Half #2- Lord of the Flies

Half #2- Lord of the Flies

Synopsis

·         The boys go hunting and Ralph dings the Boar’s nose with a spear. He is so impressed that he brags about it. Jack, upset that Ralph stole the show, states the boar attacked him and the tusks gashed his arm.

·         The boys play a hunting game with Robert and actually use their spears and injure him.

·         Jack, Ralph and Roger investigate the mountain and notice the intimidating figure.

·         Jack enraged suggests that Ralph is no longer the chief, but no one agrees at the time and Jack leaves the group.

·         Other boys join Jack’s tribe during the night

·         Simon goes to the forest and runs into the “Lord of the Flies”, which is a pig head on a stick, placed there by Jack and his group.

·         Jack steals fire from Ralph’s camp.

·         Ralph’s camp is invited to a feast hosted by Jack.

·         Simon is mistaken for the beast and all the boys tackle and kill him.

·         A raid is taken place at Ralph’s camp during the night and Piggy’s glasses are stolen.

·         Sam and Eric are tied up and captured during a brawl between both tribes.

·         Roger kills Piggy with a boulder. The boulder also crushes the conch shell.

·         Ralph and the twins exchange information.

·         Ralph gets chased through the jungle, which is on fire.

·         A naval officer finds Ralph on the beach. The other boys show up and everyone breaks down with emotion. Ralph is relieved.

Character Development

In the second half of the story, Jack’s antagonist side takes over. The older boys called the “bigguns” start to take advantage of the younger boys. Ralph knew that smoke would save them and he was right all along when the naval officer says he noticed the smoke from the island

Characters Introduced

Ralph stays a round and static character who strives for leadership, guidance and fairness within the boys.

Jack wants all the power for himself and creates savagery on the island. He is a round and static character who becomes more noticeably evil as the tension between him and Ralph increase.

Samneric are twin brothers. They are loyal towards Ralph until Jack manipulates them to oppose Ralph. They are round and possibly dynamic characters.

Roger and Maurice torture the younger boys in their group. They are cruel and brutal. They are flat and static characters.

Piggy supports Ralph’s authority as chief and likes to be organized. He turns into a dynamic character towards the end of the book. Once his glasses are stolen, he becomes rebellious and wants his glasses back.

Simon is the good and kind character in the story. He tries to get away from reality by going off into the jungle. He is a flat and static character.

Point of View

The point of view is omniscient and in third person. The characters feelings and thoughts are expressed through their interactions on the island which allows to reader to experience the boys’ survival.

Setting

The story takes place during the time of the war. The boys are stranded on a deserted and isolated island. This makes the boys have to work together to survive. The tone is tragic because of the plane crash and their isolation.

Notables on William Golding’s Writing Style

The book is challenging to read because he uses a wide variety of words. The words he uses in the dialogue express the boys’ identity. The story is also very descriptive. The story was easier to follow in the second half of the story.

Statement of Themes

In the first quarter of the book “Lord of the Flies,” William Golding portrays the invisible feud between Ralph and Jack, who each represent survival and disorder.

Quote: “Indignation took away Ralph’s control.” Chapter 3, p.55

Other ideas for themes:

·         Government and Democracy versus Mayhem and Disorder

·         Savagery

·         Symbolic conflicts like “The Lord of the Flies” versus “the conch shell”