Summary
Ralph and Piggy meet. Ralph, who is about 12 years old and described as “fair-haired,” is climbing down some rocks toward a lagoon when he encounters another boy of similar age named Piggy. Piggy is described as “chubby” and wearing thick glasses. They exchange introductions and their conversation reveals that they’re in the midst of war. After an atomic bomb goes off, the group of schoolboys that Ralph and Piggy belong to were being flown to safety when their plane was shot down. It crash landed on this tropical island with no sign of adult survivors.
Piggy finds the conch. Ralph and Piggy go to the beach and wonder about the remaining survivors, hoping the pilot is still alive. Piggy stumbles upon a cream-colored conch shell, which he realizes he can use to make a sound that will help let the other potential survivors know to gather on the beach. Piggy’s idea is a success and other boys begin staggering onto the beach, ranging in age from 6-12. Among them is a boy’s choir, dressed in black gowns and seemingly led by an older boy named Jack, who commands them to stand at attention. They make fun of Piggy’s name and appearance.
The boys vote on a leader. Deciding to try to maintain some semblance of structure and civility, the surviving boys elect a leader. Ralph receives most of the votes, although all the choir boys vote for Jack. Ralph assumes the leadership role but does ask the choirboys to serve as the hunters, with Jack as their leader. Ralph asks Jack and one of his choirboys, Simon, to help him explore the island, denying Piggy’s requests to come along.
Ralph, Jack, and Simon learn that the island is uninhabited. The 3 boys begin trekking through the jungle, bonding over the prospect of being on undiscovered land without adult supervision. When they reach the end of the dense jungle, they can see rocks and mountains, but no signs of civilization. They climb up one of the steep hills and note that the view is beautiful, with Ralph expressing excitement at having the island to themselves.
The 3 boys encounter a wild pig on their way back to the beach. As Ralph, Jack, and Simon are walking back to the beach, they encounter a wild pig tangled up in dense jungle vines. Since Jack has just been named lead hunter by Ralph, he pulls out a knife and attempts to kill it, but is ultimately unable to follow through. The pig manages to free itself and flees. Jack promises not to hesitate the next time he has a similar opportunity. The boys continue walking until they reach the beach, where the rest of the boys are waiting for their direction.
Characters
Ralph Ralph is the main protagonist of the novel, evident as early as Chapter 1. He’s describes as “fair-haired” and “attractive,” clearly demonstrating leadership skills as the other boys choose him to be their leader. At 12 years old, he’s one of the older boys, and is often a symbol of order and morality. Ralph is initially excited about the prospect of being alone on an island, although the potential pitfalls of being charge soon begin to dawn on him.
Piggy Similar in age to Ralph, Piggy acts as a foil to Ralph in terms of appearance and likeability. Piggy has asthma, wears thick-rimmed glasses, is “chubby” and not athletic, causing the other boys to bully him. Piggy never gets a chance to reveal his real name, and his attempts at maintaining social order are always met with ridicule from the other boys. Piggy is intelligent and uses the conch to establish order in Chapter 1.
Jack Describe as tall and lanky, Jack is appointed head hunter at the beginning of the novel. Ironically, Jack embodies immorality and bloodlust despite his position as leader of the choirboys, which would imply virtue and good will. Close in age to both Ralph and Piggy, Jack carries a knife and is alledgedly ready to wield it, although he chokes when the opportunity arises. However, his increasing thirst for violence, power, and cruelty grows more and more as the story progresses.
Simon Simon is small and frail, faiting at the beginning of the novel, which is perceived as weakness by Jack. Simon plays a less important role in Chapter 1, but his trek into the jungle with the other boys demonstrates signs of bravery. Simon as a stark contrast to Jack, as he is good-hearted, sensitive, and perceptive.
Themes
Civilization vs. Savagery This prevalent theme is clear from the opening chapter, as the boys must immediately face their own sense of morality. After realizing that they’re all alone on the island with the rules of government and civilization far in their periphery, they struggle to establish order amongst themselves. They elect a leader, delegate tasks, and designate a group to go out and explore the land. However, despite the veneer of stability, there is already evidence of moral corruption, such as how virgorously they bully Piggy and Jack’s headstong, vicious nature.
Man vs. Nature Like many other tales of survival, Golding’s ‘‘Lord of the Flies’’ underscores the conflict between man and nature. After their plane crash lands on this tropical island, the boys must fend for themselves, hunting for food and building shelter so that they may weather the elements until they’re presumably rescued. Jack is tested early on when the boys encounter the wild pig and he is unable to kill it.
Good vs. Evil In Chapter 1, we are introduced to 2 opposing figures: Ralph and Jack. Ralph represents order and civility, while Jack represents greed and chaos. Ralph is voted leader, which enrages Jack, hinting at his explosive tember and sinister nature. As the novel progresses, the boys begin giving into their animal instincts, suggesting that evil exists in all of them, no matter how hard they try to fight it.
Loss of Innocence The boys are all prepubescent, illustrating the fact that they’re in between boyhood and manhood, still capable of being molded. During their lives back in England, they were shaped by laws and social structures, but on the island, they have no one to answer to but themselves. The new laws they must live by are set forth by the island and their quest for survival, resulting in a loss of innocence for many characters. Jack may be the first to experience a loss of innocence, as evinced by his brush with the wild pig and his vow to kill the next time the opportunity is presented to him.
Symbolism
The conch stands for order. Found by Piggy at the beginning of Chapter 1, the conch is used as a kind of musical instrument to call the other surviving boys to the beach. The conch becomes a symbol of order and democracy, and offers a tether to civilization for the boys, as they use it literally to signal when it’s someone’s turn to speak. As their behavior devolves into savagery, the conch loses power.
Piggy’s glasses symbolize rational thought. Piggy is considered the voice of reason among the boys and his thick-rimmed glasses help to fortify that idea. Piggy is the one who finds the conch and thinks to use it to sumon the rest of the boys, highlighting his quick thinking and ingenuity in the face of adversity. However, Piggy is bullied for being “smart” and leading with logic instead of animal instinct. Although it’s not discussed in Chapter 1, Piggy’s glasses also have the potential to help the boys make a fire, which would be essential to their survival.
The wild pig represents the potential for savagery. The wild pig that Ralph, Jack, and Simon encounter on their walk back to the beach plans a seed of symbolism that blossoms later in the novel. The pig is tangled in vines, rendering it an easy target. However, when Jack pulls out his knife and attempts to kill, he ultimately can’t bring himself to do it but vows to never hesitate again. This represents the inevitably of the boys’ descent into barbarity and violence.
Literary Tropes
The island as a microcosm of civilization We learn in Chapter 1 that the boys were being transported to safety because there was an atomic war waging in outside world. Although crash landing on the island may have offered them a brief respite from the war, a new one began brewing amongst themselves. The debasement of the boy’s behavior is thought to mirror the atrocities being comitted in the outside world, depicting the island as a microcosm of civilization.
Allegory An allegory is a story that uses symbols to convey deeper meanings, often with political or moral undertones, and Chapter 1 of ‘‘Lord of the Flies’’ opens one such story. The boys on the island represent the way humans treat each other in the outside world, even within the confines of civilization, and demonstrate how greed and power can erode one’s humanity and morality. The conch is a fleeting symbol of democracy, elucidating the boys’ attempts to maintain order. They’re ultimately unable to, and their savage groupthink leaves several victims in its wake.
Metaphor and simile Golding implements the use of metaphor and simile all throughout the book and certainly in Chaper 1. One of the most promiment uses of this literary device is how the boys refer to the crater left by the airplane as a “scar.” Page 29 reads, “Beyond falls and cliffs there was a gash visible in the trees; there were the splintered trunks and then the drag, leaving only a fringe of palm between the scar and the sea.” A metaphor is a comparison between two things without using the words “like” or “as.” A simile is a comparison between two things that does use “like” or “as.”
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