Lord of the Flies

INDEPENDENT NOVEL STUDY – Lord of the Flies

BY Sarah Dikong

SUMMARY

Chapter one begins with two boys meeting on the lagoon. One introduces himself as Ralph and the other says he is called Piggy. They ponder on the whereabouts of the other boys who were on the plane with them. While discussing, Piggy discovers a shell and says they could use it to summon the other boys. They do this and the other boys respond. The oldest of them being twelve and the youngest six, the choir boys arrive lead by Jack. They decide to have a leader and Ralph is voted into this position much to Jack's dismay. However Jack is made deputy. Ralph chooses Jack and another choir member to join him in exploring the island. This chapter signifies a new beginning and the happiness that comes with starting afresh with little or nothing to stop you, like rediscovering the Garden of Eden.

Chapter two begins with Ralph reassembling the boys to inform them on the discoveries they made while exploring the island. It is at this gathering that the issue of the "beastie" is first brought up, and Ralph firmly states that there was no beastie. It is also at this gathering that Ralph suggests that they build a fire to help ships that might be looking for them to locate them. They build a fire which soon spirals out of control and one of the littleuns (the one who made mention of the beastie) is thought to have died. This chapter signifies the hope that the boys have that they would be found and is a reflection of the loss of civilization and beginning of savagery that would soon envelope the boys.

Chapter three begins with Jack hunting for his much sought after pig, while Ralph is trying to erect shelters for the boys. Jack returns unsuccessful and complains to Ralph about his predicament, telling him that none of his fellow hunters a willing to help him in the hunt. Ralph also tells him that no one except Simon is willing to help him build the shelters and suggests that Jack could lend some help. To this suggestion, Jack adamantly refuses and he instead continues to complain about his unsuccessful attempt to hunt the pig down. Ralph becomes angered and confronts him about his inability to do or think of anything apart from hunting the pig and point out that the shelters are more needed than the pig. Jack becomes remorseful and agrees to help him. In this chapter, for the first time we see Ralph and Jack openly confronting each other. This could be seen as the final showdown between savagery and civilization in which civilization once again wins.

2) CHARACTER LIST

a)RALPH: Ralph is the protagonist of the novel. He is the leader and the one who tries to rally the stranded boys together. He tries to make the boys embrace some form of civilization as opposed to Jack who has more savage ways.

b)JACK: Jack is the antagonist of the novel. He is the head of the hunters but is hunger for power, makes him become more savage as the novel continues. His ability to manipulate the boys shows the ability of humans to be barbaric and savage.

c)PIGGY: He is Ralph's right hand man. He is very innovative as shown when he tells Ralph to blow the conch to attract other boys.

d)LITTLEUNS: The name the older boys call the younger ones when referring to them as a whole.

e) SAM AND ERIC: A pair of twins which are very identical and close to each other.

f) SIMON: Simon is the only one among their group that seems to have a good heart. He is willing to work with Ralph –to build shelters- and willing to look after the younger ones.

3)JOURNAL REACTIONS

a)THE FINDING OF THE CONCH AND ITS SYMBOLISM:

On Pg 21 of chapter 1, Piggy and Ralph find a shell which they use to assemble the other boys