Lord of the Flies
William Golding
⁃ an analysis of the complicated nature of human ways
Chapter 1 [The Sound of the Shell]:-
- The chapter starts with an introduction of a boy with fair hair, Ralph, and another boy, who is described as "fat" and wearing glasses.
- The setting is a tropical island, uninhabited and with a lagoon.
- The fair boy, Ralph, is happy about being free from grown-ups, while the "fat" boy, whose name is Piggy, is tense and panicked.
- Ralph and Piggy were on a school trip when their plane was attacked, causing it to crash on the island.
- Ralph is 12 years old and enjoys being on the island, while Piggy is asthmatic and wears glasses.
- Ralph makes fun of Piggy's illness, and Piggy wants to get rid of the school uniform that was forced upon him.
- Piggy suggests the idea of making a meeting with the other kids on the island, which suggests that he wants organisation.
⁃ They assumed that the atom bomb [ WW2] had probably killed all the adults
- Ralph and Piggy find a conch, which can be used to call the others.
- The first boy to appear is Johnny, who is 6 years old.
- Other characters include Eric, Sam, a group of friends with black clothes and a cross, and Jack Merridew, who is described as ugly with red hair and black clothes and treats the other with a authoritarian and intimidating manner
⁃ Jack is arrogant, stubborn, and "knows his own mind" [foreshadowing not following the rules]
- Jack's gang includes Maurice, Roger, and Simon, who keeps fainting.
- Ralph and Jack have a fight or voting for leadership, and Ralph wins because of his attractive appearance and his possession of the conch.
- Jack's choir becomes hunters because Jack has a knife.
- Simon, Jack, and Ralph decide to discover their surroundings, while Piggy wants to join but is unable to because of his asthma.
⁃ Three different reactions to curious bushes
⁃ Simon views it with appreciation
⁃ Jack slashed the bushes [attitude: destructive]
⁃ Ralph's attitude is whether something is functional or not
- The chapter ends with the boys seeing a piglet, and Jack wanting to kill it, but he is unable to do so.
Chapter 2 [Fire on the Mountain] :-
⁃ The boys split into groups, even though they are supposed to act as one
⁃ Jack got defensive about not being able to kill the pig
⁃ They need rules to start with
⁃ First Rule: Who holds the conch speaks and cannot be interrupted except by Ralph [conch gaining more value]
⁃ Jack jumps towards punishment to whoever breaks the rules
⁃ A six year old boy with a birthmark shyly stepped up
⁃ Piggy is helping the boy with asking about the snake/beastie
⁃ People panicked and Ralph tried to calm them down by telling them doesn't exist
⁃ Ralph's only defence is "But there isn't a beastie!"
⁃ But Jack said even if it does exist I have a solution
⁃ Ralph is trying to attract with audience back from Jack [He used parallel structure, repetition, and pathos.]
⁃ Ralph's father is in the Navy and Ralph used him as Ethos
⁃ There is still competition between Ralph and Jack
⁃ Ralph suggested a fire for them to be seen, but the fire can have drawbacks
⁃ Even though Ralph suggested the fire people started to follow Jack
⁃ They formed a Unity from having a common goal [build a fire]
⁃ Jack snatched the glasses of piggy's face to light the fire [vulgar and violent actions]
⁃ When piggy said "You'll break the conch!" He meant the organisation
⁃ They blamed piggy for not engaging
⁃ Jack disrespected the conch which means the authority
⁃ They kept ignoring piggy even with the conch and act aggressive towards him
⁃ Part of Jack's choir or hunters will control the fire
⁃ Jack only challenges Piggy but not Ralph because of his authority
⁃ The fire was lit and a small part if the forest lit up
⁃ Only when Piggy lost his temper did they start to listen
⁃ Piggy highlighted all the things that are out of control
⁃ The boy with the birthmark went missing when a tree exploded
Foreshadowing & Points:-
⁃ Organization is not efficient and unstable
⁃ Ralph vs. Jack
⁃ The powerful overwhelms the weak
⁃ Physical strength VS. weak [Power]
⁃ Violence
⁃ Worse days are ahead [Fire]
Chapter 3 [Huts on the Beach]:-
⁃ Jack is responsible for hunting, and Ralph & Simon for building the shelter
⁃ They were working for days but still can't finish it, and they also weren't able to get meat
⁃ No one is fulfilling the orders or jobs
⁃ Jack still cannot kill
⁃ Jack still wants to hunt but Ralph wants to leave as soon as possible
⁃ Simon is the helping hand to everyone
⁃ Simon is very conscious/aware about his surroundings
Chapter 4 :- Painted Faces and Long Hair
-the title of the chapter highlights the changes that's happening to the boys
-roger destroys the sand castle's of the young boys because he finds pleasure in doing so, and they stayed silent because their favourite ones weren't destroyed
-the young boys silence might result in more harming for other groups or people
-maurice is guilty even though there was no adult to lecture him about it
-Roger is throwing rocks at Henry only to miss on purpose, because he was subconsciously still afraid/hesitant of his parents, laws, etc
-Jack decides to paint his face to camouflage with the jungle so he'd be able to hunt and hide
-Piggy suggests another invention, sundial
-Ralph mocks him in return, and Piggy responds seriously which shows how naive he is
-They see a ship and the smoke wasn't there and Jack's choir was to blame (second incident)
-The tension that keeps increasing affects their attitude more and more
-They/Jack finally managed to hunt
-Jack feels proud of his achievement, because he hesitated before because of his innocence and now that he could hunt he won’tgh stop
-Their is a difference between the two groups, Ralph's group are very enraged, while Jack's group were very ecstatic
-Killing is a passion and power for Jack
-When Jack was blamed for the dead fire he hit Piggy because he was the weakest out of all the people complaining
-Simon was compared to an angel when he helped Piggy with his specs
-Jack didn't feel any regret and guilt towards his mistake, yet he apologised only to Ralph because of authority
-Jack stopped the blaming all by just apologising, and Ralph had to swallow his anger and try to get over this mistake
-Jack is using every opportunity to attack piggy
-They threw the meat to piggy as if he was a dog
-Simon is empathetic
-Ralph is envious because hunting was adventurous for them while he was left in misery
- Lord for the flies can be read as an allegory for colonialism:-
-Jack: Destructive power/ Exploitation
- Ralph: Represents the officials sent to the colonised countries [Civilize and leave]
- Simon: Religious figure; compared to an angel [Missionaries]
Chapter 5 [Beast from Water]:-
- Ralph is maturing
- Meeting is about about fire, shelters, and lavatory habits [Serious meeting]
- Ralph feels disgusted with himself [intensifying the need to leave]
- He starts to acknowledge piggy's intelligence and his weakness, he also recognizes that things feel incorrect even their formation.
- He feels that he needs to repeat the instructions, simplify his statements, and he suggests ideas to provoke the boys [Ralph knows his audience]
- Ralph's starting to develop strategies to connect with his audience better
- Ralph is not taking the ownership of building the shelters, but Jack takes the whole ownership of hunting the pig even though it was a shared effort.
- They want to sabotage his speech because he keeps calling out their mistakes
- Civilised manners are disappearing
Fear :-
- Little Uns: Beast
- Jack: "Animal"
- Piggy: The other boys
- Simon: Too rational and calm to fear
- Ralph: Unknown
- they all claim that they aren't afraid, although each one fears something
- Percival started crying because he was afraid and overwhelmed
Maurice suggested that the beast might come from the sea which terrified the others because they are surrounded by it
Simon realised that the beast might be their own creation of their fear but cannot express it to others
Ralph does not know if he still wants to be chief
Both Piggy and Simon are trying to convince Ralph to stay as chief
Piggy because he wants him to protect him from Jack and Simon tries to because he thinks it is the only way to protect themselves
Jack is the first of the boys to reject the power of the conch and challenges Ralphs authority when he doesn't have the conch but he continues to say to Ralph, "And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can't hunt, you can't sing—"
- Ralph: A fair-haired boy who embraces the freedom of being stranded on a tropical island.
- Simon: A calm and rational boy who sees the island's beauty and the darkness within.
- Piggy: A boy with asthma and glasses, seeking recognition and care.
- Jack: A leader [not the chief] who becomes authoritarian and challenges Ralph for power.
- Roger: Displays destructive behavior and fear of authority figures.
- Conch: A shell used to call for order and organization among the boys.
- Fear: Explores the different fears of the boys, including the unknown [Ralph], "animal"[Jack] , and each other [Piggy].
- Chapter 5: Unveils the boys' fears and the disintegration of civilized behavior.
- Chapter 3: Describes the struggle for power and unity among the boys.
- Colonialism Allegory: Jack symbolizes destructive power, Ralph represents civilizing forces, and Simon embodies religious figures.
- Leadership Struggles: Ralph faces challenges from Jack and must navigate power dynamics to maintain order.
- Loss of Civilization: Shows the decline of civilized behavior and the rise of fear and violence among the boys.
Ralph's Attitude Towards Piggy:- .
• Ralph's attitude towards Piggy is generally negative and dismissive.
• He mocks Piggy's weight, asthma, and glasses, and ignores his contributions.
• Ralph doesn't ask for Piggy's name until later in the chapter, indicating he doesn't value his memory.
• Ralph doesn't show concern for Piggy's well-being, as seen when he suggests removing school uniforms.
• However, Ralph shows some sympathy, such as helping Piggy up when he falls and apologizing for making fun of his nickname.
• Ralph acknowledges Piggy's intelligence and contributions to the group.
• Overall, Ralph's attitude is a mix of insensitivity and empathy.