evil, the story shows that laws and rules,
policemen and schools are necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in
line.
When these institutions and concepts slip away or are ignored, human
beings revert to a more primitive part of their nature. The other obvious theme
in the story is the battle between good and evil. Ralph symbolizes good and Jack
symbolizes evil, and throughout the story they fight for control of the group.
Critique This was the most interesting book I have ever read. It is sort of a
cross between Alive and Hatchet. Because the book is extremely addictive and
written so superbly, it did not take long for me to get into and finish it. The
characters were probably the most interesting element in Lord of the Flies. All
British and male, the young boys in this story portray the savagery and sadistic
nature to which all but a few succumb. The other boys are the only symbol of
sanity on the island. There is also a very interesting conflict between Ralph
and Jack. But in truth, I rather dislike the ending, to me it seems like there
is something is missing and that for such a complicated novel it leaves
something more to be desired. If I were to give this book a rating I would rate
it very highly. The book was so involving and fascinating I would have to give
it 4.5 stars out of 5. I recommend this book to anyone who takes pleasure in the
reading of a good adventure.
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