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Imagine a deserted island transformed into a brutal battleground. It's not your typical island story but a dark adventure that shows how scary people can be.
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a famous book about stranded schoolboys on a deserted island who struggle to create order. Due to loss of control, many terrifying events transpire in this story.
The book was well received and has amassed several awards: Modern Library Best 100 Novels and 100 Best English-language Novels. It was also ranked third as the nation's favorite book from school. Three films have been successfully adapted from this novel.
Want to know why the boys got crazy? Read our Lord of the Flies summary and find out.
The story starts when the boys' plane crashes onto the island. These boys are very young, between ages 6 and 12, and must try to survive. At first, they are excited about being on a deserted island without grown-ups' supervision; however, they realize they should be responsible for their survival.
The boys became savage and animalistic in their behavior. They struggled to maintain order and work together, causing a split into two groups. Ralph, who wants to maintain order and seek rescue, leads the first, and Jack, obsessed with hunting and gaining power over the other boys, leads the second.
As the story progresses, the boys' behavior becomes more violent. They indulge in ritualistic ceremonies adoring a pig's head on a pole that they refer to as the "Lord of the Flies." Growing friction exists between Ralph and Jack, and the two groups engage in a violent conflict that causes the deaths of several boys.
Finally, the boys are rescued by an officer who sees the island on fire and comes to their aid. The boys realize the horror of their actions, and the story ends with the boys weeping over the loss of their innocence.
The novel "Lord of the Flies" is a potent allegory of human nature and the pitfalls of unchecked savagery. It has been widely read and studied to explore human nature, the psychology of group behavior, and the nature of power and leadership.
In our Lord of the Flies summary, we offer the following:
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The Lord of the Flies characters are children who build the theme of civilization and loss of innocence. They include the following:
Elected as the boys' leader, Ralph is initially optimistic about being stranded on the island and focuses on building a signal fire to attract rescuers. Nevertheless, his attempts to maintain order become futile as the boys become crueler.
Ralph is threatened by the boys and forced to flee for his life. After assuming leadership, he becomes a hero and a protagonist in the novel.
The hunters' leader, Jack, becomes increasingly obsessed with hunting and violence. He is the antagonist and has a vicious touch on nature. He splits from Ralph's group and forms his tribe, which becomes more savage and ritualistic. His group turns to killers, and in the end, they chase Raph, who hides in the forest to save his life.
He is Ralph's loyal friend and advisor. Piggy is intelligent and rational but is often bullied by the other kids due to his looks and asthma. He cares for the little boys and encourages them to make a fire and find a rescue. Jack's tribe kills him.
A quiet, introspective boy, Simon is the only one who comprehends the real nature of the "beast" on the island. The other lads kill him after mistaking him for the "beast."
One of Jack's most loyal followers, Roger, becomes increasingly sadistic over time and eventually kills Piggy with a boulder.
Twins are loyal to Ralph, Sam, and Eric. These brothers are captured by Jack's tribe and forced to join them.
It's not a physical feature but rather a symbol of darkness and savagery within the boys. The beast manifests their violence, fear, and loss of control.
He represents a civilized world and hope for rescue.
There were three smaller boys on the island. They were afraid and confused by the events around them. These little ones represent society's ordinary people, while the older boys are the ruling class and political leaders.
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Williams gives a narrative of a group of British boys trapped on a lonely island following a plane crash. These boys try to create a civilized society, but things spiral out of control, and fear gets the better part. The events of this story are as follows:
Plane crash
Friction and Fear
Escalation and Violence
Loss of Innocence and Rescue
The Lord of the Flies themes are interesting and have thoughtful symbols:
This theme becomes the main one in this novel and forms the conflict. Raph and Piggy believe that the structure, rules, and maintenance of fire are the most important things to follow. On the contrary, Jack believes hunting, violence, and fun are prioritized over safety, protection, and plans.
Initially, the boys agree with Raph's school of thought on rules and democracy, but with time, this proves difficult for many boys. Most fail to build shelters, smoke signals, or even care for the littluns. Ultimately, Raph is tempted by Jack's authoritarian regime and keeps forgetting the importance of fire and rescue.
The way the kids go lost without grown-ups in the book illustrates how innocence is lost. The correct action is to live a regular life, care for the "littluns," respect older people, and wait for their rescue.
Ralph takes a commanding and responsible approach to the little ones and Samneric. However, when Jack breaks off his relationship with Piggy, it appears that they have lost their innocence because Jack becoming a hunter is synonymous with ferocity.
Through Jack and the hunters, Lord of the Flies demonstrates the cruelty throughout society and among its citizens. According to the author, human nature includes both savagery and innocence. When he sees an officer on the sand, Ralph sighs in relief, believing he has escaped the ferocious hunters.
The story shows the dark side of human nature, which holds that living a life of might is right. Jack's hunting instincts further demonstrate this dehumanizing nature, as Piggy and other logical characters lose their lives.
The murder of Piggy and countless other such incidents demonstrates how the law stands up for the weak. The absence of the law is equivalent to permitting a tyrant to control a nation or allowing criminals to operate without restraint.
There are various symbols in the Lord of the Flies that pass a deeper meaning.
The novel uses the shell to assemble the boys on the beach, representing order and democracy. However, the boys lose touch with civilization, and the shell is discarded.
At the novel's beginning, this conch has the power and forces the boys to gather and listen. The conch's color fades as the boys defect to Jack's chaos. Only Piggy has faith in the conch and is killed trying to protect it, which loses its meaning.
It's lit on the mountain and beach to seek rescue from the passing ships. The boy maintains the fire, but as disorderly sets in, they fail to keep it. Later, they lose their desire to be rescued.
It's an imaginary creature that frightens the boys. The beast stands in for the boys' savage instincts and is revealed to be a personification of their impulses. The beast exists through behavior.
Hallucinating, Simon describes it as the Lord of the Flies, who sees the pig's head on spikes and consumed by flies. This head becomes the Lord of the Flies, a symbol of savagery for everyone to see.
The glasses provide clear vision but are transformed into a tool to make fire. They symbolize intelligence, logic, and the ability to see clearly. When they are stolen, it signifies the loss of reason.
Jack's group paints their faces, transforming them from being civilized to becoming a tribal identity. The war painting shows their descent into savagery and the loss of reason.
The setting of The Lord of the Flies is the sea, the coastal area, and the lonely island with a thick forest. The boys enter this land after a plane crash during World War II in England. The story is built within chaos in the outside world and the lack of order on the island.
Golding uses complex allegory where every major character represents some more significant aspect of society. The pattern is sometimes predetermined, especially in Jack and Raph. Jack represents savagery and primitive fear, leading him to a primitive state that causes uncivilization.
On the other hand, Raph shows society's order and consistently tries to organize the boys to a standard behavior.
One is the analogy between the scar left by the plane accident and the strip jungle. Compared to a bath, the island's heat and humidity. The extensive cut into the "jungle was a bath of heat all around him."
To explain why he is small compared to other boys, the narrator likens children to shrimp. He was a shrimp-shaped youngster of about six years old, and a birthmark the color of mulberry covered one side of his face.
Golding used imagery as a literary strategy to describe the novel's events. Sam and Eric, for instance, believe the dead parachutist to be the beast, as mentioned earlier. To help the reader comprehend why the children make that error, Golding utilized images to put them in the kids' shoes. The twins are unaware that the beast is a parachutist who has died.
According to Golding, Sam and Eric report that the unidentified parachutist appears to be "furry" when they see him. Behind its head-wings, something was moving. "The beast also moved," p.108. The reader may see from this vision why Sam and Eric think they saw a beast. Do you know the benefits of imagery in this book? Read more on this article and identify the types of imagery used in the novel.
You should be very creative when discussing the text's themes and literary devices. Keep gathering more creativity skills from our creative writing homework help.
Stranded British schoolboys attempt to build a society on a deserted island. Ralph leads with reason, while Jack prioritizes hunting. Fear and savagery rise, fueled by rumors of a beast. As the order crumbles, Piggy and Simon die tragically. Rescued, Ralph weeps for lost innocence.
He symbolizes leadership and intelligence. He represents the hope for maintaining a society based on reason and rules.
Roger kills Piggy. A loss of control and hatred for Ralph and Piggy could have caused this murder.
Samneric (twins) were the first characters to see the dead parachutist.
Apart from this book summary, we have other fiction, non-fiction, and playbooks that you can consider.
The Lord of the Flies is an amazing narrative that portrays what happens in a society that lacks rules and regulations. This fictional novel has characters like Raph, Jack, and Simon, who control significant events in the story.
We experience the themes of innocence, struggle for civilization, dehumanization, and more. If you need a Lord of the Flies Summary, we have the best; place an order for our help.
Goldwing makes the story unique through various literary devices like symbolism, imagery, similes, and metaphors.
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