Lord of the Flies Summary

How It All Goes Down

When Lord of the Flies opens, a plane carrying a group of British boys ages 6 to 12 has crashed
on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. Oops. (Also, apparently the world is at war. This
matters.) With no adults around, the boys are left to fend for and govern themselves. Things start
out okay. The boys use a conch shell as a talking stick, and Ralph, one of the older boys,
becomes "chief."
And then trouble begins. They're afraid of a "beast" somewhere on the island, and then they
decide to build a signal fire using the glasses of a boy named Piggy (who is a portly fellow, and
also the most loyal friend to Ralph). But Jack, jealous of Ralph's power, decides the boys should
devote their energies to hunting food (namely pigs) instead of maintaining the fire. The longer
they're on the island, the more savage he becomes. Meanwhile our other key player, a wise and
philosophical boy named Simon, works with Ralph to build shelters.
Eventually these latent conflicts become not so latent, and the boys who are supposed to be
tending the fire skip out on their duties to kill a pig. The blood and gore of the hunt is all very
exciting until they realize that, while they were out being bloodthirsty boys, the fire went out and a
ship passed by without noticing them. Jack has also managed to punch Piggy in the face and
break one lens of his glasses. Not good.
Right about this time a dead man attached to a parachute blows inMary-Poppins-style to the
island. The mysterious parachuting creature is mistaken for the beast, and the boys begin a
massive hunt to kill it. Only Simon (and, let's face it, the audience) is skeptical, believing instead
they're really just afraid of themselves. He goes off into the woods to contemplate the situation
while Jack and Ralph ascend the mountain and find the beastbut don't stick around long
enough to see that it is in fact only a dead man.
Back in the group, Jack decides Ralph shouldn't be chief anymore. He secedes and invites
whoever wants to come with him and kill things (like more pigs, and maybe some people if they
feel like it). Most of the older kids go with him, and Simon, hiding, watches Jack and Co. hunt a
pig. This time, they slaughter a fat mother pig (in a scene described somewhat as a rape), cut off
her head, and jam it onto a stick in the ground. Nice.
Simon stares at the head, which he calls "the Lord of the Flies" as it tells him (he's hallucinating,
by the way) that it is the beast and that it is part of him (Simon). Simon passes out, gets a bloody
nose, and wakes up covered in sweat, blood, and other generally disgusting things. Despite all
this, he decides to continue up the mountain to face the beast, i.e. dead guy. Then he vomits and
staggers down the mountain.
By now, Ralph and Piggy (both rather ravenous) are attending (with all the other boys) a big
feast/party that Jack (decorated like an idol) is throwing. It's all a frenzied reenactment of the pig
hunt until Simon, still bloody, sweaty, and covered in puke, stumbles down into the center of the
crazed boys. He tries to tell them about the beast, but he is unrecognizable and the boys jab at
him with their spears until he's dead. Oops. Simon's body is washed out to sea that night, and

the wind carries off the body of the dead parachuting man, while Ralph and Piggy convince
themselves they didn't take part in murdering Simon.
It's all downhill from here. Jack's crew attacks Ralph and Piggy and steals Piggy's eyeglasses to
make fire on their own. When Ralph and Piggy decide to calmly talk it out with the "savages,"
Roger pushes a huge boulder off a cliff, killing Piggy. Ralph ends up running for his life, finds out
that there's a head-on-stick future planned for him, and at last makes it to the shore of the island
where he runs into an officer of the British Navy. The boys are rescued from their mock war,
but we're left with the image of the Navy's "trim cruiser" from the real war of the adults.

Lord of the Flies Summary

During an unnamed time of war, a plane carrying a group of British schoolboys is shot
down over the Pacific. The pilot of the plane is killed, but many of the boys survive the
crash and find themselves deserted on an uninhabited island, where they are alone
without adult supervision. The first two boys introduced are the main protagonists of the
story: Ralph is among the oldest of the boys, handsome and confident, while Piggy, as
he is derisively called, is a pudgy asthmatic boy with glasses who nevertheless possesses
a keen intelligence. Ralph finds a conch shell, and when he blows it the other boys
gather together. Among these boys is Jack Merridew, an aggressive boy who marches at
the head of his choir. Ralph, whom the other boys choose as chief, leads Jack and
another boy, Simon, on an expedition to explore the island. On their expedition they
determine that they are, in fact, on a deserted island and decide that they need to find
food. The three boys find a pig, which Jack prepares to kill but finally balks before he can
actually stab it.
When the boys return from their expedition, Ralph calls a meeting and attempts to set
rules of order for the island. Jack agrees with Ralph, for the existence of rules means the
existence of punishment for those who break them, but Piggy reprimands Jack for his
lack of concern over long-term issues of survival. Ralph proposes that they build a fire on
the mountain which could signal their presence to any passing ships. The boys start
building the fire, but the younger boys lose interest when the task proves too difficult for
them. Piggy proves essential to the process: the boys use his glasses to start the fire.
After they start the fire, Piggy loses his temper and criticizes the other boys for not
building shelters first. He worries that they still do not know how many boys there are,
and he believes that one of them is already missing.
While Jack tries to hunt pigs, Ralph orchestrates the building of shelters for the boys.
The smallest boys have not helped at all, while the boys in Jack's choir, whose duty is to
hunt for food, have spent the day swimming. Jack tells Ralph that he feels as if he is
being hunted himself when he hunts for pigs. When Simon, the only boy who has
consistently helped Ralph, leaves presumably to take a bath, Ralph and Jack go to find
him at the bathing pool. But Simon instead is walking around the jungle alone. He finds
a serene open space with aromatic bushes and flowers.
The boys soon settle into a daily pattern on the island. The youngest of the boys, known
generally as the "littluns," spend most of the day searching for fruit to eat. When the
boys play, they still obey some sense of decency toward one another, despite the lack of
parental authority. Jack continues to hunt, while Piggy, who is accepted as an outsider
among the boys, considers building a sundial. A ship passes by the island but does not
stop, perhaps because the fire has burned out. Piggy blames Jack for letting the fire die,
for he and his hunters have been preoccupied with killing a pig at the expense of their
duty, and Jack punches Piggy, breaking one lens of his glasses. Jack and the hunters
chant, "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in" in celebration of the kill, and they
perform a dance in which Maurice pretends to be a pig and the others pretend to attack
him.
Ralph becomes concerned by the behavior of Jack and the hunters and begins to
appreciate Piggy's maturity. He calls an assembly in which he criticizes the boys for not
assisting with the fire or the building of the shelters. He insists that the fire is the most
important thing on the island, for it is their one chance for rescue, and declares that the
only place where they should have a fire is on the mountaintop. Ralph admits that he is
frightened but says that there is no legitimate reason to be afraid. Jack then yells at the
littluns for their fear and for not helping with hunting or building shelters. He proclaims
that there is no beast on the island, as some of the boys believe, but then a littlun, Phil,
tells that he had a nightmare and when he awoke saw something moving among the

trees. Simon says that Phil probably saw Simon, for he was walking in the jungle that
night. But the littluns begin to worry about the beast, which they conceive as a ghost or
a squid. Piggy and Ralph fight once more, and when Ralph attempts to assert the rules
of order, Jack asks rhetorically whether anyone cares about the rules. Ralph in turn
insists that the rules are all that they have. Jack then decides to lead an expedition to
hunt the beast, leaving only Ralph, Piggy and Simon behind. Piggy warns Ralph that if
Jack becomes chief, the boys will never be rescued.
That night, during an aerial battle, a pilot parachutes down the island. The pilot dies,
possibly on impact. The next morning, as the twins Sam and Eric are adding kindling to
the fire, they spot the pilot and mistake him for the beast. They scramble down the
mountain and wake up Ralph. Jack calls for a hunt, but Piggy insists that they should
stay together, for the beast may not come near them. Jack claims that the conch is now
irrelevant. He takes a swing at Ralph when Ralph accuses Jack of not wanting to be
rescued. Ralph decides to join the hunters on their expedition to find the beast, despite
his wish to rekindle the fire on the mountain. When they reach the other side of the
island, Jack expresses his wish to build a fort near the sea.
The hunters, while searching for the beast, find a boar that attacks Jack, but Jack stabs
it and it runs away. The hunters go into a frenzy, lapsing into their "kill the pig" chant
once again. Ralph realizes that Piggy remains with the littluns back on the other side of
the island, and Simon offers to go back and tell Piggy that the other boys will not be
back that night. Ralph realizes that Jack hates him and confronts him about that fact.
Jack mocks Ralph for not wanting to hunt, claiming that it stems from cowardice, but
when the boys see what they believe to be the beast they run away.
Ralph returns to the shelters to find Piggy and tells him that they saw the beast, but
Piggy remains skeptical. Ralph dismisses the hunters as boys with sticks, but Jack
accuses him of calling his hunters cowards. Jack attempts to assert control over the
other boys, calling for Ralph's removal as chief, but when Ralph retains the support of
the other boys Jack runs away, crying. Piggy suggests that, if the beast prevents them
from getting to the mountaintop, they should build a fire on the beach, and reassures
them that they will survive if they behave with common sense. Simon leaves to sit in the
open space that he found earlier. Jack claims that he will be the chief of the hunters and
that they will go to the castle rock where they plan to build a fort and have a feast. The
hunters kill a pig, and Jack smears the blood over Maurice's face. They then cut off the
head and leave it on a stake as an offering for the beast. Jack brings several hunters
back to the shelters, where he invites the other boys to join his tribe and offers them
meat and the opportunity to hunt and have fun. All of the boys, except for Ralph and
Piggy, join Jack.
Meanwhile, Simon finds the pig's head that the hunters had left. He dubs it TheLord of
the Flies because of the insects that swarm around it. He believes that it speaks to him,
telling him how foolish he is and that the other boys think he is insane. The pig's head
claims that it is the beast, and it mocks the idea that the beast could be hunted and
killed. Simon falls down and loses consciousness. After he regains consciousness and
wanders around, he sees the dead pilot that the boys perceived to be the beast and
realizes what it actually is. He rushes down the mountain to alert the other boys about
what he has found.
Ralph and Piggy, who are playing at the lagoon alone, decide to find the other boys to
make sure that nothing unfortunate happens while they are pretending to be hunters.
When they find Jack, Ralph and Jack argue over who will be chief. When Piggy claims
that he gets to speak because he has the conch, Jack tells him that the conch does not
count on his side of the island. The boys panic when Ralph warns them that a storm is
coming. As the storm begins, Simon rushes from the forest, telling about the dead body

on the mountain. Under the impression that he is the beast, the boys descend on Simon
and kill him.
Back on the other side of the island, Ralph and Piggy discuss Simon's death. They both
took part in the murder, but they attempt to justify their behavior as motivated by fear
and instinct. The only four boys who are not part of Jack's tribe are Ralph and Piggy and
the twins, Sam and Eric, who help tend to the fire. At Castle Rock, Jack rules over the
boys with the trappings of an idol. He has kept one boy tied up, and he instills fear in the
other boys by warning them about the beast and the intruders. When Bill asks Jack how
they will start a fire, Jack claims that they will steal the fire from the other boys.
Meanwhile, Ralph, Piggy and the twins work on keeping the fire going but find that it is
too difficult to do by themselves. They return to the shelters to sleep. During the night,
the hunters attack the four boys, who fight them off but suffer considerable injuries.
Piggy learns the purpose of the attack: they came to steal his glasses.
After the attack, the four boys decide to go to the castle rock to appeal to Jack as
civilized people. They groom themselves to appear presentable and dress themselves in
normal schoolboy clothes. When they reach Castle Rock, Ralph summons the other boys
with the conch. Jack arrives from hunting and tells Ralph and Piggy to leave them alone.
When Jack refuses to listen to Ralph's appeals to justice, Ralph calls the boys painted
fools. Jack takes Sam and Eric as prisoners and orders them to be tied up. Piggy asks
Jack and his hunters whether it is better to be a pack of painted Indians or sensible like
Ralph, but Roger tips a rock over on Piggy, causing him to fall down the mountain to the
beach. The impact kills him and, to the delight of Jack, shatters the conch shell. Jack
declares himself chief and hurls his spear at Ralph, who runs away.
Ralph hides near Castle Rock, where he can see the other boys, whom he no longer
recognizes as civilized English boys but as savages. He crawls to the entrance of Jack's
camp, where Sam and Eric are now stationed as guards, and they give him some meat
and urge him to leave. While Ralph hides, he realizes that the other boys are rolling
rocks down the mountain. Ralph evades the other boys who are hunting for him, then
realizes that they are setting the forest on fire in order to smoke him out-and thus will
destroy whatever fruit is left on the island.
Running for his life, Ralph finally collapses on the beach, where a naval officer has
arrived with his ship. He thinks that the boys have only been playing games, and he
scolds them for not behaving in a more organized and responsible manner as is the
British custom. As the boys prepare to leave the island for home, Ralph weeps for the
death of Piggy and for the end of the boys' innocence.

In the midst of a raging war, a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down
over a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch shell on the
beach, and Piggy realizes it could be used as a horn to summon the other boys. Once
assembled, the boys set about electing a leader and devising a way to be rescued. They choose
Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appoints another boy, Jack, to be in charge of the boys who will
hunt food for the entire group.

Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon, set off on an expedition to explore the island. When they
return, Ralph declares that they must light a signal fire to attract the attention of passing ships.
The boys succeed in igniting some dead wood by focusing sunlight through the lenses of Piggys
eyeglasses. However, the boys pay more attention to playing than to monitoring the fire, and the
flames quickly engulf the forest. A large swath of dead wood burns out of control, and one of the
youngest boys in the group disappears, presumably having burned to death.
At first, the boys enjoy their life without grown-ups and spend much of their time splashing in the
water and playing games. Ralph, however, complains that they should be maintaining the signal
fire and building huts for shelter. The hunters fail in their attempt to catch a wild pig, but their
leader, Jack, becomes increasingly preoccupied with the act of hunting.
When a ship passes by on the horizon one day, Ralph and Piggy notice, to their horror, that the
signal firewhich had been the hunters responsibility to maintainhas burned out. Furious,
Ralph accosts Jack, but the hunter has just returned with his first kill, and all the hunters seem
gripped with a strange frenzy, reenacting the chase in a kind of wild dance. Piggy criticizes Jack,

who hits Piggy across the face. Ralph blows the conch shell and reprimands the boys in a
speech intended to restore order. At the meeting, it quickly becomes clear that some of the boys
have started to become afraid. The littlest boys, known as littluns, have been troubled by
nightmares from the beginning, and more and more boys now believe that there is some sort of
beast or monster lurking on the island. The older boys try to convince the others at the meeting
to think rationally, asking where such a monster could possibly hide during the daytime. One of
the littluns suggests that it hides in the seaa proposition that terrifies the entire group.
Not long after the meeting, some military planes engage in a battle high above the island. The
boys, asleep below, do not notice the flashing lights and explosions in the clouds. A parachutist
drifts to earth on the signal-fire mountain, dead. Sam and Eric, the twins responsible for watching
the fire at night, are asleep and do not see the parachutist land. When the twins wake up, they
see the enormous silhouette of his parachute and hear the strange flapping noises it makes.
Thinking the island beast is at hand, they rush back to the camp in terror and report that the
beast has attacked them.
The boys organize a hunting expedition to search for the monster. Jack and Ralph, who are
increasingly at odds, travel up the mountain. They see the silhouette of the parachute from a
distance and think that it looks like a huge, deformed ape. The group holds a meeting at which
Jack and Ralph tell the others of the sighting. Jack says that Ralph is a coward and that he
should be removed from office, but the other boys refuse to vote Ralph out of power. Jack angrily
runs away down the beach, calling all the hunters to join him. Ralph rallies the remaining boys to
build a new signal fire, this time on the beach rather than on the mountain. They obey, but before
they have finished the task, most of them have slipped away to join Jack.
Jack declares himself the leader of the new tribe of hunters and organizes a hunt and a violent,
ritual slaughter of a sow to solemnize the occasion. The hunters then decapitate the sow and
place its head on a sharpened stake in the jungle as an offering to the beast. Later, encountering
the bloody, fly-covered head, Simon has a terrible vision, during which it seems to him that the
head is speaking. The voice, which he imagines as belonging to the Lord of the Flies, says that
Simon will never escape him, for he exists within all men. Simon faints. When he wakes up, he
goes to the mountain, where he sees the dead parachutist. Understanding then that the beast
does not exist externally but rather within each individual boy, Simon travels to the beach to tell
the others what he has seen. But the others are in the midst of a chaotic revelryeven Ralph
and Piggy have joined Jacks feastand when they see Simons shadowy figure emerge from
the jungle, they fall upon him and kill him with their bare hands and teeth.
The following morning, Ralph and Piggy discuss what they have done. Jacks hunters attack
them and their few followers and steal Piggys glasses in the process. Ralphs group travels to

Jacks stronghold in an attempt to make Jack see reason, but Jack orders Sam and Eric tied up
and fights with Ralph. In the ensuing battle, one boy, Roger, rolls a boulder down the mountain,
killing Piggy and shattering the conch shell. Ralph barely manages to escape a torrent of spears.
Ralph hides for the rest of the night and the following day, while the others hunt him like an
animal. Jack has the other boys ignite the forest in order to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place.
Ralph stays in the forest, where he discovers and destroys the sows head, but eventually, he is
forced out onto the beach, where he knows the other boys will soon arrive to kill him. Ralph
collapses in exhaustion, but when he looks up, he sees a British naval officer standing over him.
The officers ship noticed the fire raging in the jungle. The other boys reach the beach and stop in
their tracks at the sight of the officer. Amazed at the spectacle of this group of bloodthirsty,
savage children, the officer asks Ralph to explain. Ralph is overwhelmed by the knowledge that
he is safe but, thinking about what has happened on the island, he begins to weep. The other
boys begin to sob as well. The officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their
composure.

Chapter 1: The Sound of the Shell

Piggy and Ralph meet up with each other after escaping from their shot-down
plane. A large scar was made in the untouched jungle, symbolizing the first of
man's destruction on the island. A war is going on in the outside world, and now
for the rest of the book, everyone will be isolated from it and put into their own
"world."
Piggy spots a conch shell, and tells Ralph how to use it to make a noise. Ralph
does so, and calls all of the other boys on the island who crashed down with the
plane. Jack and his Choir, Simon, Sam and Eric, and many other characters join in
an assembly (including the littl'uns, which are the youngest kids at about 6 or 7
years old). Rules are set down, and Ralph is to be chief. There is no one else on the
island but the young boys, so Jack decides to take his choir out to hunt for wild
pigs, although he is unsuccessful in killing a small pig with his knife.
Significance: While Jack's first attempt to kill the pig failed, his quote "next
time..." foreshadowed his future of savage hunting.
Chapter 2: Fire on the Mountain
Ralph calls another assembly, and reminds everyone that they are completely alone
on the island, and there are no adults. Jack recounts his failure in killing the pig,
and reiterates the need for skilled hunters. Several rules are made up, such as
"whoever holds the conch gets to speak." Unexpectedly, an unnamed littl'un with a
birthmark on his face tells about a "beastie" that he saw somewhere on the island.
The general consensus from the others is that there is no such thing, and it must be
his imagination.
Ralph then suggests making a signal fire, which would be necessary if they hope to
get rescued. The boys scramble off to gather wood to build a fire. Unsure of how to
light it, they finally grab Piggy's specs and focus the sunlight to ignite their fire.
They were not careful, however, and soon the fire is engulfing half the forest near
the mountain. The little boy with the birthmark is noticed to be missing, swallowed
up by the raging fire.
Significance: Piggy is averse to most of the other boys, who he thinks are acting
like little children (they are children, obviously, but Piggy acts like the adult
figure). He cites their irresponsibility in dealing with the fire. Jack also shows signs

of belligerence when he argues with Ralph about the signal fire, and claims that
"The conch doesn't count on the mountain!"
Chapter 3: Huts on the Beach
Jack is busy tracking a pig at the start of this chapter, when he arrives at the beach
where Simon and Ralph are constructing huts. Ralph complains no other boys are
helping them with their shelters, but Jack tries to argue that hunting is more
important; this expands into yet another argument between Ralph and Jack. When
Jack again brings up hunting, Ralph presses that keeping the signal fire is much
more important than hunting. Jack disagrees, and they boys continue on their path
of mutual dislike.
Ignorant to the fussing of the other boys, Simon picks fruit for the littl'uns and
makes his way into the jungle finding a clearing. He climbs onto a mat of creepers,
and remains there; he enjoys the tranquility of this spot, where he can be in touch
with nature.
Significance: Jack is solely concerned with hunting, and cannot see the necessity
of other things that can keep them alive. Ralph and Jack are really beginning to
fight in this chapter, and it foreshadows much more future conflicts down the line.
Simon's actions present him as a very good, peaceful and helpful character, in
contrast with many others.
Chapter 4: Painted Faces and Long Hair
Roger is knocking down sand structures made by littl'uns, and throwing rocks at a
young boy, although intentionally missing. Jack calls Roger away, asking him to
watch him paint his face for hunting pigs.
Ralph and the other boys are swimming in the bathing pool later on, when smoke
from a ship is spotted in the distance. The signal fire was out , not being watched,
obliterating their chances of rescue. Oblivious, Jack and his hunters come proudly
marching carrying their first kill, trying to convey their excitement to Ralph. When
Ralph yells that a ship passed them by and no fire was going, excuses are made and
Jack tries to say that hunting is of utmost importance. In the ensuing fight, Jack
punches Piggy, breaking and knocking off his specs.
Finally, the fire is lit again, the pig is roasted, and everyone eats. The hunters
reenact the hunt, with a wild tribal dance and one boy being the pig; this is the first
time of many that the dance is performed.

Significance: Roger's first showing of aggression foreshadows his becoming a

very evil and sadistic figure, Jack's invitation to watch him paint his face is the
start of their "evil friendship." Jack's mask of face paint represents a cover that he
can hide behind, which liberates and frees him, allowing him to do anything when
wearing it, without worrying about any important matters. Jack still does not
understand Ralph's concern with the fire, and doesn't seem to care much for getting
rescued. The primal dance performed by the hunters highlights their transition into
savagery.
Chapter 5: Beast From Water
At another assembly, Ralph mentions that work isn't getting done, and rules aren't
being followed. He tries to drive home the fact that "...we ought to die before we
let the fire out."
All the young children, however, are preoccupied with the Beast, which they still
believe in as some kind of animal living on the island. Jack says that he's been
everywhere, and there is no beast, and Piggy says that a beast can't exist in a world
with science. However, a littl'un still steps up and says that he saw something
horrid in the forest (which was actually Simon returning in the dark from his
peaceful area). Another littl'un says that there's a "Beast from the water," which is
further debated. Simon finally tries to settle the matter by saying that there may be
a beast, but that "it's only us." However, this is responded to with mocking and
joking, as it seems a preposterous notion.
During the assembly, Jack tries brings up the fact that Ralph isn't a good chief,
because he can't hunt or sing. Piggy and others are against the idea, but Jack is
starting to become more and more savage and overpowering. The assembly soon
falls apart and the hunters begin to chant and dance.
Significance: Simon is the only one to realize that there really isn't any "beast," but
just a force of evil or savagery inside all of them that can manifest itself in different
ways. The boys are beginning to split into two factions, those that support Ralph
and those that support Jack and his more savage ways. The conflict between them
is continuing to build up.
Chapter 6: Beast From Air
A man from a shot-down fighter plane parachutes down from the sky. The man is
already dead, however, and the body and parachute float up to the island,
eventually snagging on rocks. The wind continually grabs the parachute, lifting the
body up and down, which is seen by Samneric. Terrified, they run to tell about this

"Beast from the Air," and an assembly is called. Most everyone now thinks they are
in grave danger, and Jack suggests they go hunt it.
Jack, Ralph, and a group of hunters set out to get the Beast, while Piggy stays at
the beach with the littl'uns. They first check Castle Rock, where they had never
been before. Although they find nothing, Jack thinks the place would be a great
fort, and he and his hunters heave a large boulder off a ledge. Ralph prods them
along, and they decide to continue to the mountain to look for the Beast.
Significance: The fighter plane being shot down at the beginning symbolizes the
war going on in the real world, and links it to the boys and their island. Jack's
intrigue with Castle Rock foreshadows his future use of the location as a
fortification.
Chapter 7: Shadows and Tall Trees
Ralph begins to ponder about their appearance and dirtiness as they walk to the
mountain; he would love to get his hair cut back down to a half inch. Simon sees
Ralph staring out to sea and repeatedly reassures him that they will get home
safely.
Jack, his hunting instincts always engaged, finds traces of a boar which they begin
to hunt. Ralph manages to hit it with his spear, but the animal escapes. Another
tribal dance is formed, with a boy named Robert as the Pig. Unlike before, Ralph
actively participates, and their acting becomes overly realistic, actually striking and
hurting Robert.
Finally, they move on towards the mountain, and send Simon back to tell Piggy
they won't be back soon. Jack scales the mountain and reports a sighting of a
moving creature, initiating a mass climb to the summit. When they see what they
believe to be the Beast (the body being lifted by the parachute), they make haste to
leave.
Significance: Simon's reassurance of their rescue strengthens his position as a
positive and good character. Ralph, on the other hand, showed his faltering in
blocking his inherent savagery when he joined in on the pig hunt and dance. Even
to Ralph, "the desire to squeeze and hurt was overmastering." Even the mock pig
hunt is becoming something of danger and greater brutality.
Chapter 8: Gift for the Darkness
Piggy is told about the encounter, and everyone tries to decide what to do. Jack

calls an assembly, and insists that the Beast is a major threat that should be hunted.
Ralph upsets him, though, when he calls his hunters cowards. Enraged, Jack asks if
anyone thinks Ralph shouldn't be chief. Nobody responds, so he asks again for
anyone to come with him, then runs off with tears in his eyes. Their signal fire is
being blocked by the Beast, as they believe, so they decide to move the fire to the
beach. When they get there, they notice that most of the older boys did in fact
decide to go off with Jack, except for Ralph, Simon Piggy and Samneric.
Jack's tribe begins to hunt, and they come across a sow and baby piglets in the
clearing near Simon's domain. They attack and kill the mother sow, while the
piglets escape. The head is severed and put on a stick, which is embedded into the
ground as a gift for the Beast. Jack finally realizes that they'll need fire to cook the
meat, so they raid Ralph's camp and steal a flaming log, and invite them to come
feast. Ralph maintains that the fire is more important, but has to be reminded why
by Piggy.
Simon encounters the Pig's head, and manages to start talking to the thing,
although it is mostly in his imagination. The black cloud of flies coating the head
causes it to now be called "The Lord of the Flies." The Lord of the Flies says "I'm
part of you...We're going to have fun on this island." It continues to say that if
Simon tries to talk to the others about the Beast, that he will be killed by everyone,
including Ralph and Piggy. After taking this all in, Simon feels a faint coming on
and collapses.
Significance: Jack's killing of the mother pig shows his great lack of foresight, as
by killing the mother, they were losing all the other piglets who would've been a
future source of food. The events with Simon are also some of the most important
in the book, hence the book's name. Simon's conversation with it is the basis of the
theme of the novel, and is partly his imagination, and partly some kind of
"message" from the unknown. The Lord of the Flies basically confirms to Simon
that the Beast really is "inside" everyone, but says that everyone would rather have
fun than worry about anything else. The threat of being killed clearly foreshadows
the ending of Simon's life.
Chapter 9: A View to a Death
A violent storm is raging on the island, while Simon finally wakes up from his
faint. He staggers towards the beach to tell the other boys about his ordeal. Piggy
and Ralph already decided to check out the roasting of the Pig, where Jack then
asks everyone to confirm their loyalty to him. Ralph tries to persuade them to

follow himself and keep the fire alive, but most of the boys are already overcome
by Jack's leadership and ability to tell them what they want to hear.
Insistent, Ralph tries to talk some sense into them, asking them what they will do
without shelters. Jack just orders the boys to begin their dance, oblivious to any
dangers. Roger plays the pig, and as the boys begin dancing, even Piggy and Ralph
feel the strong lure to be part of the group, take part in this primal ritual. As before,
the dance escalates into real attacking, but they are distracted by a figure emerging
from the jungle. They call out that "it's the Beast!" and begin to attack it
relentlessly. The beaten and dead body of Simon is then carried out to the sea by
the current.
Significance: The beating of Simon by all the boys, even Ralph and Piggy who
were caught up in the frenzy, fulfills the Lord of the Flies' "prophecy." Even these
boys were overcome with their savage side when in such close contact with all the
other boys.
Chapter 10: The Shell and the Glasses
Samneric are collecting wood for the fire, while Ralph and Piggy discuss the
murder of Simon; the rest of the boys pledge their loyalty to Jack. Piggy claims
that the whole affair was an accident, and that they just got all caught up.
Jack meanwhile is guarding his fort on Castle Rock, where Roger is always ready
to use a lever to drop a boulder on intruders. Jack has a boy tied up and beaten, for
no reason except to show what happens if anyone gets in his way. His savagery is
obvious now, and his face is always painted.
Ralph is still pondering over watching the fire, and he always has to be reminded
that the fire is a necessity. Ralph tries to reassure the twins that what they are doing
is right, and Jack is wrong, in response to their protests. They finally concede to
leave the fire and go to their shelters. They are woken up by unusual sounds, and
fear it may be the Beast, but it turns out to be Jack and tribe searching for fire.
They break into the shelter and begin to fight for Piggy's glasses, cutting and
knocking teeth loose in the process.
Significance: The murder of Simon is somewhat of a wake-up call for Ralph, who
doesn't accept that it was just an accident. The constant need to be reminded about
the fire, though, shows that he is losing touch with civilization, and responsibility.
Roger being ready with the massive boulder foreshadows some future use for it,
undoubtedly to cause harm. The stealing of Piggy's glasses shows a disappearance

of a symbol of order and clear-sightedness, as they unwillingly drift from

civilization.
Chapter 11: Castle Rock
Ralph calls an assembly in worry, and Piggy, the twins and a few littl'uns are the
only ones left to attend. Ralph suggests to the bruised boys that they may be able to
go to Jack and demand the specs back, since they are not savages and rescue is not
just a game. Ralph and Samneric set off carrying spears, leading Piggy holding the
conch.
At Castle Rock, Roger orders the boys to halt, but Ralph blows the conch. Ralph
tells them he is calling an assembly, and Jack steps forward. He laughs at their
request to return the specs, and a fight ensues. Jack then orders his tribe to grab
Samneric, and tie them up. Suddenly, interrupting the fighting, Piggy speaks up,
asking everyone if it is better to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill. Everyone
remains silent and hears his message. As Piggy continues his preaching of
democracy, Roger slams the lever holding the boulder and it goes careening down.
Ralph dodges the rock, but the unseeing Piggy is struck, sending him flying 40 feet
straight down and shattering the conch. Even Jack is a bit surprised with Roger's
quick and brutal action, but he assures Ralph that it will happen to him next. Ralph
begins to run away, and the tribe eventually gives up pursuit under Jack's order.
Significance: Piggy's willingness to come along for what he believes is right, and
his standing up and speaking out shows that he has gained greater courage and
confidence since the beginning of the novel. His tragic death and the shattering of
the conch represents the disappearance of some of the last remnants of democracy.
With Samneric taken under Jack's control, Ralph is the only one left with the
waning sense of democracy and goodness.
Chapter 12: Cry of the Hunters
Ralph is huddled in the jungle near Castle Rock, as dusk passes. Samneric, who are
guarding Castle Rock under Jack's leadership, are approached by Ralph. They
inform him that Jack's tribe will be out hunting him the next day, and they have
"sharpened a stick at both ends." Ralph tells Samneric of his hiding spot, and
proceeds back to it. Scared by Jack's power, Samneric tell Jack about Ralph's
hiding spot the next morning. Another boulder is rolled down, but misses smashing
Ralph. Other attempts of getting Ralph from his hiding spot are unsuccessful, so
they set the entire area on fire in desperation.

Ralph begins to run from the advancing fire, making his way to Simon's mat of
creepers where he hides and lays low. The savages advance with the fire,
searching, hunting for Ralph. They finally reach Ralph's hiding spot, and Roger
looks in. Ralph attacks him, knocking him over, and continued running to the
beach. Running wildly, he almost crashed into a Naval officer standing at the
beach, who was attracted by all the fire and smoke. He assumes that their stay on
the island must've been all "fun and games," but is surprised at the spears and face
paint on many of the boys. Some are crying, many are confused. The officer is told
that two boys were killed, and everyone is taken to a Navy cruiser.
Significance: The "stick sharpened at both ends" is a reference to what they did
with the Lord of the Flies, impaling one end in the head and the other in the
ground. This shows the brutality of what they planned to do to Ralph, who indeed
felt like a pig being hunted by the savages. The fire set on the entire island shows
the tribe's complete lack of foresight, as if they were not rescued, they would have
no food or shelter. Ironically, the fire meant for evil started by Jack turned out to be
what got the boys saved. The arrival of the Naval officer thus seems like a happy
and ironic ending, but if one digs deeper it is just a continuation from one war to
another. Once all the boys get on the Navy cruiser, they'll most likely just be
subjected to more battle and fighting, this time on a worldwide level, due to the
war taking place in the outside world.