BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
WOLFNOTE SUMMARY OF…
WILLIAM GOLDING
LORD OF THE FLIES
CONTEXT
A plane evacuating a party of English boys from a nuclear war in Britain is
shot down over a deserted tropical island. Stranded, the boys decide to
elect a leader and to find a way to be rescued. They choose Ralph because
he has a certain charisma and with the aid of Piggy impressed them by using a conch shell to call the
first assembly.
Jack was the main opposition to Ralph, being the leader of the choirboys, and Ralph shows his
diplomatic skills by making Jack responsible for hunting and maintaining the signal fire at the top of the
island.
The group is roughly divided into boys of around the age of six who are called littluns, and biguns who
are aged between ten and twelve.
Ralph’s aim is to form a society similar to the one they have left behind and at an early date he
establishes rules regarding the conduct of meetings, shelters, fresh water and latrines.
Ralph, Jack and Simon set off on an expedition to explore the island. When they return, they decide on
the best position for a signal fire, and they use Piggy’s glasses as a means of lighting the fire. However,
many of the boys only wish to play and they use the excuse of hunting in order to avoid the building of
shelters and the gathering of fresh water. On one occasion the signal fire is not watched and it burns
out of control igniting the forest, which results in one of the littluns being burned to death.
So far the hunters have failed to catch a pig, and many of them are being absorbed by the bloodlust of
the hunt. After a few days a ship is seen passing on the horizon and Ralph and Piggy realize that the
signal fire has burned out. Furious, Ralph confronts Jack, but the hunter has just returned with his first
pig and all the boys are gripped with a strange frenzy, dancing and re-enacting the pursuit of the pig.
Piggy criticizes them for being immature and Jack slaps him across the face, breaking one of his lenses.
Ralph becomes increasingly concerned at the lack of discipline and using the conch shell, he calls
another meeting. He vents his anger on the boys in an attempt to restore discipline. One of the
littluns, who are all troubled by recurring nightmares, says he has seen a beast lurking on the island.
The bigger boys try to placate him, saying that if such a beast did exist they would have seen it during
the daytime hunts, but the littlun responds by saying that the beast lives in the sea during the day.
This sows a seed of doubt for all the boys, which is to grow to dramatic proportions as the novel
progresses. The fear that the boys have for this mythical beast roaming the island is the catalyst, which
ignites the power struggle between Ralph and Jack, between civilization and the primitive, savage
world.
One night the nuclear war comes close to the island and one of its casualties, a parachutist, floats
down, coming to rest on the mountaintop. His parachute is snagged and as the wind inflates the
canopy, it causes his body to rise and fall. The signal firewatchers awake to see this terrifying sight and
they rush down from the mountain to tell the rest of the boys that the beast does exist and it has not
been imagined by the littluns.
As a result of the chaos, which ensues, Jack starts to form his own following. As he now seems the
best person to lead them in their fight against the beast, he ends up with most of the boys following
him with the exception of Piggy, Simon, Samneric and a few littluns who stay loyal to Ralph. It is easy
to see the attraction, which Jack offers, getting to hunt pigs, wearing camouflage face paint made up of
clay and charcoal and performing frenzied tribal dances. Jack soon has them out on a hunting party
and they find an easy prey in a sow suckling her young, which the tribe slaughter and mutilate placing
the pig’s head on a stake which provides their tribe with an idol to worship, and also a symbol to
placate the beast. This idol becomes the Lord of the Flies and has been positioned outside Simon’s
hiding place who is suffering from hallucinations and thinks that the pig’s head is speaking to him,
warning him not to spoil the fun which is to be had on the island.
Simon is the only boy who has the courage to go back up the mountain and find out the true nature of
the beast, and he discovers the truth. He realizes that the beast, which they are all frightened off, is
not a creature lurking in the jungle, but a primordial, evil buried in everyone’s sub-conscious.
Exhausted, Simon decides to go back to Jack’s camp to tell them the truth, but they mistake him for the
beast in disguise and brutally murder him.
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
There are now only a handful of boys in Ralph’s camp, but they have the ability to make fire, whereas
Jack’s group have to steal burning branches in order to have a pig roast. When Ralph decides to let the
fire burn out, Jack’s tribe raid Ralph’s party and steal Piggy’s glasses. When Ralph confronts Jack and
his tribe in an attempt to obtain the glasses back so that they can maintain the signal fire, Piggy is killed
and the conch he is holding is smashed, the last symbol of civilization on the island. Jack, leaving Ralph
to fend for himself on the island, captures the rest of the boys.
Roger, Jack’s lieutenant tortures Samneric in order to persuade them to join Jack’s tribe. He was also
the one responsible for the death of Piggy and the tribe is now held together by fear, not just of the
beast, but also from Jack, Roger and the oldest boys.
Jack decides to mount a manhunt to track down and kill Ralph and they set light to the jungle in order
to flush him out. The smoke that this generates attracts a passing ship and a British Naval Officer, who
is amused to see the boys having such fun, playing like primitive cavemen, saves Ralph from certain
death.
Ralph breaks down when he considers what has happened to them all since they were marooned.
Author
William Gerald Golding was born in England in 1911 and was the son of a famous member of the
British Suffragette Movement – Votes for Women. His father was a teacher and Golding attending the
school where he taught. He went to Oxford University in 1930 where he studied Science in opposition
to his father’s wishes. In his third year, he switched to a literary education following his true desires.
During this time he wrote a volume of poems published as part of MacMillan’s Contemporary Poets
Series.
In 1935 he graduated from Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts in English. From then until 1939 he worked
as a writer and producer for a small theatrical company in London paying for his living expenses
through a job as a Social Worker. In 1939 he began teaching English and Philosophy in Salisbury.
Later that year he married Ann Brookfield and they had two children.
During the Second World War he joined the Royal Navy after which he returned to the same teaching
position until 1961. He then took up writing full time and died in 1993 in Cornwall where he was born.
It is safe to assume that the five years spent in the Navy exposed him to the cruelty and savagery of
the world and human kind. This was to influence him greatly in his literary works and in particular The
Lord of the Flies, which was published in 1954. Publishers had initially rejected this on twenty
occasions, and although this was not the first novel he wrote, it was the first to be published.
It is clear that Golding was a very quick and intense writer, because in 1955 his book ‘The Inheritors’
was published. This gives an account of how violent, deceitful, homosapiens achieved victory over the
more gentle Neanderthals.
In 1956 ‘Pincher Martin’ was published which is concerned with the survival after a shipwreck of a Naval
Lieutenant during World War 2, similar themes to that portrayed in Lord of the Flies.
Golding had books published on a yearly basis after this, right up until his death.
Golding was granted membership of the Royal Society of Literature in 1955. He received the C.B.E. and
was knighted in 1988.
He also won the prestigious British Booker Prize Award in 1980, and received the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1983.
List of Characters
Ralph
He becomes the elected leader of the boys and is the main hero of the book. He is not the smartest or
the strongest, but does have charm and good looks. He endeavors to keep the boys focused on
domestic order so that they can carry on in a civilized fashion. His authority over the boys dwindles as
Jack’s power increases. Ralph becomes a hunted outcast and so does the civilized society he tried to
maintain. Ralph represents the civilizing force within mankind as opposed to the savage force
symbolized by Jack.
Piggy
He is the intellectual of the party, but because of his asthma and lack of physical presence, he is not
taken seriously. He is very loyal to Ralph, as he realizes that the two working together do make a
formidable team. Piggy’s death results in Ralph being left alone to fight against Jack’s tribe. Piggy
represented the rational side of civilization.
Jack
The leader of the choirboys/hunters, Jack is the militant figure of the group. He is soon absorbed by
the thrill of the hunt and places no priority on measures required to secure a rescue. He is disappointed
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
at not being chosen as leader at the start, but soon takes steps to erode Ralph’s hold on the older boys
by promoting the myth of the beast realizing that he will be seen as the only boy able to provide
security. As the novel progresses Jack becomes increasingly wild and primitive and he shows cruelty to
the weaker boys. His behavior is directly related to the murders of Simon and Piggy and Ralph escapes
the same fate only through the intervention of a rescue party.
Simon
An important and complex character of the novel, Simon in some respects is the only naturally good
character on the island. He represents a blend of both factions present on the island in that he sees the
need to care for the weaker members of the group, yet at the same time he has an appreciation for the
natural world and its diversity. It is Simon who truly understands the nature of the beast that they all
fear in that it is not a creature hiding in the jungle, but is hiding in the subconscious of us all. After a
traumatic hallucinating experience with the Lord of the Flies, Simon discovers the parachutist who the
rest of the boys had thought was a monster. Before he can convey this information, he is brutally
murdered being ironically mistaken for the beast.
Roger
Jack’s second in command is a sadistic and cruel boy who bullies the littluns and eventually murders
Piggy by rolling a boulder onto him. He is unique in that he was the only person to single-handedly
murder a fellow boy. He is perhaps the one character who undergoes the greatest change throughout
the boys stay on the island. Being somewhat subdued at the start of the story, limiting him to teasing
some of the littluns, Roger at the end of the tale relishes the freedom he now has under Jack’s rule to
carry out his campaign of sadism and terror.
Sam and Eric
These twins show great loyalty to Ralph right up until the end of the novel and it is only through torture
that they end up joining Jack’s tribe. They are called Samneric because they are always together and
have a tendency to finish off each other’s sentences.
Percival
Perhaps the weakest boy on the island, being bullied by other littluns as well as bigger boys, it is he
who introduces the idea of a beast lurking on the island, living in the sea during the day.
The Lord of the Flies
The book derives its name from a sow’s head thrust onto a stake by Jack and his hunters as an offering
to the beast. This gruesome image is soon swarming with flies and it comes to represent the primitive
nature of Jack’s tribe, which is full of cruelty and aggression. When Simon is having his hallucinations,
he thinks that the Lord of the Flies comes to life and talks to him. It says ‘We’re going to have fun on
this island! So don’t try it on … or else.’ Here the Lord of the Flies is warning Simon not to try and
oppose Jack’s new order, but to accept the savagery that will inevitably take over the island. Towards
the end of the novel, Ralph lashes out against this idol, throwing aside the sow’s head, which is now a
bare skull, and taking the stake as a weapon to use against Jack.
Chapter 1
Summary
We start with Ralph meeting Piggy who provides us with a background to their current position. They
are part of a party of boys being evacuated during a Nuclear War to an un-named destination. Their
transport plane crashes in thick jungle on a deserted island ending up on the beach to be later dragged
out to sea. The boys are marooned and scattered in the thick jungle. Ralph and Piggy are on the
beach and Ralph takes the opportunity to play around showing off his prowess at swimming and
acrobatics. Piggy finds a conch shell and suggests to Ralph that he could use it like a trumpet to
assemble all those lost in the jungle. Ralph positions himself on a platform of pink granite and blows
the conch. Piggy would have done this, but was unable due to his asthma.
Ralph is excited at the prospect of being stranded on this island without any adults while Piggy has
misgivings about the whole situation.
Soon boys aged around 6, ‘littluns’ and boys aged 10 – 12 ‘biguns’ stream out of the jungle onto the
beach assembling at a platform near Ralph.
Last to arrive are the troop of choirboys still dressed in their uniforms of black caps and long black
cloaks led by Jack.
The boys discuss their situation and decide to choose Ralph over Jack as their leader and Ralph
suggests that Jack should be in charge of hunting, using the choirboys as a hunting party. He asks
Piggy to make a list of all the boys.
Ralph forms a search party with Jack and Simon to make a reconnaissance of the island.
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
Interpretation
We learn about some of the main characters from this first chapter. Ralph represents civilization and
organization, and is made leader mainly because of the use of the conch to summon all the boys,
although it was Piggy’s idea to use the conch indicating that he is the brains of the group.
Piggy, because of his asthma was unable to blow the conch. He is also overweight and has poor
eyesight making him a vulnerable member of the party, as his intelligence will have little practical value
to the group as a whole.
Jack shows that he does wield authority by making the choir march in their full uniforms and his
arrogance clearly puts some of the boys against him, as they vote for a leader and Ralph came out on
top. Because Jack possesses a knife he becomes head of the hunting group, which placates him to
some degree. He will come to represent anarchy and savagery as the tale unfolds.
Early on Ralph plays like any other boy of that age, but now that he has been elected leader he will
have little time for such things.
The other main character, Simon, is more complex and will be covered later on.
Chapter 2
Summary
Ralph, Jack and Simon return from their survey of the island, and Ralph blows the conch to call the
other boys back to the assembly point. Ralph explains to the other boys the results of their exploration
of the island, and Jack emphasizes the importance of the hunting group in tracking down pigs. Ralph
makes a conch rule. Only the boy holding the conch can speak and only Ralph can interrupt the one
who holds the conch, thus a process for orderly and civilized discussions can be established.
Piggy takes the conch advising them that no one will know that they are stranded on this island. This
clearly upsets the littluns some of whom say they have seen a ‘beastie’ hiding in the woods. Ralph says
they will need to light a fire at the top of the island in order to attract passing ships and planes.
Jack immediately puts the meeting into disarray by charging away to start a fire at the top of the hill.
Ralph attempts to maintain order, but fails.
On the mountaintop, Jack and the rest of the boys find a huge patch of dead wood and immediately
start a fire using Piggy’s eyeglasses. This gets out of control and starts a forest fire to Piggy’s dismay,
as he knows that some of the littluns were playing in that part of the woods, and one is burnt to death.
Interpretation
Ralph’s conch shell found by Piggy is the symbol of his authority as leader over the group, and this is
emphasized by the introduction of the conch rule for organizing debates. The first meeting breaks
down because of Jack’s irresponsibility and eagerness to light a fire. This action causes the death of
one of the littluns and the war between civilization and barbarism has commenced, and at this stage it
is not clear which will win.
At this stage, the boys are still governed by a sense of morality and order from the society they have
left, and their reaction to the death of the young boy is one of confusion and shame. It will be shown
that this position drastically changes as their time on the island lengthens.
It is interesting to note that Ralph tries to blame Piggy for the death of the young boy, saying that he
should have been looking after them, yet it was through Piggy’s knowledge that he was able to become
leader of the group.
Chapter 3
Summary
Jack picks up a trail of a pig, which he decides he will hunt alone, however, he is unable to catch it.
Frustrated and annoyed he returns to the area set aside for the huts, which Ralph and Simon are
working on. They are angry that the rest of the boys will not help in the construction of the shelters,
they play, swim or use hunting as an excuse for not working. Ralph tries to stress the importance of
secure shelters and for Jack and hunters to provide meat, which so far they have failed to do. The
early good relationship between Ralph and Jack shows signs of breaking down. They now have a
mutual dislike for each other.
After helping Ralph, Simon wanders off to explore the island. He helps some littluns to get fruit from a
branch beyond their reach. He finds a secret shelter in the thick of the jungle made of vines, trees and
rocks. He wonders at the abundance of nature around him.
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
Interpretation
Ralph has strong ideas about how life should be on the island. The aim is to preserve some sort of
civilized behavior. However, he is finding that what is agreed at meetings is not being carried out in
practice. The building of the shelters is proving difficult, as Ralph and Simon are mainly doing this.
Jack and the hunters have failed to provide any meat. Jack could help Ralph enforce his authority, but
he does not share Ralph’s vision of how life should be on the island. He is fast degenerating into a wild
hunter of the jungle, and seems oblivious to the need to work for safety and rescue. Jack sees his sole
purpose as a hunter and is frustrated that he has not succeeded as yet.
Simon has a need to be apart from the others and he has a private place where he can be alone and
safe. He is a mysterious boy regarded as odd by Ralph and the others. He is, in fact, the only one who
really cares about the littluns.
Chapter 4
Summary
Here we focus on a day in island life for the stranded boys. Morning is cool and the island is fresh and
the boys play happily swimming and exploring the island. However, this is soon replaced by the heat of
the day when the boys snooze fitfully troubled by bad dreams.
In the evening the cool returns, but darkness falls all too quickly and sleep is disturbed particularly
among the littluns who have recurring nightmares, perhaps partly due to their diet of fresh fruit. They
dream of monsters and beasts in the jungle that are preying on them.
The older boys bully the littluns; one in particular is Roger, a cruel boy who has an accomplice called
Maurice. Three of the littluns have built a sandcastle and Roger destroys it. He also throws stones at
the littluns aiming just to miss them.
Jack decides to paint himself to aid in his hunting. He uses clay and charcoal to form a camouflage.
A ship is spotted on the horizon and Ralph and Piggy see that the fire has gone out on the hill. By the
time they reach the top the ship has gone. It is Jack and the hunter’s responsibility to keep the fire lit.
Ralph is furious. He finds Jack to have it out with him, but he has caught a pig, which deflates Ralph’s
anger.
Jack and the hunters chant a primitive song and Piggy tries to ridicule the hunters for acting immaturely
and for his trouble gets slapped by Jack, breaking a lens of his glasses. A renewed anger takes over
Ralph and he lunges at Jack who admits he was at fault in letting the fire go out.
The boys eat roasted pig and have a wild dance afterwards around the fire.
Jack’s shortsightedness has cost the boys a rescue, while at the same time he has had a successful
hunt.
Interpretation
The conflict between Ralph and Jack, which began at the election for a leader, is increasing. Ralph is
constantly thinking about the overall good of the group. He is primarily involved with the building of
huts, which is particularly important for the littluns who are troubled with bad dreams. Next is to
maintain a fire on the hill so as to alert any passing ships or planes, and the least important matter is
hunting which he regards as frivolous as they do have abundant supplies of fruit.
Jack is only interested in hunting and the bloodlust has overtaken him, which will lead to a desire for
power.
The reader must appreciate, however, that these are just children and are, therefore, not able to
articulate their feelings clearly.
When Jack’s irresponsibility ruins the signal fire and wrecks their first chance of being rescued, Ralph is
enraged, but the fact that Jack has killed a pig means he is too excited to worry about the missed
chance of escaping the island.
Most of the boys have had a tendency to bully the weaker individuals, in particular the intellectual
Piggy, especially when they need to feel in control and important. This harassment intensifies and Jack
slaps him openly. The civilized Ralph cannot let this incident pass without a reaction, but this makes it
clear that there is a growing gulf between the two oldest boys.
Chapter 5
Summary
Ralph is concerned at the breakdown of discipline that has cost them the chance of rescue. He calls
another meeting to remind them all about the agreements which have been made concerning the signal
fire, the collection of fresh water, the building of shelters and the use of the latrines.
As darkness falls he opens up the meeting for general discussion and the fears of the small boys are
brought to the fore.
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
They maintain that there is a beast on the island and Jack responds by saying that if there were such a
beast he would have seen it. The littluns persist that there is a beast, which only comes out at night
and Piggy uses logic to try and allay their fears, saying that they would still have seen it during the
daytime. One of the littluns, Percival, says that you won’t see it during the daytime, because it lives in
the sea. This previously outthought of explanation terrifies all the boys and the meeting plunges into
chaos. Jack runs away followed by many of the other boys and in the distance they can be heard
following Jack dancing and chanting.
Piggy urges Ralph to blow the conch to summon the boys back, but Ralph is afraid that such a
summons would be unheeded, thus undermining his credibility.
Ralph thinks about giving up his leadership, but Piggy and Simon persuade him that he is needed,
especially by the littluns.
Interpretation
The menacing Jack is winning the power struggle between Jack and Ralph and the community slips
away from a civilized state towards a base, primitive existence. Ralph’s hold on all the boys is slipping
and his attempts to reason with them are ineffective.
The first real reference to a non-existent beast comes into the story and this will be the most important
symbol of the novel. It represents both the fear and attraction of primordial instincts towards
aggression, savagery and power, which lurk within every person’s psyche.
It is well to remind ourselves that all the characters are children, the oldest being around twelve. These
are twelve-year-old English boys and not the worldly-wise twelve-year-olds of today. (Remember this
novel was written in the early 50’s when boys of this age were much less sophisticated).
In the previous chapter we learn about the society of the littluns who have their own hierarchy.
Percival is one of the youngest boys and is bullied by fellow littluns, but it is Percival who sends the
meeting into disarray when he suggests that he has seen the beast and that it lives in the sea.
This shows that underneath the bravado, most of the boys are insecure as characterized by their
recurring nightmares. The mythical beast is one of the most important symbols within the book. The
fact that the smallest boy can stir up anxiety amongst them all is at first hard to believe, but the
important aspect here is not who spoke, but what was said. The beast coming from the sea represents
the primitive savage in us all emerging from the unconscious mind. This will cause the breakdown of
their fragile social order.
The following of Ralph’s rules, which are for the benefit of all, is being replaced by Jack’s bloodlust for
the hunt.
Chapter 6
Summary
As the boys sleep, there is an air battle above the island, yet none of the boys see the explosions and
flashes. The two boys who watch the signal fire, Sam and Eric, have fallen asleep. Sam and Eric are
twins and are always together and finish off each other’s sentences, so the other boys call them
‘Samneric’.
A dead parachutist floats down onto the island and his parachute becomes snagged in some rocks and
flaps in the wind. The shape casts strange shadows on the ground and when Samneric awake, they
mistake the figure as the mythical beast and rush back to the camp. The group is horrified by their
story and they decide that they will organize a search for the beast in the morning. Most of the boys
are afraid to go, but even more terrified of the thought of being left behind. Armed with wooden spears
they set off leaving Piggy and the littluns behind.
However, some of the boys soon get diverted and start playing around, and Ralph struggles to keep the
search party under control. They go to the only part of the island, which has not been explored, an
area later to be known as ‘Castle Rock’. This part of the island is dotted with dark caves and grottos,
but a thorough search finds no sign of any beast.
Interpretation
So far, the beast has only been supposedly seen by littluns, but now two of the big boys, Sam and Eric
have seen it. A search for the beast takes place, but Jack starts to manipulate the boys’ fear of the
beast to gain a hold over them. He is the best hunter amongst them all, who better to hunt and kill the
beast? Little do the boys realize that if they go down the road, which Jack is taking, they will all
become beast-like.
Simon is the only one to understand that the beast is not a creature, which comes out at night, but is a
supernatural force, which is beginning to stir in some of the boys.
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
Chapter 7
Summary
On their way back to the signal fire, Ralph realizes that rescue is going to be very difficult. Strangely,
Simon predicts that Ralph will be rescued. They indulge in a pig-hunt and Ralph gets caught up in the
thrill of the hunt, and much to his surprise enjoys it. The boar they are chasing escapes so they pick on
a boy as prey in a mock hunt and he ends up getting hurt. Ralph is disturbed by the group’s actions
and his own, and using his authority urges them on to the mountain signal fire.
Simon volunteers to go across the island to tell Piggy and the littluns what is happening.
Darkness falls when they reach the mountaintop, and there is the beast, the dead parachutist rising and
falling as the wind catches his parachute. The boys flee in terror.
Interpretation
There are some important passages here, which mark Jack’s rise to power and Ralph’s surrender to the
attractions of the darker side in joining in the mock hunt.
Is our hero also slipping down Jack’s road? The answer is, of course, no as there can only be one
leader and Ralph cannot replace Jack as he is the best one to hunt and kill the beast.
After the mock hunt with Robert, the suggestion was that they hunt a littlun next time. This is not
treated with horror, but rather with humor. It should be noted that at this stage only Jack and Roger
are far enough gone to contemplate hunting littluns.
Roger has already shown his cruelty by throwing stones at littluns in an earlier chapter. He is a meanspirited boy who will show evil and sadistic tendencies towards the end of the book. He is in sharp
contrast to Simon who is a spiritual and mystical figure and shows true regard for the smaller boys.
Chapter 8
Summary
Ralph says to Piggy that Jack would hide if the beast attacked them. Outraged, Jack attempts to take
over the leadership, but enough boys will not vote against Ralph openly, so Jack runs off.
Simon suggests that they go and face whatever it is on the mountain, but no one will go with him so he
goes off by himself to his hideout. Most of the bigger boys drift away to join Jack. Piggy suggests to
Ralph that they start a fire on the beach with his glasses.
Jack has another successful hunt and impales the pig’s head on a spike, which is in view of Simon’s
hideout.
Simon is a weak boy, prone to fainting spells, and he hallucinates that the head of the pig is talking to
him.
Interpretation
Simon forms a sort of bridge between the two factions on the island symbolizing the best of both worlds
e.g. he cares for the more vulnerable members of the group, and acknowledges the need for order, but
he also has an affinity with the natural world, and is attracted to it for its mystery and complexity. He
is, therefore, the all-round good guy of the story, but does not have the authority to impose his views
on the rest.
Ralph wants total order and Jack revels in primitive lust and violence.
It is crucial to remember that all the novel’s characters and episodes are guided to one main purpose,
dramatizing the struggle between civilized and primitive instincts of human beings.
It is dangerous to read anything subtler into the message that the book is trying to give.
The pig’s head on a stake swarming with flies is where the book’s title stems from. This is a symbol of
evil.
Simon’s confrontation with the Lord of the Flies unhinges Simon’s grip on reality at that moment, the
sight of which makes him faint.
Chapter 9
Summary
Simon awakes from his faint and goes to the mountaintop and there discovers the paratrooper’s body.
He untangles the parachute lines and from his vantage point sees that most of the boys are at Jack’s
pig-roast. Simon is very weak from his exertions of the day, but decides to go to Jack’s camp and tell
them the news about the beast.
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
Ralph and Piggy are alone, so they go to Jack’s party out of curiosity and hunger for meat. Ralph tries
to win back some of the boys, but Jack’s hold over them is now too strong. Just then a storm breaks
over the island and there is a downpour of rain. Jack, the chief, orders a dance in response to the rain.
Even Ralph and Piggy join in the frenzy.
Simon crawls into the clearing, but all the boys see is a shadowy, mysterious figure, and they set upon
him, killing him with their bare hands and teeth. His body is left on the beach and the high tide takes it
away. At the same time, the storm lifts the parachutist’s body from the mountaintop and it floats over
the clearing and out to sea. The boys scream in terror.
Interpretation
Simon’s brutal murder strips away the last vestige of order on the island. The boys have turned into
primitive beings and the last of Ralph’s allies have drifted away and joined Jack. Even Piggy was drawn
up in the ritual dance around the pig-roast. To emphasize the evil prevalent now amongst them, these
scenes are set against the backdrop of a raging storm. Conveniently, the body of Simon is lost to the
sea so that it will not be a reminder of their evil action the next day, and the parachutist’s body has also
gone to the sea, so there will now be no proof that the beast does not exist.
Jack has already transformed the beast into a mythical figure suggesting that it is immortal and able to
change its form. He uses it as a kind of idol with which to rule his tribe.
The figures of the beast and the Lord of the Flies symbolize the dark forces at work on the island. The
only symbols for good are Ralph’s conch shell and Piggy’s glasses, which are the means for lighting the
signal fire to procure a rescue.
Chapter 10
Summary
The next day, only Ralph, Piggy, Samneric plus some littluns remain in Ralph’s camp. The rest are with
Jack at Castle Rock. Ralph feels remorse saying that they have murdered Simon, but Piggy says it was
an accident, and he doesn’t want Samneric to know they were involved in the ritual dance.
Jack revels in his role as a despot, ordering one of the boys to be tied up and beaten for annoying him.
In order to have another pig-roast, he plans a raid on Ralph’s camp. He tells his followers that the
beast came to them in disguise last night and was not defeated.
There is utter denial that they have killed one of their group.
Ralph decides to let the fire die out as no one wishes to gather more wood in the dark.
Jack attacks Ralph’s camp and because there are no burning branches to steal, they take Piggy’s
glasses instead.
Interpretation
Jack has total power over the boys in his camp, and he uses the beast as his authority. They must all
stay together to stand against this threat and Jack will protect them against the beast, which is not just
an animal, but also a mythical creature.
Jack says that they way they behave will appease the beast, so if they become more primitive and evil,
this will protect them.
The Lord of the Flies is a symbol of the tribe’s dark nature and the members are quite resigned to
accepting this because Jack now does all the thinking for them. They do not have to worry about
what’s right and what’s wrong, but only whether it pleases Jack and to a lesser degree, Roger who has
become second in line to the leader.
Jack’s power will be complete when he obtains Piggy’s glasses.
The tribe’s idol is the Lord of the Flies while Ralph’s symbol of hope is the conch shell which he clutches
for comfort, once a potent symbol of his authority it is now only an empty vessel.
We now have an image of total transformation from choirboys in starched ruffs and surpluses reduced
to servants of a tyrant whose symbol is a rotting pig’s head on a stake, and they wear masks of
charcoal and clay.
The boys are released from following the rules of adults and can now let vent to their primitive instincts.
Chapter 11
Summary
Urged on by Piggy, Ralph calls an assembly, which seems pointless as only Samneric and the littluns will
attend. They agree to go to Castle Rock and ask for the return of Piggy’s glasses so that they can
restart the signal fire to increase their hope of rescue. Samneric are fearful to approach the savage
hunters at Castle Rock, but when they arrive, they blow the conch shell, but all the hunters do is laugh
and curse them. The hunters are reduced to derogatory chants and boo – a disorganized rabble. Ralph
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
makes a last plea for sanity and the return of Piggy’s glasses so that they can rekindle the important
signal fire.
Jack gives orders to his tribe to grab Samneric and they are tied up to be later tortured by Jack and
Roger. This prompts a confrontation between Ralph and Jack, but they will not get involved in a direct
fight and merely shake their spears at one another. Piggy, holding the conch, attempts to speak telling
the boys off for becoming savages. Roger releases a huge rock and knocks Piggy off the cliff to his
death on the rocks below. A large wage swiftly takes the body away.
Jack throws a spear at Ralph and it bounces off him, and he flees for his life.
Interpretation
Piggy’s virtual blindness at the loss of his glasses and also the loss of the signal fire prompt Ralph to
approach Jack in order to get the glasses back.
Piggy has been the source of human intellect on the island since the start, but with his death that
intellect is extinguished.
Ralph tries to use any means in order to bring the boys back from their undisciplined behavior. He
brings up the deaths of Simon and the littlun caught in the fire and says ‘what are the grown ups going
to think?’ He is not mourning for the boys’ deaths, but for the loss of morals, discipline and ethics. He
claims that Jack must return the glasses because they do not belong to him. Unfortunately, they
belong to Piggy, who is now dead.
The one character who epitomizes the drastic change, which has come over the boys, is Roger. One
suspects that he had a strict upbringing, which suppressed his individuality. Early on in the story he
held back from hitting one of the littluns with stones, merely seeking a near miss, but now he stands
alone in his cruelty by intentionally killing on his own, not in a group, another boy. He is content to be
subservient to Jack because it is through Jack that he is able to have the freedom to inflict misery on
those below him. Roger is marked as the hangman as he is the one who has single-handedly killed
someone else. Just as Ralph has an aptitude for diplomacy and leadership, Roger has an aptitude for
torture and cruelty. Roger is free within Jack’s primitive sub-culture to carry out his bloodlust on the
other boys.
Ralph’s response to seeing the twins captured is to shout at Jack calling him ‘a beast and a swine and a
bloody, bloody thief’. This is an accurate description because the deaths arising from Jack’s tribe’s
behavior have been bloody and ferocious.
Evil has triumphed. Intellect died with Piggy. Spirituality died with Simon, and as Piggy was crushed by
the rock and fell to his death, the conch too was destroyed being the symbol of authority and tradition.
Chapter 12
Summary
Ralph makes his way back to the meeting place, but is reluctant to stay the night alone in the shelter,
and longing for human company goes back again to Jack’s end of the island. On his way, he comes
across the Lord of the Flies and removes the pig’s head so he can use the stake as a weapon.
Samneric were tortured and forced to join the tribe and they have now been put on watch. As Ralph
approaches them he tries to win them back, but they are too frightened to turn again.
Ralph decides to hide and sleep for the night, but Samneric betray the tribe, who set the jungle on fire
to flush him out, discovers him and him.
Ralph escapes again and finds another hiding place, but the fire is now spreading out of control across
the island and he is forced to go onto the beach where he meets a British Naval Officer whose ship was
attracted by the smoke from the fire.
Ralph breaks into tears with relief and for all that has been lost.
Jack’s hunters reach the beach and are amazed to see the Officer standing above Ralph. The Officer is
surprised to see the sight of the small group, but doesn’t see them for what they are, bloodthirsty
savages, but just English boys having a bit of fun.
Ralph is relieved that he has escaped a violent death.
Interpretation
Ralph must be in a desperate state, being ostracized by the rest of the boys, and he finds himself
wandering back to their end of the island. He comes across the Lord of the Flies and destroys the idol,
using the stake as a weapon. He does not know it yet, but the days are numbered for the evil that
exists on the island with the destruction of this totem, just as the destruction of the conch and Piggy’s
death marked the end of reason on the island.
So far as Jack’s position is concerned, there is now only one thing, which reminds them of their past
and that, is Ralph, so a hunting party is organized to find and kill him. Roger has sharpened a stake at
both ends in order to impale Ralph’s head once they have murdered him. This would be a way to finally
mock him as their leader, using his head as a totem / trophy for the tribe.
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
Remember that the hunters were given the responsibility to maintain the signal fire which they
consistently failed to do, but now they set light to the jungle in order to draw Ralph out, and this action
causes their rescue to take place. When they do catch up with Ralph, he is in the company of a Naval
Officer and they are so shocked by his presence that they immediately return to being children, even
though they still appear like painted savages.
Many have criticized the ending of the novel, feeling that Ralph’s death would have provided a more
accurate conclusion to this morbid story.
It is interesting to see how Golding uses irony throughout the novel which is characterized in the Naval
Officer’s reaction when he sees the boys, wondering how such stout British lads could have acted with
such poor form. His tone is totally at odds with the dramatic, harsh dialogue of the rest of the book.
Questions for study with ideas for answers.
Question :
Ideas :
During the telling of this tale, both Ralph and Jack lead the boys. Name the factors,
which influence the boys in following these, two.
Ralph : He uses a conch shell to summon the scattered boys and clearly this
impresses them. He has shown intelligence (although this was suggested by Piggy)
and together with his charm, good looks, common sense, thoughtfulness for the
others, these make him an attractive leader for these still civilized boys.
Jack : As the island changes from a playground to a savage world inhabited by a
beast, Ralph’s sensible leadership loses its sparkle and Jack’s hunting expertise seems
more appropriate and he starts to gain the loyalty of the other hunters in the group.
Jack is the one, who can protect them from the beast, being the best hunter, but he
uses fear to increase his power on the island and he has no redeeming
characteristics, but is merely the means to keep them safe and provide them with
meat.
Both these leaders needed a good lieutenant to bolster their position. Ralph uses
Piggy’s intelligence whilst Jack needs Roger’s bullying tactics.
Question :
Ideas :
What do you think The Lord of the Flies represents?
The sow’s head on a stake firstly represents the evil side of life on the island. Its
erection was a form of appeasement to the beast. It could either represent the
power which the tribe has over the living things in the jungle, but perhaps a boar’s
head would have been more effective, but Jack was not brave enough to take on a
boar, instead he picked on a defenseless sow suckling her young, or it could be a
message to the beast that the tribe has a similar evil nature, and as such pose no
threat to the beast. Secondly, as Christians have a cross as their symbol, Jack’s tribe
has a sow’s head on a stake, Jack being the head and the boys being the flies, which
buzz around. The boys are attracted to Jack because he can keen them safe from the
beast. As the flies find the head irresistible, the boys have to follow Jack because of
the power he has over them.
Question :
Ideas :
What are the key factors that bring about the transfer of power from Ralph to Jack?
Ralph starts off from a position of power by saying all the right things about what
should be done on the island in order to make them safe and secure a rescue. What
is not emphasized is the amount of work, which needs to be put in to achieve this,
and the boys would rather play than do work. What Jack offers them is all play and
no work as the boys view hunting as exciting, whereas the building of shelters,
collecting fresh water etc. is boring. Once the idea of a mythical beast being loose on
the island is introduced, this further undermines Ralph because Jack seems to be the
only one who can resolve this problem. The beast is a product of the littluns
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.
BookWolf Wolfnotes, available at http://Bookwolf.com.
nightmares, which sow a seed in all the boys, which grows into fruition when the
dead parachutist arrives close to the position of the signal fire. The collective view of
the tribe is that if you are not with us, you are against us, and will, therefore, be
eliminated.
Question :
Ideas :
Although Piggy comes up with useful ideas; the other boys frequently bully him. Why
do you think this is?
The way in which Piggy puts forward his ideas annoys the other boys because
although they know he is right, they wish they had thought of it first. The fact that
he has a whiney voice, bad eyesight, and asthma and is overweight makes him an
object of ridicule, yet he has something, which they do not have – intelligence. They
resent him for this. Piggy realizes this himself and that is why he conveys his
thoughts to Ralph for him to implement, which Ralph is quite happy to do. After all,
the use of the conch shell was a deciding factor as to who would become leader.
Bookwolf.com, Copyright 2001-2002, All Rights Reserved
Distribution without written consent of BookWolf.com is strictly prohibited.