Summary On their way back to the mountain, Ralph indulges in a fantasy of cleanliness and grooming. Disheartened by the group’s dishevelment and dirt, he spends time staring out at the vastness of the sea and realizing how high the odds are against rescue. Simon joins him and, seemingly reading […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 7 – Shadows and Tall TreesSummary and Analysis Chapter 6 – Beast from Air
Summary After the assembly, all the boys go to sleep. Above them an aerial battle is taking place. A casualty of the battle floats down to the island on his opened parachute. The wind drags the body to rest at the top of the mountain. The breeze inflates the parachute […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 6 – Beast from AirSummary and Analysis Chapter 5 – Beast from Water
Summary Ralph calls the assembly and reminds everyone of their agreement to maintain fresh water supplies, observe sanitation measures, build shelters, and keep the signal fire going. He then addresses the growing fear that he knows is beginning to overwhelm many of the boys by opening up the floor for […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 5 – Beast from WaterSummary and Analysis Chapter 4 – Painted Faces and Long Hair
Summary The chapter opens with a general description of the island’s changes throughout the day and the boys’ responses to each day’s cyclical progression. The focus narrows to the littluns’ subculture and three of the littluns interacting as they play with one of their sandcastles. Then Roger and Maurice emerge […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 4 – Painted Faces and Long HairSummary and Analysis Chapter 3 – Huts on the Beach
Summary Jack, alone on a pig hunt, has clearly learned some tracking techniques. Frustrated that his day’s hunt has ended yet again without a kill, he returns from the jungle to the area where Ralph and Simon work on building shelters. Ralph expresses his frustration: Although all the boys have […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 3 – Huts on the BeachSummary and Analysis Chapter 2 – Fire on the Mountain
Summary Ralph, Jack, and Simon return from their reconnaissance in the late afternoon. Ralph blows the conch to call the other boys back to assembly and describes the results of the exploration. Jack interrupts almost immediately to declare the importance of an army for hunting pigs. So that only one […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 2 – Fire on the MountainSummary and Analysis Chapter 1 – The Sound of the Shell
Summary Lord of the Flies opens with Ralph meeting Piggy. Their conversation provides the background of their situation: In the midst of a nuclear war, a group of boys was being evacuated to an unnamed destination. Their plane crashed and was dragged out to sea, leaving the boys stranded on […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 1 – The Sound of the ShellCharacter List
Ralph The elected leader of the boys and the main protagonist. He is neither the smartest nor the strongest but has a kind of quiet charisma and good looks. He tries to keep the boys focused on domestic order and the rules of civilization but loses his authority and almost […]
Read more Character ListAbout Lord of the Flies
Culture and Human Nature As all authors use their life and times as reference points in their works, William Golding drew heavily on the social-religious-cultural-military ethos of his times. Lord of the Flies is an allegorical microcosm of the world Golding knew and participated in. The island and the boys […]
Read more About Lord of the FliesBook Summary
Lord of the Flies explores the dark side of humanity, the savagery that underlies even the most civilized human beings. William Golding intended this novel as a tragic parody of children’s adventure tales, illustrating humankind’s intrinsic evil nature. He presents the reader with a chronology of events leading a group […]
Read more Book Summary