Lord Of The Flies

By William Golding
 
Character Analysis:
 
Ralph: main character- Ralph is the narrator of the story.
 Jack: Jack is Ralph's main enemy in the story. He leads
the 
 hunters.
 Piggy: Piggy is the smart one of the group.
 Simon: He is my favorite character in the story. He is
viewed 
 as the Christ-figure and interprets the
mysteries of the 
 island.
 Roger: Roger is Jack's "sidekick" and is a vicious
murderer at 
 heart.
 Sam and Eric: The twins stick close to Ralph until they
are forced to join the 
 hunters. Their main job is to watch
the signal fire.
 The littluns: The littluns are basically the younger boys
and ride the bandwagon.
 
The story begins when Ralph and Piggy meet each other in a
thick jungle and discover that they crashed in an airplane
and are stranded. They also learn that there are no adults
present on the island and that none of the adults survived
the crash. As they approach a beach, they find an enormous
conch shell. Piggy gives the conch a little toot and
summons the rest of the boys on the island to the beach.
The boys assemble and elect Ralph as the leader. Ralph then
assigns the Choir, led by Jack, to be the hunters. Then
Jack, Ralph, and Simon set out to explore the island. Near
the end of their journey, they encounter a wild pig. Jack
tries to kill it, but is unsuccessful.
 
 When the explorers get back, a meeting is held. The
explorers explain that the island is deserted but there is
enough food to keep them alive. Jack and the hunters
promise to supply meat. Ralph makes a rule that whoever is
in possession of the conch shell is allowed to speak. Ralph
proposes the idea of a signal fire to alert passing ships
of their presence. All the boys agree and everybody rushes
to the hilltop to start a fire. The fire sparks the
gathered wood into a blaze. One of the boys is reported
missing but none of the boys will admit to the likelihood
of an accident.
 
Everyone is hard at work the next day, either building huts
or hunting. Soon the younger boys loose interest and go off
to play. A meeting is called and the boys come up with some
new ideas and talk about problems. Meanwhile Jack wanders
off and enjoys the peace and quiet.
 
 Soon the boys get into a rhythm of everyday life. In the
morning is the best time for activity because it is cool
and quiet. Afternoons are associated with napping. Some of
the littluns are suffering from diarrhea from eating too
much fruit. 

While Ralph and Piggy sit on the beach they notice a ship
on the horizon, and are horrified to see that the signal
fire has gone out. The boys rush to the hilltop to try to
get it going again but it is too late. Jack and the hunters
who were in charge of the fire were nowhere to be found.
Ralph scolds Jack about the fire and he apologizes though
he does not really care. Another meeting is called at the
familiar place and Ralph reprimands them about their
irresponsibility. Then the subject of the so called "beast"
comes up. Ralph and Piggy try to give an explanation but it
has no effect. Eventually chaos spreads though the crowd
and the run off led by Jack, and Ralph is thoroughly
agitated. 

That night, an air battle is going on and a dead pilot,
with a parachute, lands next to the signal fire where Sam
and Eric have fallen asleep. They are awakened and are
terrified by the shadows and the body. The twins scramble
down to the beach where a group has assembled, and they
tell the story with farfetched details. A team of explorers
is sent to investigate. They discover new land and plan
what they will do with it, but Ralph reminds them of their
mission and they continue. As they approach the hilltop,
Jack accuses Ralph of being chicken and starts up by
himself. They are frightened by what they see and spread
even more panic with their report.
 
Jack decides to hold a meeting and announces the threat of
the beast and takes a vote to overthrow Ralph. Nobody else
agrees and Jack runs off alone in embarrassment. Soon the
fire is rebuilt and Ralph notices some of the boys have
gone to join Jack. He is concerned.
 
Jack and his group have captured another boar and are
preparing it to be eaten, and they cut off its head and
mount it on a pole as a gift for the beast. As Ralph,
Piggy, and the remaining boys sit on the beach, some of the
hunters surprise them and ambush them. Not wanting a fight
the hunters only take some torches from the fire, and leave
saying that Jack is the leader of the new tribe and they
are having a feast and everyone is invited. Also, they can
join Jack's tribe if they behave properly.
 
Meanwhile, Simon was having an encounter with the pig head.
It seemed to be speaking to him. It warned him that he
cannot escape him and that he is in everyone. After the pig
head verbally attacks Simon repeatedly, he faints. After
Simon recovers, he walks, very tired and fearful, to where
the pilot is and frees the parachute. Then he wanders to
the bottom of the mountain to tell the boys of the news.
 
 The other boys decide to join the feast. As night
approaches, the hunters do a ferocious war dance, and even
Ralph and Piggy jump in. As Simon approaches, he is seen as
a mere shadow by the dancers, and they are so barbarian
that they viciously attack Simon, not hearing the cry of
their friend Simon. Despite his efforts, Simon dies as a
tropical storm rolls in, and his body is washed out to sea.
 
 Ralph and Piggy feel terribly about what has happened and
cannot live with themselves. That night some of Jack's
tribe assault the hut on the beach where the remaining boys
are housed. After all the confusion, the boys discover that
Piggy's glasses are gone.
 
Ralph, Piggy, and Sam and Eric decide to visit Castle Rock
(Jack's Hide Out.) They are greeted with resistance. Piggy
hears a roar coming toward him. It is a boulder, dislodged
by Roger, that crushes Piggy under it. Sam and Eric are
captured and Ralph escapes with a flesh wound. The next
morning Ralph is awakened by voices and soon realizes that
Jack has set the forest on fire to smoke him out. Armed
with a spear he thinks of only escape. As he reaches the
end of the island, at a beach, he collapses from
exhaustion. When he awakens, he sees a naval officer
standing before him and the hunters standing around in
disbelief. He gets to his knees and cries.
 
Areas of Usage of Chemistry:
 
1. Pg. 43-44 Piggy's glasses to start fire.
 
2. Pg. 195 The forest is set on fire.
 
3. Pg. 138 The decomposition of the pig. 

4. Pg. 59 Example of malnutrition and poor digestion.
 
5. Pg. 67 The fire goes out because of lack of fuel