The Lord of the Flies

1. The Lord of the Flies Characters, Symbols and Summaries

2. The Lord of the Flies Character List • Ralph- “fair”, “gold”, the group’s leader that represents civilization and order • Piggy- “fat”, “pink”, the intellectual that represents reason and intelligence • Jack- “ready to anger”, “black” leader of the choir boys that shows animalistic tendencies • Simon- “fainted”, “giggling” represents innocence • Simon and Eric- (twins), “grinning” • The Lord of the Flies- • Roger- “dark”, “slight”, “alone” represents cruelty

3. The Lord of the Flies Symbols List • The Conch • The “Scar” • Piggy’s Glasses • The Signal Fire • The Beast • The Lord of the Flies

4. Chapter 1 • Fair Ralph and chubby Piggy meet each other after the crash • They find a conch and decide to blow it to call other survivors • Many boys come and one boy, Jack, comes with his group of choir boys, dressed in black • They decide to have an election and Ralph wins, to the dismay of Jack • Ralph appoints Jack head of choir boys, “the hunters” • They investigate the island and come across a pig- Jack can’t kill it

5. Chapter 2 • They have a meeting and decide that, to be rescued, they need to set a signal fire • A “littleun” comes in and says he saw a “snake-thing” or a “beastie” and the older boys say it was a nightmare • Everyone works together to set the fire using Piggy’s glasses but it gets out of hand • They have a second meeting and Piggy tries to talk reason into the group and say that they need shelters and not wild fires • They realize the littleun that saw the beastie is missing

6. Chapter 3 • Jack hunts a pig but doesn’t find it • He runs into Ralph and Simon building shelters • Ralph and Jack argue about work- Ralph says he does everything while the hunters go off and swim and play • Jack gets wrapped up in killing a pig and makes Ralph angry • Simon goes off an his own and finds a beautiful, secluded spot and sits in it

7. Chapter 4 • The days go by and the littleuns have nightmares- their lives are separate from the older boys, who torment them and smash their sandcastles • Roger hides and throws stones at a boy to tease him but is careful to not hit him- still abiding by society’s rules • Jack puts on a mask and goes wild about killing a pig • Ralph sees a ship on the horizon and gets furious when he sees that the hunters have not kept the fire going

8. Chapter 4 Cont • The hunters come back chanting and Jack is excited about killing a pig • Piggy complains and Jack slaps him, breaking his glasses • Jack takes responsibility for the fire but grows to resent Ralph • They roast the pig and Jack refuses Piggy meat, but Simon gives Piggy his share • Ralph walks down to the beach to call a meeting

9. Chapter 5 • Ralph calls the meeting and yells at the group for how they’ve gotten out of control- they don’t follow any rules or help out in any way • A littleun says he saw the monster, and that it could hide in the water, causing panic • Jack and his hunters say they will find it and kill and go off dancing and chanting • Ralph doesn’t call the boys back on the conch again to save its power • The boys staying with Ralph tell him that the group needs his leadership • They hear a littleun crying down the beach

10. Chapter 6 • Planes fight over the island and a dead parachutist drops into the trees, moving with the wind • Sam and Eric see the body and think it’s the beast and tell Ralph, who calls a meeting • They search the island and find a spot with caves, Ralph and Jack start getting along again • The other boys start playing and Ralph reminds them about their jobs • The other boys grudgingly obey

11. Chapter 7 • The boys decide to hunt on the way back from their expedition • They come across a boar and get into a hunting frenzy, Ralph included • The boys get into a fury and reenact the chase with a boy from the group, stabbing and beating him • Jack says next time they should “play” with a littleun • Ralph, Jack and Roger hunt the beast and see the parachutist and think it is the beast and run back to the group to warn them

12. Chapter 8 • Jack runs down and blows the conch for a meeting • He says that Ralph is a coward and shouldn’t be the leader, the other boys disagree and Jack storms off and says anyone can join him • Ralph is depressed and Piggy cheers him up by suggesting they build a new fire on the beach- some boys help but a lot of them go off with Jack and Piggy says they are better off • Jack’s tribe kills a pig and mutilates the body- they put the head on a pike as an offering to the beast

13. Chapter 8 Cont • They come down to Ralph’s group and say they can join the feast and join the tribe • Simon goes off to his special place and finds the head- it talks to him as the “Lord of the flies” and says that he can’t escape the beast because it is in all men • The head also tells Simon that it will have some “fun” with him and Simon faints • “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast. . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!”

14. Chapter 9 • Simon finds the parachutist and realizes it is not the beast • He brings the parachute to Jack to tell him that the beast isn’t real • Ralph and Piggy go to the feast at Jack’s to maintain order- Jack is treated like a king and waited on by his followers • Everyone gets into a frenzy dancing and chanting, even Ralph and Piggy • Simon comes up with the parachute but the boys think he is the beast and kill him, his body is washed away along with the parachutist’s- everyone screams and runs away

15. Chapter 10 • Ralph and Piggy feel remorse about Simon • Almost all of the boys have joined Jack- they live on the Mountain called Castle Rock and Jack rules like a king • Boys are punished harshly, tortured and beaten • Jack makes the boys believe that the beast is still out there • Jack tells Maurice and Roger to raid Ralph’s camp • Jack’s tribe attacks Ralph’s camp and steals Piggy’s glasses- the power to make fire

16. Chapter 11 • The next morning everything seems hopeless, so Ralph and Piggy decide to go out to Jack’s to try to make him see reason • Jack sees Ralph and demands him to leave and Ralph demands Piggy’s glasses • Jack doesn’t listen to Ralph and orders for Samneric to be tied up • Ralph lunges at Jack and they fight • Piggy tries to remind them of the importance of rules and order and Roger rolls a rock down the hill, killing Piggy and breaking the conch • Ralph escapes and Roger and Jack torture Samneric

17. Chapter 12 • “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy.” • Ralph is now being hunted by Jack and on the run- he finds the LOTF and knocks it over and takes the pike as a weapon • He sneaks to Jack’s camp and tries to talk to Samneric but they can’t help him • Jack’s tribe comes after him and he fights them off until he makes it to the beach • Ralph collapses and sees a Naval Officer looking over him

18. Chapter 12 Cont • The Officer finds out about what has happened on the island and wonders how British boys could have thrown out all sense of order and civilization so quickly • Ironically, the fire set by Jack to kill Ralph is the fire that got the attention of the Officer and ends up saving him • Ralph cries at the end over everything that has happened