Evaluation of Lord of the Flies, a story by William Golding

Essay by Anonymous UserCollege, UndergraduateA+, September 1996

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Lord of the Flies is a 202 page long adventure story written by William Golding in 1954 about a number of boys marooned on a tropical island and left to fend for themselves. While on the island, they discover quite a bit of evil within themselves.

A few years after World War 2, a planeful of boys as young as 5 or 6 but most no older than 11 or 12 crashes near an uninhabited tropical island. As soon as they land, one of the eldest assumes leadership of the others, but not before befriending an overweight, asthmatic boy nicknamed Piggy. Ralph takes control of the boys and organizes a small expedition up the mountain. He meets Jack Merridew, the chief antagonist. Jack is then a leader of choir boys, but will soon turn into a leader of savages. On the mountain, Jack hunts but does not kill a pig.

He vows to kill it the next time. On their return, Ralph holds an informational meeting and informs the boys that they will be safe, but that they must start a signal fire and set up temporary shelters until help can be found. A rumour of a beast is heard, but is quickly discounted as a nightmare. It will later be a major theme in the book. On the mountain, fire is created, but only through the use of Piggy's glasses. After Jack goes off to hunt and comes back, Ralph discusses the problems of people not working with Jack. Simon goes into the jungle alone and contemplates. The boys become used to the daily tasks on the island. The small children play all the time while the older ones do most of the work. The first flash of Jack's future warrior/hunter position as leader is shown as he...