An overview of William Golding's infamous story about savagery, childhood and the thin veneer of civilisation. Lord of the Flies follows a group of schoolboys stranded on a desert island.
Through a conversation between Ralph and Piggy, we learn of the background to the story. War has broken out and, while being transported to safety, a plane crashes leaving a group of schoolboys marooned on a desert island somewhere in the Pacific.
Ralph goes swimming and discovers a huge conch. Upon Piggy's suggestion, Ralph uses the conch as a horn which summons all the stranded schoolboys. They discuss their situation and agree to form a government. Ralph is elected leader, much to the annoyance of Jack - leader of the choirboys. Ralph suggests Jack be made leader of a hunting party, composed mainly of his allies, which appeases him.
Plans are made to explore the island. They have no assurance of rescue and must take responsibility for themselves. Simon, another older boy (Bigun) feels compelled to look after the needs of the younger boys (littleuns).
Piggy, who wished his nickname not to follow him, is agreived to find that it has. Jack, who carries the only hunting knife leads the exploration party. On their way, the come across a wild boar which he tries to kill. Surprised by the animal's survival insticts, Jack fails. He vows not to do so the next time.
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Chapter 2 - Fire on the Mountain
The boys begin to organise. The conch is used a symbol, so that whoever holds it is the only one allowed to speak. The younger children talk of an imaginary 'beastie' they've seen in the woods.
Ralph suggests a signal fire to attract ship's attention. In a bid for power, Jack storms up the mountain to start the fire, with many of the boys in tow. Without matches, Piggy's glasses becomes the tool to start the fire. A large and short-lived blaze is the result, and the accidental start of a forest-fire.
An argument ensues about the folly of not building shelters, needless fires and the terrible realisation that some of the younger boys may have been caught in the flames.
Ralph and Simon lead the effort to build shelters for the boys, many of whom have promised to help, but failed to do so.
This chapter begins to show how nature is beginning to break down the conditioning of society. In order to gain shelter, the boys must have the discipline to follow through on their promises. Likewise, by spending more time in silence, the boys become estranged from language, which is another cornerstone of civilised society.
Jack, for example, by focusing on his tracking skills, is becoming more like a primitive hunter and less like a teenage choirboy.
The chapter opens with an omniscient narrator's description of how life on the island had began to normalise. The focus turns to the activities of the littleuns, who spend their days building sandcastles. A pecking order has begun to emerge, with the littleuns at the bottom as Roger and Maurice demonstrate by kicking the castles. Even among the small, there is a hierarchy, kept with force.
Jack's behaviour becomes more tribal as he begins to apply camouflage/warpaint to the hunting party. He pulls Sam and Eric from fire-duty to join the hunt. A ship passes. There is no smoke. Ralph and Simon confront Jack, who has finally caught a pig. Jack offers an apology and the meat brings some comfort. The hunters dance to celebrate the catch. Ralph calls an assembly.
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Chapter 5 - Beast from Water
As order has begun to disintegrate within the camp, Ralph calls the meeting to remind the boys of their duties - water, fire, shelter, sanitation...and so on.
A fear has grown in the camp that a beast roams the island. Some of the smaller boys claim to have seen the beast and one describes such an event, which Simon recognises as himself, and not a creature. This an ominous foreshadow of things to come.
Different theories are given - Jack claims he would have seen it on a hunt; Piggy explains the specter as a product of psychology; Simon thinks the beast is something within themselves. A littleun, Percival, thinks it came from the sea. Fear remains.
Another argument breaks out between the leaders and Ralph begins to feel his authority slip.
During the night, a battle takes place in the skies above the island. The war the boys were fleeing has followed them to the island. A dead pilot and his parachute drop to the high point of the island. This is a sign that the society they wish to return to is no safer than their current location.
'Samneric', who had been tending the fire, see the parachute inflating and the body swaying. The presume it to be the beast.
As the other boys learn of the threat, they turn to Jack over Ralph as he is seen as the warrior. The boys decide to explore 'Castle Rock' as is the last mystery on the island. Piggy stays on the beach with the littleuns. Ralph enters first, then Jack. The boys feel safer in this natural fortification and are reluctant to return to the beach when Ralph says they should.
On the way to the mountain, Ralph and Simon discuss the likelihood of their rescue. The boys are turning increasingly feral and Ralph's efforts to maintain order are not working. Simon foresees that Ralph will make it home.
Jack gets hurt in a pig-hunt. The boys stage a fake hunt in an air of aggression and bravado. Things get out of control and another boy is hurt. The sun is fading and Simon returns to the beach to inform the others that most won't return that night.
They reach the mountain in darkness, and Ralph dares Jack to investigate alone. He comes back terrified having seen the pilot, which he assumes to be the beast. Ralph and Roger see for themselves and are also scared away. All three boys flee in panic.
Another argument breaks out among the leaders when Ralph tells Piggy of Jack's fear. Jack attempts a mutiny, but Ralph's tenuous hold on authority remains. Jack escapes into the trees.
Simon pleads for the group to face the threat together, but no-one wants to go. Many of the older boys follow Jack into the trees. Simon leaves too, for his hidden retreat.
Jack hunts a large, mother pig. He decapitates it and places the head on a stick as an offering to the beast. Simon, who watches on, imagines that the pig is talking to him. The Lord of The Flies (the head) tells Simon that he is in danger, because the real beast is something within them all.
Back at the beach, Jack's group steal fire from the others. Jack once again tempts the rest to join him. Ralph tries to plead his case, but his arguments are falling on deaf ears.
Bravely, Simon climbs the mountain and discovers the truth about the pilot. He rushes to tell the others.
On the beach, Ralph tries to remind the group about the election that made him leader. But the boys have become tribal. Democracy has no place among savages. Jack is their leader now.
Suddenly, Simon appears and the boys attack him, believing him to be the danger. He dies from his wounds. As the boys are processing what they've done, a strong wind lifts the parachute and the body into the air and away from the island. The boys scatter at the terrifying sight. The tide washes Simon's body away.
In Ralph's small camp, Piggy, Sam, Eric and Ralph attempt to make sense of Simon's 'murder'. Piggy objects to that term and all four of the boys attempt to underplay their own involvement.
In Jack's camp, there is a denial of the event. Jack claims that they only fought the beast in disguise, and they must prepare to fight again. His rule is becoming tyrannical, as he orders the torture of a boy who disagrees.
In the night, Jack stages a raid on Ralph's camp, in order to steal Piggy's glasses - the only means of lighting fires.
Piggy asks Ralph to call an assembly. They need the glasses, not only for Ralph to see, but also to maintain a signal fire, that they might be rescued.
At Castle Rock, Jack's tribe are hostile to the small group. Roger throws stones at Samneric, who Jack orders to be tied up. Jack orders Ralph to leave. Ralph calls him a thief and they begin to fight. Attempting to talk sense, Ralph takes the conch and prevails for reason. As he is talking, Roger launches a huge rock. Piggy falls to his death and is washed away by the sea. Jack screams savagely and throws a spear at Ralph, who runs in fear of his own life. The twins remain bound and are tortured by the tribe.
Ralph cannot survive alone. He makes his way back to Jack's camp, taking a spear from the beheaded pig on the way. Getting close, he sees Samneric who have been forced to join the tribe. The twins give him some meat and warn him of Jack's anger. Overheard, Ralph is forced to flee.
The tribe chase him over the island, lighting fires as they go to flush him out. His own savagery comes out in a bid to survive. Ralph runs and runs and eventually falls before the feet of a newly arrived British officer, whose ship had spotted the blaze. The officer imagines them to be playing some sort of game, not for a second realising what the boys had become.