Summary
During an international war, an airplane full of British school boys crashes onto an uninhabited island. One of the older boys named Ralph is voted chief of the tribe and Jack, the leader of a group choirboys, is angry but complies. At first, many of the boys are excited because there are no parents or adult figures to guide them and the island present is a total paradise. Ralph becomes the leader of the shelters and more concrete responsibilities while Jack is the leader of hunting, specifically hunting pigs on the island. Ralph and Jack start to clash as Ralph believes more in the importance of the fire for rescue while Jack is more intent on killing pigs. Additionally, the younger boys believe there is a monster present on the island, which starts to worry and scare the older members of the group. Majority of the boys are more excited to hunt, but Piggy, a boy teased for his large body shape, and Simon, a quiet but wise member, stick with Ralph in building the fire and proper shelters. One day, Jack becomes tired of Ralph's leadership and decides to create his own tribe. Majority of the boys follow Jack and his promise to kill the monster, leading to many of the boys becoming savages with no sense of morality to guide them. Ralph tries to create order, but Jack's tribe kill Simon, thinking him the monster, and kill Piggy, purposefully with a large boulder. Ralph, with no one to protect him, flees from Jack's tribe as they chase Ralph to kill him. The boys are saved by a Navy officer who tells them to stop playing "games."
Characters
-
Ralph: the main character and narrator of the book. He is one of the oldest boys on the island and is voted chief of the boys. He tries to maintain order in the tribe.
-
Jack: the main antagonist. He begins as a proper choirboy but soon descends into savagery by hunting. He is also power-hungry and is jealous of Ralph's position as chief.
-
Piggy: a smart boy who becomes Ralph's best friend on the island. He was teased and called Piggy due to his large body size and is later killed by Jack's tribe.
-
Simon: a quiet but wise figure and sticks close to Ralph. Additionally, he sees the danger in the "monster" of Jack's tribe. Simon is also killed by Jack's tribe after people mistaken as a monster
-
Roger: a boy who becomes Jack's henchman later in the story. Although Jack was the one who instigated hunting and savagery, Roger becomes more cruel and savage than Jack.
-
Samneric (Sam and Eric): twins who are very sincere and constantly help Ralph in building the fire and keeping order. However, they are forced to join Jack's Tribe for their own safety, not because they want to
Discussion Questions
-
What does the conch represent for the boys? Why it is important?
-
What kind person is Jack? Which figures in history is he similar to?
-
Name two struggles/conflicts that Ralph has? Which side of Ralph, his savage side or rational side, prevails?
-
Why did Golding set Lord of the Flies in a paradise? Why is the setting perfect island important to the story?
-
Compare Jack with his identity as a choirboy in the beginning and a savage at the end of the story. What does Jack's change reveal?
-
What kind of person is Simon? How is Simon wise, and how does his intelligence differ from Piggy's?
-
Who is Piggy? Why is his name and his glasses important?
-
What is the monster in the story? Who is the actual monster later on?
-
Why is the fire important? Why is the end of the story ironic?
Themes/Ideas
-
Themes of rationality and disorder/savagery. Discuss which figures represent rationality and which figures represent disorder/savagery. Describe the struggle between the two ideas.
-
Themes of democracy and totalitarianism. Discuss which moments in the novel reveal democracy and which scenes in the book represent totalitarianism.
-
Themes of morality. Discuss what morality and immorality are and how they are represented in the characters.
-
Themes of power. Discuss what it means to be in power and what it is to be without it. Describe characters who hold power and who don't.
-
Themes of knowledge. Discuss what moments in the book could have changed with certain knowledge and the actions of people without proper knowledge.