Plot Analysis
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Exposition: The story begins with a boy (Ralph) wandering through a jungle. At this point he is known as "the fair boy. "He explains how it is very hot and his shirt is stuck to his skin. While walking he meets up with another boy (Piggy). This boy is known as "the fat boy." They decide to go swimming due to the heat. We figure out that they are kids who had survived a plane crash and that the plane was fleeing from England to escape the dangers of the WWII. While swimming Ralph finds a conch shell. Piggy decides that they should use it see if there are other boys on the island. When Ralph blows on it, dozens of boys come from the jungle. There is a group of boys wearing black robes lead by a ginger named Jack. The group of boys calls a vote to elect chief, and Ralph is elected. Jack is the main antagonist, probably due to he not being elected chief.
Rising Action:
Climax: Ralph and Piggy head up to Castle Rock trying to get Piggy's glasses back from Jack. While yelling and fighting Piggy grabs the conch and tries to bring order. Roger pushes over a rock and it falls and crushes Piggy and the conch. Piggy tumbles to the ocean rocks below and dies. The conch is shattered into pieces. Now that Piggy and the conch are gone, rules are no longer and savagery takes place of civilization.
Falling Action:
Theme(s):
Inner Evil: At the beginning of the story all of the children are still innocent. They try to be civilized and set up a government style system. As the story progress however, Jack begins to want to kill a pig. Then more kids want to kill pigs. Jack becomes more savage like and starts to paint his face and desires power and strength. He eventually breaks off from Ralph and becomes evil. All the boys are so obsessed with killing they see Simon and kill him almost as practice. Then Jack's crew kills Piggy. All of the kids turn into savages who have no remorse or forgiveness. Even Ralph stabs some kids when he is trying to escape. The boys all turn on Ralph and try to kill him. When in the beginning of the story none of that would have happened. The inner evil and savage in the boys comes out and eventually consumes them.
Innocence: When the boys end up on the island it creates the perfect place for them to grow up. Even though there is no real jobs, work, or taxes like the real adult world the boys must grow up. They resolve to doing anything for survival and must depend on themselves to provide food and shelter. There are no parents for them to fall back on. The boys kill each other and do not even weep, for it has all become part of survival. The story ends with Ralph crying over "the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart".
Power: The desire for power corrupts the boys. Mostly Jack than the rest of the others boys. Ralph was originally chief until Jack breaks off. He wants to be in charge so bad that he breaks off and promises food and power to those who join him. Jack kills and orders his disciples around. Jack becomes a dictator and sickened from his grasp of power. There are no rules for him since he is the dictator. He kills people and does whatever he likes. The desire for power changes his mind and thought process. When he finally comes into power he can not handle it and does the unthinkable.
Motifs:
The Conch: The conch is a reoccurring object in the story. Acting as a theme in itself. The conch shows hope and order. Discovered by Ralph and Piggy they use it to call meetings and establish rules. Without the conch no one is allowed to talk. When Jack separates from Ralph's group the conch is what keeps all upset from occurring. Ralph uses it to talk to Jack and his group even though they are not part of the same tribe. The conch holds the power of the law. Eventually it is destroyed when Piggy dies. The two most civilized things on the island are destroyed then.
Hunting/killing: Throughout the whole story someone is constantly hunting. That someone is Jack. From the beginning when Jack is exploring the island we see his savagery come out. At first when he can not bring himself to kill the pig, he becomes obsessed with it. The drive to hunt and kill sways them from the most important task, being rescued. Jack and his band of hunters forget to keep the signal fire going and it causes them to not be rescued when a ship passes by. After that Jack exiles himself from Ralph's group. When he does this instead of hunting pigs he decides to hunt humans instead. He sets off a whole campaign to kill Ralph. The drive to kill and hunt is what almost ruins the survival of all the boys.
Symbols:
The Signal Fire: The signal fire represents hope. Ralph sets up the plan to create a fire to signal for rescue in the beginning of the story. With the fire burning, it lets the boys have a sense of hope. The chance of rescue is what keeps the children from going completely insane and from savagery. As the story goes on we can see the hope and faith start to wither away however. It starts when Jack and his band of hunters forget to light the signal fire when they go to hunt for a pig. At this moment a ship passes by and since there is no fire or smoke the boat did not stop to rescue them. If Jack had lit the fire at that moment the boys could have been rescued. As we continue Ralph and Piggy are the only ones who still care about the signal fire. The rest of the boys only want it to be able to cook. The other boys lose all hope and no longer care for the fire because they do not believe they can be rescued. It is ironic how in the end the fire created by Jack to kill Ralph is what signals the the navy boat to visit the island.
Mood:
Suspenseful: While I was reading the story I always felt captivated and intrigued on what would occur next. The reader is forced to infer on what will happen next and is constantly made to wonder. I never knew if Jack was going to snap and kill someone or if Ralph would lose himself to his inner savage like Jack. The suspense builds starting with when Jack does not kill the pig. After that the reader is wondering when or if he will kill a pig. Then it evolves into when is Jack going to turn to killing humans. Up until the rescue of the boys, I was wondering if Jack would kill Ralph. I had no idea Ralph was going to be saved by a navy officer.
Tone:
Serious: William Golding writes with a sense of passion and seriousness. The book never really makes the reader laugh or chuckle. The only time where the tone is easygoing is when the kids call Piggy fat. Even then the reader feels bad for the boy and not necessarily laughs. Golding uses the intense descriptions especially when talking about killing. He perfectly describes how the boys kill Simon, the blood stained sand. Even when Ralph is being chased and runs for his life. We always feel the suspense and he wrote like that on purpose to show that this book is a serious piece of literature and to convey his emotions of war.
The Conch: Representing order, and being civilized, the conch is like a glue for the boys. When it is first found by Piggy and Ralph, Piggy decides they should use it as a way to call meetings. The conch is what allows each boy to talk, nobody can speak during the meetings unless they are holding the conch. This small object and rule is the only tie to the civilized world that the boys have. Without the power of the conch nobody would have ever listened to Ralph or the rules he made. Even when Jack and his group break off from Ralph they still listen to Ralph and Piggy when they hold the conch. When the conch is destroyed along with Piggy, the power of law dies along with them. There is no longer civil order among the boys. The only sense of rule is Jack ordering his members around like a dictator.
Characterization:
Ralph: The main protagonist. When we first meet Ralph we understand he is like the golden boy. He is definitely a round character. We spend most of the story understanding his character and wondering if he will ever lose himself to evil. Ralph's listens to his ego a lot, he feels his savagery come out but knows he must stay civilized in order to survive. He is elected chief at first and sets up a parliament style system on the island. He sets up rules about keeping the fire going, making shelter, hunting, where to go to the bathroom, etc. Everything seems to be going smooth when everybody suddenly turns on him. While everybody is becoming savages and killing each other, Ralph is still sane. Throughout the whole story he is the only one who has not lost his mind and is still civilized. At the end of the story all of the kids chase and try to kill him, they have all resolved to savagery but not Ralph. He was the bond between them all for a while.
Jack: The main antagonist. Jack is definitely a dynamic character. We see him change throughout the story. Jack is the opposite of Ralph. Jack lets his Id take over. He lets his human instincts and savagery come out and guide him through the course of the story. When he first arrives on the island he is still that innocent choir boy. From the start we can see his being start to change. He becomes angry when not elected chief. Jack then is elected hunter and that is when things really get interesting. While exploring the island Jack sees a pig and can not bring himself to kill the pig due to fear and that inner innocence. He vows that after that moment he will never hesitate to kill again. Jack becomes obsessed with killing a pig and nothing else matters to him. He forgets about his signal fire duties all due to his obsession. Once he kills the pig he starts to become even more evil. He puts the head onto a stake as an offering to the "beast". Eventually, Jack even turns on his own chief Ralph. Forming a whole new group of savages, Jack begins to become power thirsty. He even kills Simon, and Piggy. Jack then plans to kill Ralph. Luckily, they are rescued right before he kills Ralph. The innocent choir boy from the beginning is no longer alive inside, it is only this savage creature who is bloody thirsty and power hungry.
Simon: Simon was one of the last strands of hope. A small skinny boy who only held joy in his heart. He is a flat character in this story only because he is not involved in the whole story. We do not really know a lot of Simon's actual thoughts but we can infer that he deals more with his ego than anything else. He stays civilized, does not kill or make fun of anyone. Simon remains peaceful throughout the story. We see his kind side when he gets Piggy's glasses for him when they fly off of Piggy's face. He also gives Piggy his share of meat when Jack refuses to give Piggy meat. Simon not only gives up his food but he is the only one who really cares for the littluns. He would go and help them pick fruit from the trees that were too tall for the littluns reach. Simon would go into the forest to a meadow that was calm and peaceful. This place would keep Simon sane, and keep his innocence alive. This same place is where Simon foresees his own death. Jack places a pig head on a stake in the meadow and Simon sees it. The pig starts to talk to Simon saying how the other boys will "do" him. He gets scared and passes out. When he awakes he goes to search for the beast in the mountains. When he finds out it is only a dead body and not real he goes to tell the camp of boys. When he arrives the boys are pretending to kill the beast. They "mistake" Simon for the beast. They all jab at him until nothing is left but blood stained sand and shredded pieces of Simon. This is the turning point in the story. After this moment there is no longer remorse or innocence between the rest of the boys. Simon was almost like an angel.
Piggy: I would also classify Piggy as a round character. Piggy definitely listens to the superego part of him. Piggy never converts or even thinks about savagery or killing. He always is thinking about rules, being civilized, and acting like an adult. We first meet Piggy and his name is "the fat kid". So, automatically we feel bad for him. Nobody gives him proper respect, not even Ralph at first. He is by far the smartest boy on the island. Piggy comes up with how to use the conch and how to set rules and priorities. We see Piggy's intellect reveal itself when he preaches to the others about fear. He says that there is no beast, the only thing to fear, if to fear at all, is each other. The beast is them. He is the only one who truly understands this. Piggy is constantly picked on, people steal his glasses and call him fat. The others do not realize that without Piggy there is no fire, or structure. Piggy's glasses are what start the fires. Piggy is killed by a rock that crushes him and pushes him off the edge of the mountain down to the sea rocks. The conch is shattered along with Piggy. This is when all rules are thrown out the window. Without the order of the conch, Jack can become a dictator and truly do whatever he wants. Piggy was the glue.
Rising Action:
- The boys elect Ralph as chief
- Ralph declares Jack and the choir boys as the hunters
- The boys explore the island, Jack sees a pig but can not kill it
- Littluns claim to have seen a beast
- Jack is hunting for a pig and lets the signal fire go out
- Due to the fire being out a ship passes but does not stop to help
- Ralph is left alone to build the shelters
- Jack is overcome with an obsession to kill and hunt
- While venturing the mountains, Samneric see a dead body with a parachute and think it is the beast
- They go up to look for the beast but get scared
- Jack leaves Ralph's group and takes a lot of people with him
- Jack kills a pig and puts the head on a stake in the meadow
- Simon hallucinates and talks to the pig head (Lord of the flies)
- Simon searches for the beast and finds out it is fake
- Simon goes to tell the others of his finds and they mistake him for the beast and kill him
- Jack steals Piggy's glasses
- Samneric are taken prisoner by Jack and forced to join his group
Climax: Ralph and Piggy head up to Castle Rock trying to get Piggy's glasses back from Jack. While yelling and fighting Piggy grabs the conch and tries to bring order. Roger pushes over a rock and it falls and crushes Piggy and the conch. Piggy tumbles to the ocean rocks below and dies. The conch is shattered into pieces. Now that Piggy and the conch are gone, rules are no longer and savagery takes place of civilization.
Falling Action:
- Jack throws a spear at Ralph and hits him in the ribs
- Jack chases Ralph
- Ralph hides in a thicket
- Samneric give Ralph meat and warn him of Jack's plan to hunt him
- Jack beats up Wilfred
- Jack smokes Ralph out of the bushes
- Ralph falls down to the beach
- Ralph surrenders awaiting death
Theme(s):
Inner Evil: At the beginning of the story all of the children are still innocent. They try to be civilized and set up a government style system. As the story progress however, Jack begins to want to kill a pig. Then more kids want to kill pigs. Jack becomes more savage like and starts to paint his face and desires power and strength. He eventually breaks off from Ralph and becomes evil. All the boys are so obsessed with killing they see Simon and kill him almost as practice. Then Jack's crew kills Piggy. All of the kids turn into savages who have no remorse or forgiveness. Even Ralph stabs some kids when he is trying to escape. The boys all turn on Ralph and try to kill him. When in the beginning of the story none of that would have happened. The inner evil and savage in the boys comes out and eventually consumes them.
Innocence: When the boys end up on the island it creates the perfect place for them to grow up. Even though there is no real jobs, work, or taxes like the real adult world the boys must grow up. They resolve to doing anything for survival and must depend on themselves to provide food and shelter. There are no parents for them to fall back on. The boys kill each other and do not even weep, for it has all become part of survival. The story ends with Ralph crying over "the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart".
Power: The desire for power corrupts the boys. Mostly Jack than the rest of the others boys. Ralph was originally chief until Jack breaks off. He wants to be in charge so bad that he breaks off and promises food and power to those who join him. Jack kills and orders his disciples around. Jack becomes a dictator and sickened from his grasp of power. There are no rules for him since he is the dictator. He kills people and does whatever he likes. The desire for power changes his mind and thought process. When he finally comes into power he can not handle it and does the unthinkable.
Motifs:
The Conch: The conch is a reoccurring object in the story. Acting as a theme in itself. The conch shows hope and order. Discovered by Ralph and Piggy they use it to call meetings and establish rules. Without the conch no one is allowed to talk. When Jack separates from Ralph's group the conch is what keeps all upset from occurring. Ralph uses it to talk to Jack and his group even though they are not part of the same tribe. The conch holds the power of the law. Eventually it is destroyed when Piggy dies. The two most civilized things on the island are destroyed then.
Hunting/killing: Throughout the whole story someone is constantly hunting. That someone is Jack. From the beginning when Jack is exploring the island we see his savagery come out. At first when he can not bring himself to kill the pig, he becomes obsessed with it. The drive to hunt and kill sways them from the most important task, being rescued. Jack and his band of hunters forget to keep the signal fire going and it causes them to not be rescued when a ship passes by. After that Jack exiles himself from Ralph's group. When he does this instead of hunting pigs he decides to hunt humans instead. He sets off a whole campaign to kill Ralph. The drive to kill and hunt is what almost ruins the survival of all the boys.
Symbols:
The Signal Fire: The signal fire represents hope. Ralph sets up the plan to create a fire to signal for rescue in the beginning of the story. With the fire burning, it lets the boys have a sense of hope. The chance of rescue is what keeps the children from going completely insane and from savagery. As the story goes on we can see the hope and faith start to wither away however. It starts when Jack and his band of hunters forget to light the signal fire when they go to hunt for a pig. At this moment a ship passes by and since there is no fire or smoke the boat did not stop to rescue them. If Jack had lit the fire at that moment the boys could have been rescued. As we continue Ralph and Piggy are the only ones who still care about the signal fire. The rest of the boys only want it to be able to cook. The other boys lose all hope and no longer care for the fire because they do not believe they can be rescued. It is ironic how in the end the fire created by Jack to kill Ralph is what signals the the navy boat to visit the island.
Mood:
Suspenseful: While I was reading the story I always felt captivated and intrigued on what would occur next. The reader is forced to infer on what will happen next and is constantly made to wonder. I never knew if Jack was going to snap and kill someone or if Ralph would lose himself to his inner savage like Jack. The suspense builds starting with when Jack does not kill the pig. After that the reader is wondering when or if he will kill a pig. Then it evolves into when is Jack going to turn to killing humans. Up until the rescue of the boys, I was wondering if Jack would kill Ralph. I had no idea Ralph was going to be saved by a navy officer.
Tone:
Serious: William Golding writes with a sense of passion and seriousness. The book never really makes the reader laugh or chuckle. The only time where the tone is easygoing is when the kids call Piggy fat. Even then the reader feels bad for the boy and not necessarily laughs. Golding uses the intense descriptions especially when talking about killing. He perfectly describes how the boys kill Simon, the blood stained sand. Even when Ralph is being chased and runs for his life. We always feel the suspense and he wrote like that on purpose to show that this book is a serious piece of literature and to convey his emotions of war.
The Conch: Representing order, and being civilized, the conch is like a glue for the boys. When it is first found by Piggy and Ralph, Piggy decides they should use it as a way to call meetings. The conch is what allows each boy to talk, nobody can speak during the meetings unless they are holding the conch. This small object and rule is the only tie to the civilized world that the boys have. Without the power of the conch nobody would have ever listened to Ralph or the rules he made. Even when Jack and his group break off from Ralph they still listen to Ralph and Piggy when they hold the conch. When the conch is destroyed along with Piggy, the power of law dies along with them. There is no longer civil order among the boys. The only sense of rule is Jack ordering his members around like a dictator.
Characterization:
Ralph: The main protagonist. When we first meet Ralph we understand he is like the golden boy. He is definitely a round character. We spend most of the story understanding his character and wondering if he will ever lose himself to evil. Ralph's listens to his ego a lot, he feels his savagery come out but knows he must stay civilized in order to survive. He is elected chief at first and sets up a parliament style system on the island. He sets up rules about keeping the fire going, making shelter, hunting, where to go to the bathroom, etc. Everything seems to be going smooth when everybody suddenly turns on him. While everybody is becoming savages and killing each other, Ralph is still sane. Throughout the whole story he is the only one who has not lost his mind and is still civilized. At the end of the story all of the kids chase and try to kill him, they have all resolved to savagery but not Ralph. He was the bond between them all for a while.
Jack: The main antagonist. Jack is definitely a dynamic character. We see him change throughout the story. Jack is the opposite of Ralph. Jack lets his Id take over. He lets his human instincts and savagery come out and guide him through the course of the story. When he first arrives on the island he is still that innocent choir boy. From the start we can see his being start to change. He becomes angry when not elected chief. Jack then is elected hunter and that is when things really get interesting. While exploring the island Jack sees a pig and can not bring himself to kill the pig due to fear and that inner innocence. He vows that after that moment he will never hesitate to kill again. Jack becomes obsessed with killing a pig and nothing else matters to him. He forgets about his signal fire duties all due to his obsession. Once he kills the pig he starts to become even more evil. He puts the head onto a stake as an offering to the "beast". Eventually, Jack even turns on his own chief Ralph. Forming a whole new group of savages, Jack begins to become power thirsty. He even kills Simon, and Piggy. Jack then plans to kill Ralph. Luckily, they are rescued right before he kills Ralph. The innocent choir boy from the beginning is no longer alive inside, it is only this savage creature who is bloody thirsty and power hungry.
Simon: Simon was one of the last strands of hope. A small skinny boy who only held joy in his heart. He is a flat character in this story only because he is not involved in the whole story. We do not really know a lot of Simon's actual thoughts but we can infer that he deals more with his ego than anything else. He stays civilized, does not kill or make fun of anyone. Simon remains peaceful throughout the story. We see his kind side when he gets Piggy's glasses for him when they fly off of Piggy's face. He also gives Piggy his share of meat when Jack refuses to give Piggy meat. Simon not only gives up his food but he is the only one who really cares for the littluns. He would go and help them pick fruit from the trees that were too tall for the littluns reach. Simon would go into the forest to a meadow that was calm and peaceful. This place would keep Simon sane, and keep his innocence alive. This same place is where Simon foresees his own death. Jack places a pig head on a stake in the meadow and Simon sees it. The pig starts to talk to Simon saying how the other boys will "do" him. He gets scared and passes out. When he awakes he goes to search for the beast in the mountains. When he finds out it is only a dead body and not real he goes to tell the camp of boys. When he arrives the boys are pretending to kill the beast. They "mistake" Simon for the beast. They all jab at him until nothing is left but blood stained sand and shredded pieces of Simon. This is the turning point in the story. After this moment there is no longer remorse or innocence between the rest of the boys. Simon was almost like an angel.
Piggy: I would also classify Piggy as a round character. Piggy definitely listens to the superego part of him. Piggy never converts or even thinks about savagery or killing. He always is thinking about rules, being civilized, and acting like an adult. We first meet Piggy and his name is "the fat kid". So, automatically we feel bad for him. Nobody gives him proper respect, not even Ralph at first. He is by far the smartest boy on the island. Piggy comes up with how to use the conch and how to set rules and priorities. We see Piggy's intellect reveal itself when he preaches to the others about fear. He says that there is no beast, the only thing to fear, if to fear at all, is each other. The beast is them. He is the only one who truly understands this. Piggy is constantly picked on, people steal his glasses and call him fat. The others do not realize that without Piggy there is no fire, or structure. Piggy's glasses are what start the fires. Piggy is killed by a rock that crushes him and pushes him off the edge of the mountain down to the sea rocks. The conch is shattered along with Piggy. This is when all rules are thrown out the window. Without the order of the conch, Jack can become a dictator and truly do whatever he wants. Piggy was the glue.