LORD OF THE FLIES ( Novel Summary)

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pic courtesy:UNSPLASH (Boys on an island)

“LORD OF THE FLIES”

“Lord of the Flies” is a novel written by  British author William Golding . It was written in 1954. The popularity of the novel could be understood by the fact that it helped William Golding win NOBEL PRIZE . It was named as Modern library 100 best novels.

MAIN CHARACTERS —– RALPH, JACK, SIMON , PIGGY, ROGER, SAM , ERIC

SUMMARY --  The novel  shows a group of British boys lost in an island that is uninhabited (that means no human beings live there) .A plane crashes on an island which is absolutely lonely. The boys fail to find the pilot of the plane. Aged between six to twelve years, the boys are pleased to know that there are no adults on the island to control them. They have freedom to do whatever they wish . Gradually they split into groups and one of the groups tend to lose the civic behaviour. Ralph and Piggy, two boys find a large conch shell and blow it to find others on the island. On hearing the sound, a group of boys appear and start making fun of Piggy's appearance.

Ralph is chosen as the leader of the boys. He chooses Jack and a member of the choir, Simon to explore the island. He orders choir boys to act as hunters and asks Jack to be their leader. The boys choose a conch to be a symbol for free speaking.

There are no adults on the island and this leads to chaos because there is no rule. Even if one decides to discipline others ,the boys pay no heed to it and and atmosphere of disorder and chaos continues. The boys are playful and unwilling to take orders from each other.

One evening, there is a fight between two planes near the island. The pilot falls down. His body burns and is entangled in a tree. The boys misunderstand it to be a monster and start feeling scared. Convinced that the monster is real, Ralph calls for a meeting. But the boys refuse to vote for him. Ralph and the members of his group try to look savage and primitive by painting their faces. Jack and his tribe perform a ritual to satisfy the monster. Simon sees this and realizes that it is not a monster but the dead body of a pilot.

Suddenly, Jack realizes that fire can be struck by Piggy’s glasses. So they make a group in order to attempt to steal it. Ralph along with Piggy and twins, Sam and Eric take hold of conch and demand for Piggy’s glasses. Jack’s tribe start a fight with Piggy and Ralph. Meanwhile, Roger drops a heavy rock on Piggy that kills him and destroys the conch. Ralph tries to escape into the woods, but Jack sets fire to the trees to find him. The flames of fire start consuming and engulfing the whole island . Ralph runs for his life only to fall down at the feet of the British naval Officer. He had arrived by a ship that came to investigate the fire on the island.

All the children on the island start crying and weeping. The British officer is full of amazement to see how such good boys turned themselves into primitive and savage individuals in absence of adults.

THEMES–

There are various themes in the novel

i) GOOD VS EVIL- The question of the inherent basic nature of a human being runs throughout the novel. The absence of adults and unbridled freedom on the island makes the boys lose their sense of civility and humanity. It corrupts their good nature.

ii) ORDER VS CHAOS– Order, rules and civic sense is quickly removed in absence of any control or fear of punishment. This is aptly described throughout the novel. The removal of discipline and civilization leads to chaos and disorder instantly.

iii) ILLUSION VS REALITY –

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