Lord of the Flies Novel Summary


Reading level: Young Adult 
Paperback - 208 pages (July 1959)
Perigee; ISBN: 0399501487 ;
Dimensions (in inches): 0.46 x 6.86 x 4.15 


Lord of the Flies Novel Summary

Chapter One

Golding's first chapter describes a new world, an uninhabited 
tropical island, which a group of English boys discover 
after their plane crashes, killing all the adults on board. 
The first two characters described are Ralph, the tall 
boy with "fair hair," and Piggy, said by Golding to be 
a short and "very fat" child. While Ralph seems perfectly 
content and almost exited with the prospect of being free 
of adults and on his own in this strange island, Piggy, 
the perpetual voice of the adult world, is terrified by 
the idea of having no grown-ups to take charge. Piggy continually 
makes references to his "auntie," who has instilled in 
him the logic and reasoning of adult England.

Right away Piggy tries to make sense of their chaotic situation, 
telling Ralph that they need to hold a meeting and make 
a list of every boy's name. This again underscores Piggy's 
reliance on law and order to ensure his (and society's 
as a whole) well-being. Yet Ralph doesn't go along with 
Piggy completely; often he rejects Piggy's ideas, saying, 
"sucks to your auntie!"

Ralph, like Piggy, believes strongly in the idea that the 
boys' rescue is most important. He even boasts about his 
dad being a commander in the Navy. Right now, the whole 
episode seems like a tale of Swiss Family Robinson to Ralph; 
he doesn't recognize the deep consequences which will quickly 
ensue. Golding describes Ralph's feelings of independence, 
narrating, "Here at last was the imagined but never fully 
realized place leaping into real life. Ralph’s lips parted 
in a delighted smile..."

Finally Ralph and Piggy find the conch shell. After tinkering 
with the fascinating object for awhile, Ralph eventually 
finds the way to call from it by blowing into the shell. 
Piggy quickly seizes the opportunity, telling Ralph, "We 
can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll 
come when they hear us—."

Soon hosts of boys emerge from the jungle and along the 
beach, following the sound of the conch. Most of the boys 
are similar in dress except for Jack and his gang of choir 
members who wear all black. Immediately Jack turns on Piggy, 
ridiculing him for his weight and awkwardness. It obvious 
that these two won't get along well. Also, it’s soon apparent 
that Jack, their leader, is not willing to submit his authority 
to Ralph, and a direct confrontation quickly ensues when 
Roger calls for a vote for chief. Although all of the choir 
members vote for Jack in grudging obedience, Ralph wins 
the majority of votes mostly because he's the won who holds 
the conch.

Eventually Ralph and Jack (who seems to function as a co-leader 
of sorts, though not officially) decide to take a tour 
of the island in order to determine that it is an island 
and also to make sure there isn't anyone else on it. Soon 
Simon joins them and the trio of exploration is complete. 
During the journey, the three experience a peaceful contentment 
of brotherhood and common purpose. Golding narrates, "Eyes 
shining, mouths open, triumphant, they savored the right 
of domination. They were lifted up: were friends." Here, 
the reader feels a genuine sense of hope that the boys, 
despite their differences, will ultimately get along and 
cooperatively find a mode of rescue.

Golding concludes his first chapter with an eerie foreshadowing 
when he details the near killing of a pig which the trio 
discovers on the trail. Jack is especially enamored by 
the pig, feeling a creeping desire to slay it with his 
knife. Yet Jack’s anarchist, hunting influence hasn't had 
sufficient time to conquer the voice of reason articulated 
by Piggy. All three boys are afraid of actually taking 
the life of a living thing. Golding articulates their feelings, 
saying, "They knew very well why he hadn't: because of 
the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living 
flesh; because of the unbearable blood." Soon Jack's attitude 
will change when the desire to kill transcends the necessity 
to obey.

Chapter Two

Golding's second chapter begins with a second, nightly 
meeting following the return of Ralph and the others from 
their trip around the island. Aside from a few exceptions, 
everyone respects the conch as the symbol of authority 
and it's soon established that anyone speaking with it 
in his hands must be listened to.

First Ralph tells the assembly that indeed they are on 
a deserted island. He doesn't seem particularly upset at 
the idea that they are on their own, in fact he relishes 
the notion, confident in his own leadership abilities. 
Many routine things are established, such as the rule about 
speaking with the conch and respecting authority. Soon, 
Jack insists that the boys create an army of hunters, which 
he will lead to find food for the boys. Piggy, seemingly 
uninterested in this, takes the conch and addresses the 
crowd through his thick glasses, warning them that this 
is no game, that no one knows where they are so a signal 
fire is of crucial importance. Ralph quickly agrees, bolstering 
Piggy's opinion.

Now that all the major players have had their chance to 
speak, many of the littluns (slang for little ones) push 
a small boy with a mulberry-colored birthmark forward to 
tell Ralph and the others about the "beastie" which he 
and the other littluns are having nightmares about. After 
he admits his fears about the snake-like beast, there's 
an uproar of laughter and Ralph and the other older kids 
quickly dispel the rumor, saying it’s just in their imaginations.

Finally the boys decide to build the fire, placing it on 
the top of the mountain. Although there's plenty of tinder 
and help carrying branches, the boys soon realize that 
they have no way to light it. Luckily, Piggy comes to the 
rescue, and the boys use his specs to start the signal 
fire.

Soon there is more strife on the island, leading to a confrontation 
on the mountain between Jack and Piggy which Ralph quickly 
diffuses. It seems Jack and his hunters don't give Piggy 
any respect, making fun of his looks and his obsession 
with the conch as a tool of his own authority.

Quickly fire spreads outside of the fire-pit, leading to 
the burning of quite a sizable piece of the mountain. Piggy 
criticizes the others for this, calling them "little kids." 
He continues, "How can you expect to be rescued if you 
don't put first things first and act proper?"

Ominously, the littlun with the birthmark vanishes, leaving 
Piggy and the others worried. Unfortunately the real terror 
is yet to come for the boys on the island.

Chapter Three

Golding's third chapter begins with Jack hunting for pigs 
in the jungle. Meanwhile, Ralph and Simon keep busy working 
on the shelters. Ralph becomes upset that he and Simon 
are doing all of the work, realizing that everyone else 
is "bathing, or eating, or playing."

Soon the rivalry between Ralph and Jack grows more tense 
when Ralph criticizes Jack for neither helping with the 
shelters nor having any success as a hunter. Ralph asks 
Jack indignantly, "Don't you want to be rescued? All you 
can talk about is pig, pig, pig!" This is only a foreshadowing 
of the tension yet to come between these two.

Later in the conversation, Jack admits to Ralph that he 
too seems to sense the presence of the beast on the island. 
He explains, "If you're hunting sometimes you catch yourself 
feeling as if...you're not hunting, but— being hunted, 
as if something's behind you all the time in the jungle." 
This is very telling because indeed there is something 
hunting Jack' himself. The evil nature of his own soul 
is preying on its good side— exemplified in Piggy and Ralph. 
All of the boys on the island (except perhaps Piggy) feel 
the beast, the anarchical side of themselves, growing in 
one way or another. Jack, however is the most susceptible 
to this spirit.

The last part of the chapter gives the reader a sense of 
Simon's strange behavior. Simon already is portrayed as 
a martyr of sorts, though in a very small way in this case. 
He reaches up to the higher branches to give the littluns 
fruit from the jungle. Later, he crawls beneath the undergrowth, 
leaving the others to be by himself in this mysterious 
tropical paradise.

Chapter Four

The beginning of chapter four details the events of life 
as a littlun. Percival, Johnny, and Henry, three littluns 
who suffer from unknown terror during the night but play 
happily during the day, are on the beach, near the ocean 
water, engaged in their usual trivialities. Soon Roger 
and Maurice, two of Jack’s hunters, begin to harass the 
boys, kicking over their sand-castles and throwing stones 
near them. These events are precursors to the actual violence 
Roger and Maurice will use later in the novel to threaten 
Ralph and Piggy. Yet for the time being, there is an invisible 
wall of protection around Henry, whom Roger throws stones 
near. Roger's conditioning of the old world is still present 
but will soon wear off.

The second major theme of the chapter is the adoption of 
face paint by Jack and the hunters. Wearing masks of green 
and other colors, the boys feel compelled to hunt the pig, 
being much more brave than normal. Golding explains that 
with the masks, the boys were "liberated from shame and 
self-consciousness."

Meanwhile, Piggy is thinking about a sun-dial. This again 
shows how Piggy is thinking logically about tools which 
could help the boys. Yet not even Ralph accepts this, saying 
that it's not practical. The other boys on the island dislike 
Piggy in general. Golding explains, "There had grown up 
tacitly among the biguns the opinion that Piggy was an 
outsider, not only by accent, which did not matter, but 
by fat, and ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination 
for manual labor." The others hate Piggy because he is 
the only one (except Ralph) unwilling to give up the logic 
and order of the old world of adults.

Soon the rivalry between the two schools of thought are 
again in conflict when Jack and his hunters abandon the 
fire to hunt. When the fire goes out, Piggy and Ralph are 
enraged, seeing a ship which wasn't able to see them because 
there was no smoke signal. When confronted, Jack shrugs 
off the whole thing, starting a group chant and dance with 
his hunters concerning the pig hunt. Golding explains the 
two sides, saying, "There was the brilliant world of hunting, 
tactics, fierce exhilaration, skill, and there was the 
world of longing and baffled common sense."

Chapter Five

Chapter five begins with Ralph deep in thought about what 
he should do as chief. It seems that Ralph is losing his 
authority over many of the boys, especially Jack and the 
hunters. Though Piggy is always at his side to remind him, 
a still graver problem is emerging for Ralph: he is forgetting 
the purpose of the signal fire. Like Jack and the hunters 
who have already forgotten, Ralph too is growing more and 
more susceptible to the beast's power of persuasion.

Soon Ralph calls another meeting to discuss matters. Here, 
it's made obvious that everyone is becoming more fearful 
of the beast. Even Jacks’s hunters say that they dream 
of the beast at night.

Soon killing the pigs is associated with killing Piggy. 
Although the boys make a joke of this, Golding is very 
clever in the way he links the two ideas. Indeed killing 
the pigs is like killing Piggy because with each successful 
hunt, Piggy loses more and more power as an advocate of 
order. This is evident from the partial breaking of his 
glasses. Giving into the beast by hunting is parallel to 
betraying Piggy, who rejects hunting as a worthwhile endeavor.

During the meeting there is a continued and heightened 
sense that the beast is real. One of the littluns believes 
that the beast comes from the sea. This fear is further 
strengthened when Simon, the first of the biguns to do 
so, admits the possibility of there being a beast on the 
island. This makes sense, since Simon is the only one of 
the boys with the moral conscious to identify the beast 
when he perceives it. Indeed Simon has a greatly heightened 
perception of matters the other boys can’t understand. 
This is be made clearer later in the novel.

Piggy, too, senses something, though not as easily as Simon. 
Piggy confides to Ralph his fear of Jack. He says, "I'm 
scared of him, and that's why I know him. If you're scared 
of someone you hate him but you can't stop thinking about 
him..." Soon Piggy tells Ralph that Jack hates him too, 
and this is the first time Ralph realizes that indeed he 
is hated by Jack. It's at this time that Ralph clearly 
sees the distinction between Jack and himself.

Chapter Six

Golding's sixth chapter starts with a very eerie introduction. 
He details the night-time arrival of a parachutist onto 
the mountain of the island. It’s often speculated that 
this is the plane's pilot, yet Golding never confirms this 
one way or the other. The man in the parachute is dead: 
that's for sure. Golding narrates, "There was a sudden 
bright explosion and corkscrew trail across the sky; then 
darkness again and stars. There was a speck above the island, 
a figure dropping swiftly beneath a parachute, a figure 
that hung with dangling limbs."

Samneric, who are tending the fire, see this figure and 
run down to the shelters to tell the frightening news to 
Ralph. When morning comes. Jack and Ralph decide to seek 
out the beast at Castle Rock, and if they don't find him 
there, they will search the mountain. Ralph leads the way, 
and Jack follows, yet when they reach the top no beast 
is in sight. This frustrates all the boys, but especially 
Ralph, who vents his frustrations on Jack. He tells the 
hunter, "We want smoke. And you go wasting your time. You 
roll rocks."

The hunters want to stay at Castle Rock to build a fort 
and roll more rocks, but Ralph convinces them to follow 
him to the mountain.

Chapter Seven

This chapter begins with the boys following the winding 
pig-runs, up the side of the mountain to its peak. Though 
everyone is nervous about confronting the beast, somehow 
Simon knows that Ralph will make it back alright. When 
Ralph tells Simon he's "batty," Simon gets angry, again 
insisting that Ralph will return from the mountain safely. 
What's strange about this dialogue is the fact that Simon 
never predicts his own safe return. Like Christ on the 
Garden of Gethsemane, Simon knows that he will die soon.

On the trip to the mountain, which also serves as a pig 
hunt, Ralph sees a pig and spears it. He is shocked and 
enamored by his own success, saying, "I hit him! The spear 
stuck in—." Unfortunately the pig escapes, wounded, and 
Jack's tribe is upset at Ralph for not bringing it down.

To make up for their loss, Jack and the hunters decide 
to pretend to be killing the pig, using Robert as the sow. 
Even Ralph can't resist the temptation of killing. Golding 
explains the motives in the minds of the boys. "The desire 
to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering."

Soon Jack decides to go to the mountain alone (he's the 
only one willing) to kill the beast. After awhile Jack 
comes running back to the group. Golding narrates, "There 
was a slithering noise high above them, the sound of someone 
taking giant and dangerous strides on rock or ash. Then 
Jack found them, and was shivering and croaking in a voice 
they could just recognize as his. "I saw a thing on top."

Eventually everyone decides to go up and look together. 
What they see is nightmarish. Golding again narrates, "Behind 
them the silver of moon had drawn clear of the horizon. 
Before them, something like a great ape was sitting asleep 
with its head between its knees. Then the wind roared in 
the forest, there was confusion in the darkness and the 
creature lifted its head, holding toward them the ruin 
of a face."

Quickly everyone runs back to the shelters on the shore 
in sheer terror.

Chapter Eight

Golding's eighth chapter begins with a meeting on the shore 
following the previous night of fright and unknown terror. 
It seems the beast is very close to the fire, which has 
long since gone out. Ralph suggests that the beast doesn't 
want them rescued; indeed he doesn't.

Soon Jack confronts Ralph in front of the assembly. He 
tells his hunters the lie that Ralph said they were "no 
good." Then he calls for another vote for chief. When no 
one votes for him, he becomes suddenly embarrassed and 
starts crying. He tells them, "I'm not going to play any 
longer. Not with you. I'm not going to be a part of Ralph's 
lot."

When Jack leaves, three things occur: Ralph thinks that 
matters are hopeless; Piggy suggests building the fire 
on the shore; Simon decides to confront the beast.

Piggy is thrilled that Jack, his arch enemy, has left Ralph 
and the others. Golding narrates, "Piggy was so full of 
delight and expanding liberty in Jack's departure, so full 
of pride in his contribution to the good of society, that 
he helped to fetch wood."

Soon Ralph and Piggy realize that many of the others are 
slowly and silently deserting camp to join Jack. Maurice, 
Bill, and Roger (Jack's strongest supporters) are first 
to go. Simon has also left but for a different reason— 
he wants to find the beast, not to kill it, but to find 
out what it is and what it wants.

Meanwhile Jack and his dedicated followers go back to their 
hunt for pigs. When they see a large sow with piglets, 
they attack her, throwing dozens of spears into her body 
until she finally collapses in the middle of an open field. 
Yet this kill is different. Golding explains, "Then Jack 
found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. 
The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled 
upon her. The butterflies still danced, preoccupied in 
the center of the clearing." This marks a major turning 
point for the adolescent boys. The pig satisfies not only 
their desire to kill, but also their sexual need. This 
is further exemplified when Robert boasts, "Right up her 
ass!"

Soon the boys cut off the head of the pig and leave it 
poking up from the ground on a stick sharpened at both 
ends. This is a sacrifice to the beast, or so they say. 
Simon, also is nearby, but for a different reason. Now 
he can confront the beast in his own way. Soon Simon begins 
hearing statements from the beast. The Lord of the Flies 
tells Simon "I know that" when Simon thinks to himself 
about the "infinite cynicism of adult life."

Eventually the beast begins speaking to Simon more directly. 
The Lord of the Flies tells him, "Fancy thinking the Beast 
was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn't 
you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason 
why it's no go? Why things are what they are?" This overwhelms 
Simon, seeing himself inside the mouth of the beast, losing 
consciousness and falling down.

Meanwhile, Jack and his hunters in face paint, steal fire 
for Ralph and Piggy.

Chapter Nine

Golding's ninth chapter mostly concerns Simon. The chapter 
begins with Simon sleeping in the creepers. Golding explains, 
"With the running of the blood Simon's fit passed into 
the weariness of sleep."

Yet Simon is much changed from the preceding affairs concerning 
his conversation with the beast. Again Golding explains, 
"The usual brightness was gone from his eyes and he walked 
with a sort of glum determination like an old man." Simon 
has lost his innocence; he knows more than anyone else 
about the beast, which is taking its toll on his body.

The parachute man is soon swarmed with the flies. This 
is quite fitting— the order that the man represents is 
being replaced with the chaos of the beast. This also is 
parallel to the pain Piggy gets in his head at this time. 
His logic is being impaired as the beast grows in power 
and control of their island society.

Soon Simon decides to tell the others about the beast. 
Golding narrates Simon's thoughts. "The beast was harmless 
and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon 
as possible."

The change in power from the parachutist to the Lord of 
the Flies mirrors the change in power from Ralph to Jack. 
Golding follows, "Power lay in the brown swell of his forearms; 
authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear 
like an ape." Here, the author proves that Jack has replaced 
Ralph as chief, not democratically, but practically.

Soon all the boys, including Ralph and Piggy, congregate 
around a bonfire where the sow is being cooked and eaten. 
During another of their pagan-like chanting ceremonies 
where they pretend to kill the pig, Simon appears. In the 
darkness the boys believe that Simon is the beast, so they 
descend upon him, slowly murdering the poor boy. Simon's 
body gradually floats out to sea. Here the Christ metaphor 
for Simon is strongest.

Chapter Ten

Like the opening scene of the novel, chapter ten begins 
with two figures alone on the beach— Ralph and Piggy. Both 
of them are very frightened about their future; both feel 
guilty for taking part in the previous night's feast which 
turned out to be Simon's murder. Piggy won't believe that 
he had anything to do with it, saying that it was just 
an unfortunate accident.

Soon Samneric appear, helping to keep up the fire on the 
shore. Ralph seems to forget the meaning of the fire, however. 
Golding explains, "Ralph tried indignantly to remember. 
There was something good about a fire. Something overwhelmingly 
good." Here again is proof that Ralph is becoming increasingly 
weary as the power of the beast infects his soul. Piggy, 
of course, comes to the rescue, reminding Ralph that the 
fire is the only way for the boys to be saved.

That night, Jack and his hunters raid Ralph's camp, taking 
the fire and stealing Piggy's glasses. Soon it will be 
all over the adult world of logic.

Chapter Eleven

This chapter begins with Ralph, Piggy, and the twins recovering 
from the previous night's battle with Jack and the hunters. 
Ralph blows desperately at the fire, but there are no sparks. 
Without Piggy's glasses there is no way to start another 
fire either. The situation has become hopeless for Ralph 
and his few remaining followers.

Piggy soon shows his rage and contempt for Jack when he 
tells Ralph, "I got the conch. I'm going to that Jack Merridew 
an' tell him, I am." Ralph and the twins decide to follow 
Piggy's lead and confront Jack and the hunters at Castle 
Rock. They decide to carry spears while Piggy brings the 
conch, his last semblance of order.

When the two tribes meet each other at the hunter's fortress 
of Castle Rock, words and stones are hurled back and forth, 
eventually leading to a fight between the two chiefs. This 
fight ends in a draw, but Samneric are quickly taken as 
prisoners. This inspires Jack and his hunters to become 
more aggressive. When Piggy screams at them in desperation, 
"Which is better— to have rules and agree, or to hunt and 
kill?," the hunters are enraged. Roger, Jack's torture 
specialist, rolls a giant boulder down the hill, striking 
Piggy head on. Instantly Piggy's body is hurled over the 
ledge, crashing onto a rock below revealing his blood and 
guts before his corpse is washed away with a wave from 
the ocean.

Ralph, in savage-like panic, crashes through the foliage, 
escaping the situation which has killed his only source 
of encouragement.

Chapter Twelve

In this chapter, Ralph loses his sanity, not believing 
the events he has witnessed. Ralph approaches the fortress 
again at night, when Samneric are serving as guards. They 
tell Ralph that Jack is planning a hunt for him tomorrow, 
and he will surely be killed unless he finds a clever place 
to hide. Ralph tells them that he'll hide in the thicket 
near Castle Rock.

The next morning, Roger sharpens a stick at both ends, 
signaling the time for another big hunt and showing that 
now Ralph has become the beast the boys must kill. Soon 
Samneric tell the others where Ralph is hiding, betraying 
their loyalty to him. This devastates Ralph, who can't 
reason any longer. Golding explains his feelings, "There 
was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly 
for debate nor dignity of the conch."

The rest of the chapter is dedicated to the hunt which 
almost kills Ralph several times. In desperation, Ralph 
runs out into the ocean, trying to escape Jack and the 
savages. To Ralph's surprise, he almost runs into a naval 
officer, who asks what is going on and where the adults 
are. Ralph tells him that two people have been killed. 
The puzzled officer takes Ralph and the others aboard, 
and their deadly battle is over.

Golding explains, "Ralph wept for the end of innocence, 
the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air 
of the true, wise friend called Piggy." In this way, though 
the boys are rescued, the novel has anything but a happy 
ending. Indeed Golding's dark vision of man has come true: 
all men are inherently evil.