28th July 2017

Plot – Lord of the Flies

Plot: – the event and the order in which they fold

The novel starts when a plane with a group of boys aged between six and twelve crash lands on an unknown Pacific island. Ralph and Piggy are the first characters the reader learns of. They find a conch shell and use it to call for people, this causes the first assembly on the island. The shell becomes a significant symbol of power through out the book as every time a boy is holding it they have the right to speak freely. Ralph is voted leader of the boys in the first assembly and this causes a slight division of loyalty between the boys as Jack, the head of the school choir, already displays leadership amongst the choir boys. To keep Jack content Ralph gives him leadership of the choir boys which have now been given the role of hunters. Ralph, Simon and Jack scope out the land they are on to confirm their belief in it being an island. Once it is confirmed that they have landed on an Island Ralph decides it is necessary to build a fire with smoke to signal to any oncoming ships that could rescue them. The boys then devote their time to keeping the fire going, building shelters and relaxing in a roster while Jack’s choir boys continue to hunt. One morning when Samneric are on duty of the signal fire they fall asleep and the fire goes out. When they wake up they spot a peculiar “breathing” object in the trees and come to the conclusion it must be the fretted over Beast. Ralph and Piggy see a ship on the horizon and excitement rises before they realise there is no fire letting off smoke. This causes distress amongst the boys particularly Ralph. A t the same time this happens Jack succeeds in his first kill of a pig and the error which was made is quickly forgotten by everyone but Ralph, as the boys proceed into their own version of a war dance. These are the most defined points in the plot where the boys show signs of becoming more savage than civilised human beings. The boys become afflicted with their priorities as they lose faith in whether the rewardless act of keeping a signal fire going in the hope of being rescued is better than hunting and being savages. This affliction divides the boys as they move from Ralphs leadership and priorities towards Jack and the idea of hunting and killing. The island then becomes split as only Piggy, Simon and Samneric keep their loyalties with Ralph. Simon is murdered by the boys during a war dance. One night Jack steals Piggy’s glasses from him to create a fire for cooking their pig. Ralph decides to make a stand against Jack’s group which ends in Piggy being killed and Samneric are indoctrinated leaving Ralph alone against all the boys. The boys hunt Ralph down and just as he is caught he finds himself in front of a Navy man.