Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Free Book SummaryIntroduction Is complete freedom a good thing? According to Lord of the Flies, Golding’s magnificent novel published in 1954, we all better adhere to some basic rules if we want to maintain our civilization. Both a cherished youth novel and a strong ideological statement, Lord of the Flies has entered almost every reading list published, and with its unique voice, became a true modern classic book. It is almost impossible to finish high school without getting acquainted with the conch shell that gives the right to speak and the pig’s head on stake that speaks the truth about our internal evil. "Ruth, Thanks for the Lord of the Flies free book summary!" Executive Summary A group of young boys are stranded on an isolated island experiencing complete freedom. While Ralph, the reasonable leader, is trying to accomplish order and chances for a rescue through a set of rules, Jack, the charismatic savage, leads the boys to hunting expeditions and games that become crueler with time. Will civilized order prevail over bloodthirsty instincts? Could the boys be rescued from their own inner evil? In this ideological adventure novel, a true modern classic book, Golding gives us a tragic glimpse into the human heart. Read the complete book summary for more details. Twelve-year old Ralph came out of the paradise-like tropical jungle and announced with a smile: “We are going to have fun on this island”. His rather fat friend, Piggy, wearing thick-lens glasses, joined him on the sand with less enthusiasm. A bunch of school boys were dropped on the island before their plane crashed. While Ralph was sure his father would come to their rescue, Piggy wasn’t so certain. Ralph picked up a large conch shell. At Piggy’s urges, Ralph blew it and the sound attracted more boys out of the jungle. One boy, a tall redhead named Jack, arrived leading a procession of soldier-like followers. To Jack’s disappointment, the boys elected Ralph as their leader, but he still joined Ralph and a skinny nine-year old boy named Simon for an island exploration. From the top of a mountain, they saw how isolated they are. On the way down, a wild pig crossed the path. Although the boys were not able and not quite willing to kill it, Jack promised that next time he would hunt it down for meat. Soon after, Jack started organizing the promised hunt. He smeared himself with clay to disguise his scent and on all fours started tracking the wild pig. On the mean time, Ralph set up a rescue fire on the mountain using Piggy’s glasses and started building shelters. Despite the importance of Ralph’s project, the other boys tended to prefer Jack’s hunting games. The conch became the symbol of order in the boys’ meetings and whoever held it had the right to speak. Even Jack agreed that they need order: “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything.” The boys were looking forward to a storybook island quest, but one little boy told them about a snake-like “beastie” creature he saw in the woods. From that moment on, fear spread throughout the group, especially among the younger boys, who were called the “littluns”. Jack often indirectly mentioned the beastie creature to keep the fear alive and use it to his advantage. Over time, friction grew between Jack and Ralph. Jack became more violent and led hunting parties of boys who became crueler with time. He also broke one of Piggy’s lenses. The boys didn’t like to keep the rescue fire up and neglected it. Ralph was angry with them for preferring the games over this important task. This free book summary of Lord of the Flies is complimentary from the www.free-book-summary.com website. Want to say Thanks? Tell about the book summary to your friends, link to it from your blog, or include a link to it in a forum. Cheers! After a while, Jack became even more primitive and savage. He would often arrange pretend games of his hunts, in which the boys would pretend to kill a pig represented by one of the “littluns”. Ralph, Piggy and Simon felt isolated and Ralph summoned a meeting blowing the conch. He was hoping to reorganize their efforts to get rescued. When his speech wasn’t working well with the boys, Piggy took the conch and asked: “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” When Jack tried to interrupt, Ralph shouted at him that he was breaking the rules. Jack responded: “Who cares?” Ralph attempted his reasoning: “the rules are the only thing we’ve got”. Jack ignored him and went on: “We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down!” and with his deranged dance he raced with hunters into the night. Piggy suggested quietly that Ralph would blow the conch again before they would all soon become animals, but Ralph didn’t blow. His command has ended. The next morning, two boys woke up Ralph urgently telling him that they had seen the beast on the far side of the island. Ralph led a group of boys to discover that the beast was in fact a dead pilot hanging from the cords of his parachute. Even after proving the boys that there was no supernatural beast to be afraid of, Ralph still found that the boys sided with Jack the hunter. Finally, afraid himself and lonely, Ralph gave in and joined the others in following Jack. He even made the final blow in a boar hunt. After that, dancing savagely, they all reenacted the killing by pretending to kill little Robert, but the game went out of control and Robert went down, crying. Even Ralph felt the “desire to squeeze and hurt.” But Ralph soon came back to his senses. Although he was tired and homesick, he again competed with Jack for leadership of the group. Most of the boys noticed Jack’s unstable nature and voted for Ralph. As result, Jack gathered his loyal hunters and they left into the jungle to form their own tribe under Jack’s leadership. Jack’s hunters killed a wild pig and her piglets. They smeared themselves with blood and stuck the pig’s head on a stake as an offering to the beast. Simon, the loner who didn’t believe in the beast, watched the scene with disgust. Later, in a trance, he with the devilish, fly-covered pig’s head, naming it Lord of the Flies. The blood-covered head told him: “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?” Echoing Ralph’s first announcement, the head said: “We are going to have fun on this island!” Simon awoke from his trance and understood the message. He wanted to warn the other boys about his revelation – the only evil on the island came from inside the boys themselves. Simon then freed the dead pilot’s corpse from the parachute cords, getting rid of the beast. Meanwhile, Ralph and Piggy had sorely decided to join the hunters again. The boys were gathered around a fire chanting and celebrating the recent feast. “Kill the best! Cut his throat! Spill his blood”, they were singing when Simon arrived. The boys closed in on Simon, as if he was the beast, with their sharpened sticks. Soon after, Simon’s body was laying on the beach. The next day, Ralph and Piggy moved to the other side of the island. When they were trying to get some rest, the fire dozed went out. On the same time, Jack’s hunters were still getting ready to face the beast, and they prepared for protection a massive rock that can be rolled over with a lever. When Piggy discovered that his glasses – which they needed to light up the fire – were stolen, Ralph decided they would go and reason with the tribe. When they arrived, Jack appeared with a gutted pig and tried to start a fight with Ralph. But Piggy still tried to make peace. He held up the conch demanding to speak: “Which is better – to have laws and agree, or to hunt and kill?” As he was talking, Roger leaned on the lever and the giant rock fell down on Piggy, rolling him and the conch down to the rocks below, where he was crushed to death. “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” Seeing that the conch is gone and ignoring Piggy’s death, Jack announced: “I’m chief.” This free book summary of Lord of the Flies is complimentary from the www.free-book-summary.com website. Want to say Thanks? Tell about the book summary to your friends, link to it from your blog, or include a link to it in a forum. Cheers! Ralph immediately ran into the jungle. That night, as Ralph was trying to sleep, a new hunt has started. The boys, with sticks and stones, were chasing Ralph, who for them was now the beast. Running, he forgot about his wounds and became fear: “hopeless fear on flying feet.” Ralph sprinted towards the beach, where he dropped on the sand begging for mercy. When he was able to stand up, there stood a naval officer in white uniforms, looking down at him. When he saw the other boys at the distance with sticks in their hands he said: “Fun and games. We saw the smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war something?” Then he asked: “Who’s boss here?” “I am”, Ralph replied. For a moment, Jack started to protest, but he stopped. The officer scolded at the boys and asked why haven’t they turned their situation into an adventure? Ralph just couldn’t speak. He wept for the fall of his friend Piggy and for the “end of innocence” and “the darkness of man’s heart.” "Ruth, I used the Lord of the Flies for my book report. Many Thanks!"
Context Nobel-prize winner William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies during the early years of the cold war. As the boys in the book descent from being decent school-boys into raw savagery, readers are invited to witness the tragic outcome of human behavior when civilized rules and laws are not maintained. With a threatening nuclear war in the background, Lord of the Flies stood then – and stands still today – as a powerful reminder for what could become of us all. The Complete Book Golding, William. Lord of the Flies (Penguin).
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