Plot Summary
By Michael J. Cummings...© 2004
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.......British schoolboys ages 6 to 12 survive a plane crash on a small coral island in the South Pacific during
a world war. There are no adult survivors. The boys are intelligent, well-to-do children–the sons of
aristocratic families that run society and government–who had been evacuated from a battle zone. Under a
hot sun, two older boys–one fat and clumsy and the other handsome and athletic–are on a beach getting
acquainted as they discuss their plight. They are uncertain whether there are other survivors. The fat boy
confides that his school chums call him Piggy, a nickname he despises. The other boy later introduces
himself as Ralph. Ralph says his father will rescue them when he learns that their plane is missing, but Piggy
rejects this possibility: “Didn’t you hear what the pilot said? About the atom bomb? They’re all dead.” While
they get their bearings, Piggy continually urges Ralph to go with him to look for other survivors. But rather
than taking this advice, Ralph goes swimming in a lagoon near a
slab of pink granite. There, he finds a conch about 18 inches long. Piggy recognizes it as avaluable find,
telling Ralph that blowing into it will make a sound loud enough to be heard a long way off. If there are other
survivors, they might come running.
.......Intrigued, Ralph tries it out and surprises himself at the deep, booming sound he produces. Within a
short time, a small boy comes toward them. Then others arrive, including a group of choir singers led by a
boy of superior bearing barking commands. His name is Jack Merridew. When the boys introduce
themselves, Piggy pipes up, asking that a name be repeated. But Jack says, “You’re talking too much. Shut
up, Fatty.” There is laughter all around. Meaning well but further embarrassing the fat boy, Ralph says, “He’s
not Fatty, his real name’s Piggy.” There is more laughter, louder this time.
.......Using the rules of civilization taught at school, the boys assemble to choose a leader. Jack nominates
himself and all of his choirboys vote for him. But Ralph–who seems bright and sensible and who is,
moreover, the holder of the conch, which is perceived as a symbol of authority–gets the majority of votes. To
pacify Jack, Ralph appoints him and his choirboys as hunters. Of course, there is plenty of fruit on the island,
the boys have discovered. But they hunger for more substantial fare: meat.
.......When Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon, explore the inland forest, Jack carries an invaluable tool: a
long, sharp knife–ensconced in a sheath–that he brought with him from the plane wreckage. They climb a
summit from which they observe the entire island, which is boat-shaped. On their way back, they hear
rustling and squeals. The source of the sounds is a baby pig caught in a tangle of plant growth. Food! Jack
has an opportunity to stab it with his knife, but he hesitates and loses his chance. The next time, he says, he
will show no mercy.
.......Late in the afternoon, Ralph blows the conch, summoning all the boys for a meeting. First, he tells them
that he, Jack, and Simon found no signs of other human life on the island; they are alone. They did discover,
however, that there are pigs on the island to enliven their diet. Next, he makes a rule: Whenever anyone
speaks at a meeting, he will hold the conch, signaling that no one must interrupt him. When another person
wishes to speak, he will raise his hand and the conch will be passed to him.
.......A little boy, crying, says he has seen a “snake-thing.” The other boys doubt his story, suggesting he had
a nightmare. There are no “beasties” on the island, they assure him. To further hearten everyone, Ralph
says his father, a navy man, will rescue them. The British, after all, have maps of every island everywhere;
one day, rescuers will come. When Ralph suggests that they build a fire on a nearby mountain, everyone
jumps up and carries dry wood and leaves to the site. No one has any matches, so Jack snatches Piggy’s
eyeglasses and gives them to Ralph, who kneels down and holds the lenses over the wood pile until the
concentrated sun rays start the fire. There is applause.
.......When it is decided that someone must maintain the fire and continually create smoke visible at a
distance, Jack volunteers to have some of his hunters take on this task. While the boys are talking, the fire
burns out of control. Piggy–annoyed that the others have been acting hastily–“like a pack of kids,” says they
should have put more planning into how to maintain the fire; instead, everyone just jumped up and built it
without deciding what to do next. What’s more, he says, “The first thing we ought to have made was shelter
down there by the beach. How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act
proper?”
.......A while later, an explosion from the fire sends vines into the air. Some little boys shout “Snakes! Snakes!
Look at the snakes!” Before sunset, Piggy discovers that one of the little ones is missing. He is never found.
.......When the boys build huts, they all pitch in enthusiastically at first. Then many of them–mostly the
“littluns,” as the youngest children are called–gradually drop out to swim, play games, or forage for fruit.
.......“All day I’ve been working with Simon,” Ralph tells Jack, who has just returned from an unsuccessful
hunting expedition. “No one else. They’re off bathing, or eating, or playing.”
.......Ralph then asks Jack to help, but Jack says he has to pay attention to hunting. “We want meat.” The
boys are on the brink of an argument when they change the subject and talk amiably. Ralph confides to Jack
an unsettling thought: When he was in the forest, he felt that something was hunting him. The conversation
then returns to pigs and shelters–then the fire. Ralph reminds Jack several times not to forget about the fire.
.......The next day, Jack and his boys smear clay on their faces as a sort of camouflage, then go off on
another hunting expedition. On the beach, Piggy suggests to Ralph that they plant a stick in the ground to
make a sun dial. But Ralph, preoccupied with the burden of leadership, turns away. By and by, he spies a
silhouette on the horizon. A ship! He turns to check the signal fire, but sees no smoke. Maybe the fire is out.
Frantically, he tears up the mountainside, then stops. Piggy’s glasses! If the fire is out, he will need them. But
if the fire is still alive–. No time to waste. He keeps running up the mountain. At the top, he discovers the
worst: The fire is dead. As the ship begins to disappear, he shouts at it–“Come back! Come back!” No use. In
moments, it is gone.
.......A while later, Jack returns triumphantly from the hunt. Two of his boys are carrying a pig on a pole
resting on their shoulders. All of the hunters are chanting: “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.”
.......Ralph, livid with anger, shouts at Jack, “You let the fire go out!” When Piggy also rebukes Jack, the
hunting leader doubles him over with a punch to the stomach. Then he slaps at Piggy, and his eyeglasses go
flying. One of the lenses shatters on rocks. Ralph and Jack argue, but after tempers cool the boys build a
new fire, roast the pig, and eat. When Jack doesn’t offer any meat to Piggy, Simon gives Piggy a portion.
.......That evening, Ralph calls a meeting to restore discipline and respect for the rules, presenting the
following grievances: (1) The boys neglect to refill coconut shells used to hold fresh water for everyone; (2)
they shirk their duty to work on shelters; (3) they do not use the rocky area designated as a “lavatory” but,
instead, excrete their waste wherever they please; (4) they make separate fires, causing them to neglect the
signal fire on the mountain.
.......From now on, he says, everyone must abide by the rules–and there will be only one fire, the signal fire.
To allay growing fears, Ralph declares that there are no beasts to be afraid of; there are only overactive
imaginations. Jack seizes this opportunity to ridicule the small boys for believing in such creatures, calling
them crybabies and telling them they must learn to live with their fears. But a boy named Phil nevertheless
swears he saw something “big and horrid” in the forest. Another boy, Percival, claims that a beast hides in
the sea and comes out at night. There is also talk of ghosts. Then boys start talking out of turn; confusion
and disorder result. Piggy then speaks up: “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”
.......Jack tries to declare himself the new chief, then storms off when he fails. Ralph begins to doubt his
ability as a leader and speaks of resigning. Piggy and Simon urge him not to.
.......Overnight, under shimmering stars and a bright moon, an explosion erupts in the sky, and an airplane
goes down in the sea, leaving behind a spiral of smoke and a parachutist falling to earth. He lands in the
island’s forest, his lines tangled and hung up between a tree and a rock. He is dead. But his body bobs and
sways in the wind, and the parachute billows and flaps. Nearby, twins Sam and Eric, who are tending the
mountain fire, hear strange noises. As dawn nears, they investigate and, in the dim light, perceive . . . the
beast!
.......Tearing down the mountainside, they awaken Ralph and the other boys, crying out their tale of horror.
There is an assembly at which the boys recite the details of their experience, describing the beast as furry
and having wings.
.......“There were eyes–”
.......“Teeth–”
.......“Claws–”
.......Ralph notices the cuts and tears the twins suffered in their rush down from the mountain through the
heavy forest growth. He is now convinced that there really is a beast after all. The faces of the others are
stricken with terror
.......Although the boys are all genuinely frightened, they realize they must hunt the beast down. To remain
confined to the beach, cut off from their food supply, is out of the question. So Jack, Ralph, and the rest of
the older boys set out to track the creature while Piggy remains behind with the small boys. Jack leads the
way. Simon, not far behind him, is the only one who doubts the existence of the beast. He regrets that he
lacked the courage to speak up at the assembly.
.......Their destination is a high point on the far side of the island where they believe the beast has his lair.
After nearing the site, Ralph, as chief, decides to steal forward alone. The others observe from bushes.
Moments later, however, Jack joins him. When they arrive at the site, they find nothing. Ralph then notices
that no smoke is rising from their signal fire in the distance. Other boys, realizing that there is nothing to fear
where they are, come out of hiding and begin to roll rocks down the hill. When Ralph orders everyone to
leave, some of the boys want to stay and play. Ralph says, “There’s no signal showing. There may be a ship
out there. Are you all off your rockers?”
.......They all then head back to the other side of the island. On the way, they discover fresh pig droppings.
Jack says, “Ralph–we need meat even if we are hunting the other thing.” Ralph agrees.
.......When a big boar crosses their path, Ralph hurls a spear that strikes it. The animal then changes
directions and disappears into the forest. Ralph brags about his spear throw, and Jack shows a brush burn
on his arm that he says the pig caused. The boys are excited now, and they reenact the scene, one boy,
Robert, playing the charging pig, and the others jabbing at him. Later, as the afternoon merges into evening,
they climb the mountain to the signal fire. There, like Sam and Eric before them, Jack, Ralph, and Roger
hear noises and see the monster, a figure resembling an ape sleeping in a sitting position. It is, of course, the
dead parachutist, his body still lodged between the rock and the tree.
.......The following day, Ralph tells Piggy about their sighting of the beast. Downcast, Ralph thinks there is no
way to kill it and no way to maintain a signal fire, for the beast sits near the mountaintop as if ready to attack
anyone who goes there.
.......“What about my hunters?” Jack says.
.......“Boys armed with sticks.” Ralph replies sarcastically.
.......Insulted, Jack goes off in a huff.
.......At an assembly, Jack informs everyone about the beast, then twists Ralph’s words, saying he accused
his hunters of being cowards. He concludes that Ralph is not a “proper chief, ” then leaves, soon to be joined
by his loyal followers. He believes he is the new chief.
.......Piggy, glad to be rid of Jack, tells Ralph all is not lost, for they can build a fire on the beach. Ralph perks
up, and so do the rest of the boys. They immediately gather wood and start the fire, although they realize it is
a formidable task to keep a big fire going without the help of Jack’s boys. So they settle for a small one.
.......Meanwhile, Jack and his boys go on another hunting expedition, deciding to search only for pigs. If they
kill one, they will leave part of it behind to appease the beast. In almost no time, they find and kill a sow in a
bloody struggle. Simon, who had wandered into the forest, is observing everything from the cover of leaves.
The hunters cut off the head of the pig and impale it on a stake, leaving it behind as a gift for the beast. After
they leave, Simon gazes intently upon the head and the flies buzzing around it.
.......The hunters now have meat but no fire and no means of starting one, so they storm Ralph’s beach site
and steal burning sticks from his fire. Before leaving, Jack invites everyone to join him and his boys at his
site for food and fun. He and his raiders then trot away.
.......Ralph tells his followers they must remain at the fire to keep it going. There could be a ship. They could
be rescued. But one of the boys, Bill, argues in favor of attending the feast, saying it would give them an
opportunity to ask for help in maintaining their fire. Besides, there will be meat. Sam and Eric think it will be
fun to attend and, of course, they would enjoy the meat.
Back in the forest, the impaled pig’s head–the Lord of the Flies–seems to speak to Simon:
.......“Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?
Close, close, close!”
So there is no beast in the forest, Simon realizes; there is only the beast inside the boys–the evil that has
been gradually corrupting them. Simon wanders off again, this time to the mountaintop–and verifies that what
others thought was a beast is really something else, a dead parachutist. He must go down immediately and
tell everyone.
.......Storm clouds are gathering on the beach. It is hot. Ralph and Piggy are bathing in the pool while little
ones play at the edge. Bill, Sam, and Eric have gone to Jack’s party. Piggy suggests that he and Ralph go
too–“to make sure nothing happens.” Jack accepts the advice. Sam and Eric remain behind.
.......When they arrive at Jack’s site, boys are dancing and singing, their faces greasy with meat. There is
also fruit, and coconut cups are full of water. There is a moment of silence and uneasiness when Ralph
enters the camp, but in a short time–after Ralph and Piggy join in the laughter–merriment returns and Jack
passes around meat. However, a short while later, Jack creates discord when he invites Ralph’s boys to join
his tribe. When Ralph and Jack argue over who is chief, Ralph declares that he is the keeper of the conch,
giving him the power to call assemblies, but Jack says the conch means nothing to him. Meanwhile, some of
Ralph’s boys abandon him for Jack.
.......Thunder booms. Raindrops fall. The flashes of lightning–followed by cracks and rumbles–make the
bigger boys uneasy and terrify the little ones. Jack rallies them by telling them to do their dance. Forming a
circle, they dance and chant, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” Little ones form their own circles.
Ralph and Piggy watch and, considering the storm and the darkness of the night, are only too willing to be
part of the festivities.
.......In a short while, the dancers work themselves into a frenzy–just as Simon walks out of the forest, a
shadowy figure whom some of the boys say is the beast. In a moment, the dancers are upon him, poking
sticks, clawing, biting, tearing. Simon dies.
.......The next day, Piggy and Ralph are back at their own beach site, disheartened. Piggy tells Ralph that the
only other ones left in their group are Sam, Eric, and a few little ones; the rest have all gone over to Jack.
When they talk about the night before, Ralph characterizes Simon’s death as murder. Piggy says it wasn’t
so–especially because of the way Simon came out of the woods, taking everyone by surprise. Ralph says:
.......“You were outside. Outside the circle. You never really came in. Didn’t see what we–what they did.”
.......Piggy insists it was an accident. After they ruminate further over Simon’s death, they turn their attention
to maintaining a fire started earlier by Piggy.
.......During the next night, Jack, Maurice, and Roger attack Ralph, Piggy, and Sam and Eric. Piggy isn’t any
use, but Ralph, Sam, and Eric give their adversaries a fierce fight and drive them off. However, Jack comes
away with a prize–Piggy’s eyeglasses.
.......Ralph and Piggy, accompanied by Sam and Eric, go to Jack’s camp and, using the conch, attempt to
call an assembly. When Jack orders them out of the camp, Ralph demands Piggy’s glasses. Jack refuses to
return them. Ralph calls Jack a thief, and Jack lunges at him with a spear. Ralph parries it with own spear.
They fight close in for a while, then break off. Ralph appeals to reason, saying their only hope for rescue is to
join forces and maintain the fire. Some of Jack’s boys surround, capture, and tie up Sam and Eric. Ralph
loses his temper and attacks Jack. They exchange blows.
.......Piggy holds up the conch and demands to speak. Out of curiosity, everyone listens. “Which is better,” he
says, “law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?”
.......Jack and his boys form into a solid wall to launch an attack. From above, someone pushes a rock from a
precipice. It strikes and kills Piggy. When Jack and his boys charge, Ralph runs and hides in the forest while
the others track him down. They set a fire that forces Ralph onto the beach. Running for his life, he stumbles
and falls. When he looks up, he sees a British naval officer, who tells him he has seen the forest fire.
.......Ralph breaks down, crying “for the end of his innocence,” author Golding writes, “the darkness of man’s
heart,” and the death of “the true, wise friend called Piggy.”
....... In the distance, a cruiser waits to return the boys to civilization.