Summary
An entire plane of British schoolboys is shot down over a deserted island amidst a war. Ralph, an incredible looking young lad, and Piggy, an overweight and sheltered child, find each other on the beach along with a conch shell. In order to see if any others had survived the crash, Ralph uses the shell as a horn to summon the others. Once the boys make it to the beach, they elect Ralph as their leader who then chooses the head choir boy, Jack, as the leader of the hunters. Ralph declares that they need to build a fire into order to signal to passing ships. In the excitement, the fire gets out of control, burning the most their fire wood and presumably, a child.
An argument arrises between Ralph and Jack about the importance of hunting, the shelters, and the fire. This causes the rift between them to grow. Later, Ralph and Piggy notice a ship passing by, but the signal fire has gone out. In a fit of rage, Ralph accuses Jack for the mistake even though Jack and his hunters had just gotten their first kill. Piggy also accuses Jack, but is punched and silenced. As a result, Ralph calls a meeting to reprimand the tribe. There the smallest children make clear that they are afraid of a “Beastie” and even though the older boys attempt to calm everyone down, they still have a fear of the monster. That night, a dead pilot from a battle above the island falls onto the signal fire mountain where two boys mistake the pilot as the monster.
Soon after, Ralph and Jack organize a hunting party that results in nothing. When reporting the findings to the rest of the group, Jack accuses Ralph of being a coward and tries to have him removed from office, but is unsuccessful. This causes Jack to start his own hunting tribe which many boys join. His first act as chief of the hunters is to organize a hunt and ritual slaughter of a pig. They decapitate it and place its head on a stake where another boy, Simon, has a terrible vision. The head speaks to him as the Lord of the Flies and that it is within all men. Simon then goes to the mountain where he find the dead parachutist and understands that the beast is not external, but internal. In attempt to tell the other boys, Simon is savagely killed by the others who were a part of Jack’s feast. The following night, Jack and his hunters attack Ralph and Piggy and steal Piggy’s glasses to make fire. In response, Ralph’s group attempts to talk with Jack at his fortress to get back Piggy’s glasses, but instead Piggy is crushed by a boulder, the conch shell is destroyed, and Ralph is sent into hiding. The next day, Jack and his gang force Ralph out of his hiding spot by burning down the forest. Eventually, Ralph pushed to the beach where he awaits his death. When all hope is lost, a curious British Naval captain appears who is stunned by the condition of the boys. While attempting to explain what happened, Ralph begins to weep as he realizes what has happened. The other lads start sobbing with him and the captain, not knowing how to handle the situation, stands nearby uncomfortably.
An argument arrises between Ralph and Jack about the importance of hunting, the shelters, and the fire. This causes the rift between them to grow. Later, Ralph and Piggy notice a ship passing by, but the signal fire has gone out. In a fit of rage, Ralph accuses Jack for the mistake even though Jack and his hunters had just gotten their first kill. Piggy also accuses Jack, but is punched and silenced. As a result, Ralph calls a meeting to reprimand the tribe. There the smallest children make clear that they are afraid of a “Beastie” and even though the older boys attempt to calm everyone down, they still have a fear of the monster. That night, a dead pilot from a battle above the island falls onto the signal fire mountain where two boys mistake the pilot as the monster.
Soon after, Ralph and Jack organize a hunting party that results in nothing. When reporting the findings to the rest of the group, Jack accuses Ralph of being a coward and tries to have him removed from office, but is unsuccessful. This causes Jack to start his own hunting tribe which many boys join. His first act as chief of the hunters is to organize a hunt and ritual slaughter of a pig. They decapitate it and place its head on a stake where another boy, Simon, has a terrible vision. The head speaks to him as the Lord of the Flies and that it is within all men. Simon then goes to the mountain where he find the dead parachutist and understands that the beast is not external, but internal. In attempt to tell the other boys, Simon is savagely killed by the others who were a part of Jack’s feast. The following night, Jack and his hunters attack Ralph and Piggy and steal Piggy’s glasses to make fire. In response, Ralph’s group attempts to talk with Jack at his fortress to get back Piggy’s glasses, but instead Piggy is crushed by a boulder, the conch shell is destroyed, and Ralph is sent into hiding. The next day, Jack and his gang force Ralph out of his hiding spot by burning down the forest. Eventually, Ralph pushed to the beach where he awaits his death. When all hope is lost, a curious British Naval captain appears who is stunned by the condition of the boys. While attempting to explain what happened, Ralph begins to weep as he realizes what has happened. The other lads start sobbing with him and the captain, not knowing how to handle the situation, stands nearby uncomfortably.