Lord of the Flies
Title : The Lord of the Flies Author : William Golding Summary One fact about this book should be established from the start - this is not a children's book. The "littluns" and "bigguns" represent members of the human race. The conflict between law and barbarism would have, I believe to be the same had the island been inhabited with adult survivors instead of children. The novel is about a transition from an immensely exciting adventure of some children, to what eventually becomes full-scale war, ending with the arrival of the naval officer who rescued them. Tough I still wonder if they were really saved, considering the atomic war which, at that time was still raging around the globe. The book begins by introducing the two of the characters - Ralph and Piggy. Ralph finds a conch (a shell shaped in such a way that when blown it will sound) and blows it, summoning the rest of the boys, who were on the aeroplane and survived the crash. Last to arrive are the choir, who are descr!ibed as a "black catterpillar moving along the beach." On closer examination is is found that there is a wide variance in the age of the boys, from about 6 to 12 years of age. From here on in the book the younger boys are simpl
y referred to as the "littluns" and the older boys as "bigguns" although the younger children are referred to more collectively in the story. Ralph is elected chief of the group and his first action is for Jack, Simon and himself to go on a scout to check if the island is really and island or is attached to anything else, they find that it is an island and return to the rest of the boys. It is decided at the meeting held by Ralph that people should only be allowed to speak at meetings if they have possession of the conch, thus giving the conch a special power to the boys. It is also decided that the choir should become hunters for food, with Jack (the choir leader) in charge of them. Above all this though is the importance of a fire being lit and staying! ugh they convey the general fear. Increasingly the boys believe in the beast although Simon still refuses to believe that such a thing could exist. Ralph goes hunting with the others and decides that it is a bit of fun after all. But unfortunately it gets dark before they arrive at the mountain. Jack, Ralph, and Roger decide to climb the mountain, and ascend the cliff. When they reach the top of the mountain, they think that they see the beast, and run away. This symbolizes the engulfing fear which is overriding most of the boys. An arguement breaks out between Ralph and Jack over the importance of the hunting compared to the fire, and Jack attempts to be elected as cheif, but fails. He displays rather childish behaviour and says "I don't want to play with you anymore" and leaves, attempting to form his own "tribe." Simon goes to his place in the forest and has a strange encounter with the devil, who tells him all about how nobody can kill him because he lives within them. Jac! t Jack and ask for Piggy's glasses back. When they arrive at Jack's camp, Piggy accuses Jack of being a thief and disorder ensues in which Sam and Eric are kidnapped. Ralph and Jack begin to fight bitterly and while they are argueing a boulder knocks Piggy from his spot, off a 40 foot cliff. The book says as Roger came down "The hangman's horror clung around him". After this Sam and Eric are forced to join Jack's tribe. Ralph is hunted down like a dog by the tribe, and hides under a bush. But rather than go out and find him Jack decides to flush him out with fire, and sets the entire i
Some common words found in the essay are:
Sam Eric, Jack Simon, Ralph Simon, Ralph Jack, Jack Jack, Piggy Ralph, Golding Summary, Eric Jack's, Piggy Piggy's, Ralph Roger, sam eric, top mountain, piggy's glasses, lord flies, ralph jack, simon goes, boys monster, ship passes, rest boys, comes forward,
Approximate Word count = 1570
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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