The Lord Of Flies

It was 48 years ago when a man named William Golding, put his pen to his paper and composed a literary masterpiece called, Lord of the Flies. The book brings together every boy's fantasy of being isolated on a deserted island and the harsh reality of human nature. With no authority, evil, hatred and pure savagery will no doubt take their toll.

Taking place during World War II, a plane full of English schoolboys crashes and the boys that survive swim to the shore of a nearby island. At first the boys have good intentions. They have decided to keep a fire going so that someone can see the smoke and rescue them, however because of lack of interest, the good intentions that some of the boys had, were quickly put aside for more exciting things. The hunting of a pig slowly began to take over the boys life, and the first sign of a major change in the minds of the boys comes from Jack, the elected leader of the hunters, after he can no longer live with himself, because he could not bring himself to slaughter the first pig he comes across. Soon the leader of the whole group, Ralph, is forced to split everyone up into separate groups because a ship doesn't spot the signal fire that Jack and his hunters neglected to replenish while off making their first kill. This causes the first separation of power in the book, because Ralph finds that no one is willing to stick to the tasks that he has assigned.

The first sign of symbolism in the book is when one of the little boys, also known as the littluns, tells the group that he saw "A snake-thing. Ever so big" (p 35). This puts the group into an uproar about how some sort of beast is lurking on the island. Being the leader, Ralph tries to calm everybody down by saying "he must have had a nightmare" (p 36), but Jack just has to pop in stating that "if there was a snake we'd hunt it and kill it. We'll make sure when we go hunting" (p 37). The beast ends up playing a major role in the novel. It is as though the idea that some sort of beast is on the island, has taken over control of the boy's minds. They become so overwhelmed with fear and uncertainty, that the older boys change their fears into hatred towards the other boys, especially the littluns. During the beginning of the story, two older boys named Roger and Maurice, "were relieved from duty at the signal fire and came down for a swim" (p 60). Roger led the way, kicking over the sandcastles that the littluns had been building. This was the first taste of no authority on the island because Maurice kicks sand into one of the littlun's eyes, and "in his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand" (p 60). This act shows that the boys have discovered that there is no one to punish them for the things they do wrong and because of this, they feel the need for savagery.

One night, an air battle is going on and a dead paratrooper falls from the sky and lands next to the signal fire where Sam and Eric have fallen asleep. When they wake up, they are terrified by the shadows and noises caused by the paratrooper. They then came running down to the beach claiming "we saw the beast" (p 99). A team of explorers are sent out the next day to search for the beast. The explorers, led by Ralph and Jack, set out to find the beast. While on their hunt, the boys come across pig droppings, and decide that it would be great to have meat. They track down the pig, and even Ralph is immense with excitement brought on by the hunt. He even throws his spear at the pig and hits it in the snout. The pig manages to run off, and the boys fail to kill it. Caught up in the excitement of the hunt, they decide to play a game where one of the boys in the group is the pig, and they will be trying to kill him. While on his hands and knees playing the role of the wild boar, Robert is nearly killed by the other boys, who have seem to have forgotten that it was only a game, not an actual hunt. Robert who has been hurt by the boys game suggests, "You need a real pig - because you've got to kill him" (p 115). Jack shows signs of savagery when he suggests that "[we could use a littlun" (p 115). By playing this deadly little game, and laughing at Jack's cruel suggestion that they use a littlun the next time, the boys have obviously lost all sense of reality, and of what's right and wrong.

During the night of the boy's search for the beast, Jack claims to have seen it. The following morning he calls a meeting and lets everyone know that there is really a beast. He also calls Ralph a coward, and suggests that they remove him from his leadership position. The rest of the boys don't go for that, and because of this, Jack informs the group, "I'm not going to be a part of Ralph's lot - I'm going off by myself. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too" (p 127). This pretty much destroys any order and authority that Ralph had on the group, and leaves him in a depression. Ralph's closest companion, Piggy, cheers him up by suggesting they build a new signal fire on the beach. During the night some of the boys who stay with Ralph run off, and join Jack.

Jack's group kills a huge pig, and stick it's head on a post, "the head is for the beast. It's a gift" (p 137). Perhaps one of the most significant parts of the story happens next, in that one of the boys, Simon, who seems to be one with nature, wanders off, and comes across the pig's head in a clearing. He sits, mesmerized by the sight of the head, and it actually speaks to him as The Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies tells him "I'm the Beast. Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!" (p143). Simon passes out after having this discussion with the Lord of the Flies. When he awakens, he stumbles up the mountain and discovers the dead parachutist. Knowing that this what the other boys have mistaken for the beast, he is eager to let them know about his find.

Back at Jack's new camp, all of the boys including Ralph and his followers, are feasting on the pig that the others killed. The boys in Jack's group are dancing wildly around their fire, during the cookout. They even start their little game again, and reenact their hunt of the pig. Even Ralph and his group find themselves caught up in the excitement.