Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding. It is about a group of British schoolboys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results. Its stances on the already controversial subjects of human nature and individual welfare versus the common good earned it position 68 on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–1999. Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first novel, in response to The Coral Island.
Background
It is very subtly indicated that the book takes place in the midst of an unspecified nuclear war, perhaps implicitly relating the savagery of the children characters to the warfare of adults. Some of the characters marooned are ordinary students, while others arrive as a musical choir under an established leader. Most (with the exception of the choirboys) appear never to have encountered each other before. The book portrays their descent into savagery; left to themselves in a paradisaical country, far from modern civilization, the well-educated children regress to a primitive state.
At an allegorical level, the central theme is the conflicting impulses toward civilization —live by rules, peacefully and in harmony—and towards the will to power. Different subjects include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. How these play out, and how different people feel the influences of these, forms a major subtext of Lord of the Flies.
Plot summary
In the midst of a wartime evacuation, a British plane crashes on an isolated island. The only survivors are all male children below age 13. Two boys, the fair-haired Ralph and an overweight, bespectacled boy reluctantly nicknamed "Piggy" find a conch which Ralph uses as a horn to bring all the survivors to one area. Two dominant boys emerge during the meeting: Ralph, and Jack Merridew, a redhead who is the leader of a choir group that was among the survivors. Ralph is voted chief, losing only the votes of Jack's fellow choirboys. Ralph asserts two goals: have fun, and work toward rescue by maintaining a constant fire signal. They create the fire with Piggy's glasses, and, for a time, the boys work together.
Jack organizes his choir group into the group's "hunters", who are responsible for hunting for meat. Ralph, Jack, and a black-haired boy named Simon soon become the supreme trio among the children. Piggy, the most sensible of the bunch, is quickly outcast by his fellow "biguns" (the older boys) and becomes an unwilling source of mirth for the other children. Simon, in addition to supervising the project of constructing shelters, feels an instinctive need to protect the younger boys.
The original semblance of order imposed by Ralph quickly deteriorates as the majority of the boys turn idle. At one point, Jack summons all of his hunters to hunt down a wild pig, including those who were supposed to be maintaining the fire. A ship approaches, but passes by because the signal fire has gone out. Although the hunting of the pig turns out to be the hunters' first successful hunt, Ralph is infuriated that they have missed a potential rescue. Around the same time, many of the young people begin to believe that the island is inhabited by a monster, referred to as "the beast". Jack gains control of the discussion by boldly promising to kill the beast. Later, Ralph envisages relinquishing his position, though Piggy discourages him from doing so while the two of them and Simon yearn hopefully for some guidance from the adult world.
After Sam and Eric report possibly seeing the beast atop a mountain, Ralph and Jack investigate; they encounter the corpse and the open parachute of a fighter pilot who has landed on the island and mistake it as "the beast" asleep. Jack assembles the children with the conch and confirms the beast's existence to them. The meeting results in a schism, splitting the children into two groups. Ralph's group focuses on preserving the signal fire. Jack becomes the chief of his own tribe, which focuses on hunting while exploiting the iron-clad belief in the beast. As Jack and the hunters have already slain their first pig, they offer promises of meat, fun, and protection from the beast. Jack's tribe gradually becomes more animalistic, applying face paint to liberate their inner savages while they hunt. The face paint becomes a motif which recurs throughout the story, with more and more intensity toward the end.
Simon, a part of Ralph's tribe, who had "cracked" and went off looking for the beast by himself, finds the head of the hunters' dead pig on a stick, left as an offering to the beast. Simon envisions the pig head, swarming with scavenging flies, as the "Lord of the Flies" and believes that it is talking to him. Simon hears the pig identifying itself as the real "Beast" and disclosing the truth about itself —that the boys themselves "created" the beast, and that the real beast was inside them all. Simon also locates the dead parachutist who had been mistaken for the beast, and is the sole member of the group to recognize that it is a cadaver instead of a sleeping monster. Simon attempts to alert Jack's tribe that the "beast" is nothing more than a cadaver. While trying to tell Jack's tribe of this fact, Simon is caught in a ring during a primal dance and Jack's tribe beats him to death, with Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric in the ring also. Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric later try to convince themselves that they did not take part in the murder.
Jack's tribe then raid Ralph's camp to steal Piggy's glasses. Ralph's tribe journeys to Jack's tribe at Castle Rock to try to get back Piggy's glasses. In the ensuing confrontation, Roger drops a rock on Piggy killing him and the conch is shattered. Sam and Eric are captured and tortured into joining Jack's tribe. Ralph is forced to flee.
The following morning, Jack leads his tribe on a manhunt for Ralph. However, the fire and smoke attracts the attention of a nearby warship. Then a naval officer lands on the island near where Ralph is lying, and his sudden appearance brings the children's fighting to an abrupt halt. Upon learning of the boys' activities, the officer remarks that he would have expected better from British boys, initially believing them only to be playing a game. In the final scene, although now certain that he will be rescued after all, Ralph cries.
Characters
Ralph
When he and the others arrive on the island, he quickly establishes himself as the chief of the group, although not by any harsh, overt or physical action, but by being elected. Ralph has many leadership skills that Piggy does not possess and he knows when to and when not to talk (which separates him from Piggy again). Ralph suggests that a fire be lit, hoping that it will increase their chance of being saved; however, towards the end of the book he forgets the initial reason for maintaining the fire. This is representative of the debilitating effects corruption has even on the brightest mind. Ralph may seem to mean well, but often his obsession with being popular overcomes him and he resorts to bullying Piggy to regain his power. Still, in the midst of all the island's chaos, it should be noted that Ralph has a tendency to be polite and logical in the tensest of moments; for example, when the children are obliged to investigate Castle Rock, Ralph takes the lead despite being horribly afraid of the "beast". When Simon expresses his doubts about the existence of such a creature, Ralph responds "politely, as if agreeing about the weather."
Ralph embodies good intentions in the implementation of reason, but ultimately fails to execute these plans soundly. Ralph's refusal to resort to violence throughout the novel is counterpoised by Jack's inherent love of violence. Beginning with his self nomination to be Ralph's hunter, Jack eventually degenerates into the beast he is consumed with slaying. Eventually towards the end of the story Jack overpowers Ralph's leadership, abandoning the tribe and forming one of his own. His darkly irresistible nature, along with the lure of meat, immediately sways the majority of the island dwellers to his tribe, a much more violent group. Jack's insurrection begins a chain of events that drives the island further into chaos initially resulting in the frenzied mob murdering Simon during a primal dance, and then culminating with the murder of Piggy by Roger as the group attempts to hunt down Ralph.
Piggy
Piggy is the intellectual with poor eyesight, a weight problem, and asthma. He is the most physically vulnerable of all the boys, despite his greater intelligence. Piggy represents the rational world. By frequently quoting his aunt, he also provides the only female voice.
Piggy's intellect benefits the group only through Ralph; he acts as Ralph's advisor. He cannot be the leader himself because he lacks leadership qualities and has no rapport with the other boys. Piggy also relies too heavily on the power of social convention. He believes that holding the conch gives him the right to be heard. He
believes that upholding social conventions produces results.
As the brainy representative of civilization, Piggy asserts that "Life . . . is scientific." Ever the pragmatist, Piggy complains, "What good're your doing talking like that?" when Ralph brings up the highly charged issue of Simon's death at their hands. Piggy tries to keep life scientific despite the incident, "searching for a formula" to explain the death. He asserts that the assault on Simon was justifiable because Simon asked for it by inexplicably crawling out of the forest into the ring.
Piggy is so intent on preserving some remnant of civilization on the island that he assumes improbably enough that Jack's raiders have attacked Ralph's group so that they can get the conch when of course they have come for fire. Even up to the moment of his death, Piggy's perspective does not shift in response to the reality of their situation. He can't think as others think or value what they value. Because his eminently intellectual approach to life is modeled on the attitudes and rules of the authoritative adult world, he thinks everyone should share his values and attitudes as a matter of course. Speaking of the deaths of Simon and the littlun with the birthmark, he asks "What's grownups goin' to think?" as if he is not so much mourning the boys' deaths as he is mourning the loss of values, ethics, discipline, and decorum that caused those deaths.
The Conch
When first blown, it calls the children to an assembly, where Ralph is elected leader. They also agree that only the boy holding the conch may speak at meetings to forestall arguments and chaos, and that it should be passed around to those who wish to voice their opinion. The conch symbolizes democracy and, like Ralph, civility and order within the group. However, it is smashed into pieces (by the same rock which is used to kill Piggy at a later point in the story). Therefore, the conch's destruction signals the end of order and the onset of chaos. Originally the conch is portrayed as a being very vibrant and colorful, but as the novel progresses, its colors begin to fade, the same way society begins to fade on the island.
Jack Merridew
Jack epitomizes the worst aspects of human nature when not repressed or tempered by society. Like Ralph, Jack is a natural leader. However, unlike Ralph, Jack appeals to more primal desires in the children and relies on his status as leader of the choirboys (presumably ordained by the adults) to justify his authority . Although his way of behaving is neither disruptive nor violent at the beginning of the book, he does at that time express an unquenchable desire to hunt and kill a pig and spends hours in solitude traversing the island.
This insatiable desire is kindled after the first time Jack is presented with killing a pig and cannot "because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood". After this hesitation, for which he is most ashamed, Jack's blood lust grows more and more irrational, to the point where he abandons the fire (and causes the boys to miss a potential rescue) simply in order to hunt. During Jack's metamorphosis he also begins to paint his face and body with clay and earth, masking his humanity from the boars and inspiring terrible awe amongst the boys. During this time he also starts to be known as simply 'The Chief'
amongst the other boys.
Fatefully, Jack's transition into a demigod puts him on a collision course with Ralph's elected authority. As Jack leaves and takes the majority of the boys with him, lured by the promises of meat, play, and freedom, there is a clear dividing line between the two. Jack represents the irrational nature of the boys, with Ralph representing rationality. Under Jack's rule the baseness of human nature is unleashed and he initiates a period of inter-tribal violence, torturing the twins until they submit to his authority, and initiating the murders of Simon and Piggy.
The tale ends with Jack leading many of the boys in a frenzied attempt to kill Ralph. At this time, the last remaining vestiges of civilization are gone, and Ralph's demise is only prevented by the abrupt and unexpected arrival of a naval officer.
Roger
Roger, at first, is a simple "bigun" who's having fun during his stay on the island. Along with Maurice, he attacks a group of small children and destroys their sand castle. Maurice feels guilt for kicking sand into a child's eye, while Roger throws stones at the fleeing children. But the book states that Roger clearly threw the stones to miss, and felt the presence of civilization and society preventing him from harming the children. Later, once he feels that all aspects of conventional society are gone, he is left alone to his animal urges. He kills Piggy with a stone that was no longer aimed to miss, and becomes the executioner and torturer of Jack's tribe. He represents man's pure, animal self, that is only restrained by the rules of society, and could be interpreted as the entire theme of the book embodied in one person.
Simon
Simon is a character who represents peace and tranquility and positivity, with some references to Jesus Christ. He is very in-tune with the island, and often experiences extraordinary sensations when listening to its sounds. He loves the nature of the island. He is very positive about the future. He also has an extreme aversion to the pig's head, the "Lord of the Flies," which derides and taunts Simon in a hallucination. After this experience, Simon emerges from the forest to tell the others that the "beast" that fell from the sky is actually a deceased parachutist caught on the mountain, only to be brutally killed by Jack's people, who ironically mistake him for the beast and kill him in their 'dance' in which they 'ripped and tore at the beast' (Simon). The final words that the Lord of the Flies had said to Simon vaguely predicted that his death was about to occur in this manner. Simon's death represents the loss of truth and common sense.
Naval Officer
Arriving moments before Ralph's seemingly impending death, the Naval Officer is surprised and disappointed to learn that the boys' society has collapsed into chaos, stating that he would have expected "a better show" from the British children. The arrival of the officer triggers an interesting phenomenon; Ralph's, and to a larger extent, Jack's authority is completely dissolved by the officer's arrival. Upon the officer asking who is "in charge", the struggle of the book is rendered instantly obsolete: "'Who's boss here?' 'I am,' said Ralph loudly." Jack, who was previously characterized as a powerful leader is reduced to: "A little boy who wore the remains
of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who carried the remains of a pair of spectacles at his waist." In the last sentence, he is looking at a cruiser in the distance. It is meant to be hunting him as Jack hunts Ralph, showing that the inner evil is quite present in adults as well.
The Beast
The Beast is first mentioned by a littlun and the notion is immediately dismissed by Ralph. The Beast is thought to be within the water and described by the littluns as such. Soon after the rumours of the Beast begin to flourish, the corpse of a fighter pilot, ejected from his aircraft, falls to the island. His parachute becomes entangled in the jungle foliage in such a way that sporadic gusts of wind cause the chute to billow and the body to move as if still alive. Sam and Eric discover the parachutist in the dark and believe that it is the beast. Ralph, Jack and Roger search for the Beast and encounter it on the mountain as well. The reality of the Beast is now firmly established in the boys' minds. Simon discovers the parachutist and realizes that it is really only the corpse of a man. Jack's tribe feeds the Beast with the sow's head on a stick. This act symbolizes Jack's willingness to succumb to the temptation of animalism. Simon is the first child on the island to realize that the Beast is created by the boys' imagination. Simon's realization of this shows that he is naturally good at heart. On his way to tell the others his discovery, he is beaten to death during the other boys' tribal pig dance.
The Lord of the Flies
Namesake of the novel, the Lord of the Flies is literally a pig's head that has been cut off by Jack, put on a stick sharpened at both ends, stuck in the ground, and offered to the "beast". Created out of fear, the Lord of the Flies used to be a mother sow who, though at one time clean, loving, and innocent, has now become a manically smiling, bleeding last image of horror. And near to the end of the book while Ralph is being 'hunted down' in one moment of blind anger he strikes this twice causing it to crack and fall on the floor with a grin 'now six feet wide'. This transformation clearly represents the transformation that Jack and the boys have undergone during their time in the island. In addition, the name "Lord of the Flies" is the literal English translation of Beelzebub, a demonic figure that is often considered synonymous with Satan. The Lord of the Flies is a physical manifestation of the animalistic nature that is in the boys and the pig. The theme of this story is an attempt to trace the defects of society to the defects of human nature.