Lord of the Flies8

A detailed Summary of Lord of the Flies8

The Shattering of Reason within a Society

William Golding in his novel Lord of the Flies symbolically describes

the degeneration of a civilized society in three stages. Embedded within

this story of a group of young boys struggling to survive alone on a

deserted island are insights to the capacity of evil within the human soul

and how it can completely destroy society. After a plane crash that results

in their inhabitation of the island, the boys establish a democratic

society that thrives on order, necessity, and unity. Slowly, however, the

peaceful society that they create shatters through a path of hatred,

disrespect, murder, and the release of the true human soul.

Upon a desolate tropical island, the lost boys begin to organize

themselves to gain a sense of stability, order, and brotherhood. They

elect Ralph, the oldest boy at twelve years of age, as leader and use a

conch found in the lagoon as a symbol of democracy and respect. Two other

children, Jack, the head of a choir group, and Simon, a small but

intellectual boy, accompany Ralph on an expedition to determine whether the

land is truly an island. They find that it is indeed true, and compose a

find who had created the smoke, the boys would have been left to

However, the fire spreads to the forest quickly and destroys the group's

away layer after layer in this book, the true human soul is bared, naked and

killing it, whatever it may be. After the fire is rekindled by Ralph's

sufficient enough to bring them together again" (50). The true problem,

orders, Sam and Eric, two young twins, are on duty watching and they spot a

to the beach where Jack's group, along with Ralph's, is feasting. As Simon

Shortly after this, Piggy and Ralph discover that they cannot find several

Approximate Word count = 1227
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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