Lord of the Flies : Summary

Summary

 Summary

Chapter 1: The Sound of the Shell

The story begins after a plane crash during a war. A group of British schoolboys find themselves stranded on a deserted tropical island. The boys are between six and twelve years old. The first two boys we meet are Ralph and Piggy. Ralph is tall and confident. Piggy is fat, wears glasses, and has asthma. Piggy talks a lot and tries to be friendly. Piggy tells Ralph that the plane was shot down and that no adults survived. Ralph is happy to be free from adults.

While exploring the beach, they find a large pink conch shell. Piggy suggests they should blow the conch shell to call the other boys. Ralph blows the conch. Soon, other boys come out of the forest. Among them is a group of choirboys led by Jack Merridew. Jack is a tall, red-haired boy with a bossy manner. The boys decide to vote for a chief. Ralph wins because he is holding the conch. The boys see the conch shell as a sign of authority. Jack feels angry. But he is made the leader of the choir, who will act as hunters.

Ralph, Jack, and another boy named Simon explore the island. They discover that the island is surrounded by the sea and is uninhabited. When they return, Ralph says they must make a signal fire to attract ships, so that they can be rescued. The boys are excited about the adventure. They do not realize the danger.

Chapter 2: Fire on the Mountain

The boys have another meeting. Ralph makes a rule that the conch shell will go in a circle to everyone, and whoever has it can speak. He says they must make rules to stay organized. He also says that they must keep a signal fire burning on the mountain. Piggy tries to speak, but the others ignore him. One small boy with a mark on his face says he saw a “beastie” in the forest, like a snake. The older boys laugh, but everyone feels uneasy. To show courage, Ralph says there is no beast.

The boys climb the mountain and collect dry wood. They use Piggy’s glasses to light the fire. The flames rise too quickly and start to burn the forest. Piggy gets angry and says they are acting like children. Soon, they realize the boy with the mark on his face is missing. The fun of adventure begins to fade.

Chapter 3: Huts on the Beach

Some days later, Ralph and Simon are building shelters on the beach. Ralph complains that most of the boys do not help. Jack is obsessed with hunting. He spends his time tracking pigs. The two boys argue. Ralph wants shelter and rescue, while Jack wants meat and adventure.

Simon goes off alone into the forest. He finds a quiet spot full of flowers and leaves. It becomes his secret place, where he can think peacefully. Simon is gentle and kind. He seems to understand nature deeply. The group begins to split: Ralph cares for rescue and order, while Jack cares for hunting and power.

Chapter 4: Painted Faces and Long Hair

Time passes. The boys’ hair grows long. They become dirty and wild. The littluns (little boys) play on the beach and have nightmares about the “beast.” Jack becomes more savage. He paints his face with clay and charcoal. The paint gives him the courage to kill. Jack and his hunters finally kill a pig. They dance and chant wildly, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood!” At that same time, Ralph and Piggy see a ship passing by. But the signal fire has gone out because the hunters left it unattended. Ralph is furious because they have missed an opportunity to be rescued.

The hunter boys return from hunting. They are excited about the meat. Ralph scolds them, and Piggy shouts angrily. Jack hits Piggy and breaks one lens of his glasses. The boys roast the pig and eat.

Chapter 5: Beast from Water

Ralph calls a meeting using the conch. He feels everything is falling apart. The boys are not following the rules. They are dirty and careless. The “beast” is still on everyone’s mind. Some say it might come from the sea. Piggy says there is no real beast, only fear inside them. Simon says that maybe the beast is inside them—“Maybe … there is a beast … maybe it’s only us.” But no one understands him.

Jack mocks Ralph and shouts that he is not afraid. The meeting ends in chaos. Ralph realizes that he is losing control over the boys. The order and discipline they once had are fading.

Chapter 6: Beast from Air

One night, while the boys sleep, a dead parachutist falls from the sky onto the island. His parachute gets tangled on the mountain. The wind moves the body, making it seem alive. When two boys, Sam and Eric, see it in the morning, they think it is the beast, and they run in fear.

Ralph and Jack lead an expedition to find the beast. They climb the rocky side of the island. In the dark, they see the shape of the parachutist in the dark. The wind makes it move, and they flee in terror. The fear of the beast grows stronger.

Chapter 7: Shadows and Tall Trees

Jack and his hunters find pig droppings and start hunting. Ralph joins in and, for a moment, feels the wild excitement of the chase.

They injure a pig but do not kill it. The boys then play a violent game. They pretend that Robert, one of the boys, is the pig. They chant “Kill the pig!” and jab him until he cries. Ralph is shocked by their cruelty. At night, Ralph, Jack, and Roger climb the mountain again to look for the beast. In the darkness, they see the dead parachutist’s moving shadow. They think it is a monster and run away, screaming.

Chapter 8: Gift for the Darkness

The boys are divided now. Ralph wants to keep the fire burning, but Jack calls a meeting to remove him as chief. When no one votes, Jack angrily leaves. He says that he will start his own tribe.

Jack and his hunters kill another pig. They cut off its head and put it on a stick as an offering to the beast. The pig’s head becomes known as “Lord of the Flies.” It is covered with flies and looks disgusting.

Simon, wandering alone, finds the pig’s head in the forest. He stares at it until he feels dizzy. In a strange, dreamlike moment, Simon imagines that the pig’s head speaks to him, saying, “I’m the Beast … You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?” Simon realizes the “beast” is not real — it is the evil within human hearts. If the boys cannot establish reason and order, they can turn into beasts.

Chapter 9: A View to a Death

Simon climbs the mountain and discovers the truth: the “beast” is just a dead man with a parachute. He untangles the body so the wind will no longer move it.

Meanwhile, Jack holds a feast for his tribe. They eat, dance, and chant. Ralph and Piggy go there too. They are unable to resist the food and company. A storm breaks. In the thunder and lightning, Simon stumbles out of the forest to tell them the truth about the beast. But the boys, mad with fear and excitement, mistake him for the beast. They surround Simon, shouting, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” They beat him to death. Ralph and Piggy are also in the chaos. Simon’s body is washed out to sea by the rain. The next morning, only Ralph and Piggy feel guilty.

Chapter 10: The Shell and the Glasses

Ralph and Piggy talk about Simon’s death. They try to convince themselves it was an accident. But deep down, they know it was murder. Jack and his tribe live at the other end of the island, at Castle Rock. They paint their faces and act like savages

Jack is now a cruel chief. He uses fear to control his tribe. They believe the beast is still alive. One night, Jack’s hunters attack Ralph’s group and steal Piggy’s glasses. Piggy’s glasses are the only way to make fire. Ralph realizes that without fire, they cannot be rescued.

Chapter 11: Castle Rock

Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric go to Castle Rock to ask for Piggy’s glasses back. Ralph tries to speak with reason. He holds the conch as a symbol of peace. But Jack refuses and attacks Ralph. The boys fight fiercely.

Piggy shouts that they must choose between rules and savagery. He says, “Which is better—to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” As he speaks, Roger pushes a huge rock from above. The rock hits Piggy. The rock shatters the conch and kills Piggy instantly. His body falls off the cliff into the sea. Jack screams that Ralph’s group is a traitor. He captures Sam and Eric and tortures them until they join his tribe. Ralph is now completely alone.

Chapter 12: Cry of the Hunters

Ralph hides in the forest. He is wounded and weak. He sees the skull of the “Lord of the Flies” and knocks it down, breaking it. He realizes how far they have fallen into savagery. The next day, Jack orders his tribe to hunt Ralph like an animal. They set the forest on fire to smoke him out. Ralph runs through the burning woods, terrified. He hides in the bushes near the beach.

Suddenly, he sees a naval officer standing before him. A ship has seen the smoke and has come to rescue them. The boys come out of the forest. They are crying and dirty, their faces painted. The officer is shocked that well-educated British boys could act so savagely. Ralph begins to weep for Piggy, for Simon, and for the end of innocence. Golding writes: “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.” The other boys also start to cry.

Main Idea: In “Lord of the Flies,” William Golding shows how civilization can easily fall apart when people give in to fear and violence. The conch, Piggy’s glasses, and the signal fire stand for order and hope. The beast and the “Lord of the Flies” symbolize the evil inside human beings. The story begins with innocent children but ends with blood, death, and destruction. Golding teaches that the real beast is not outside — it is within the human heart.