Key plot details
- A group of schoolboys find themselves stranded on a deserted island with no adults to supervise them.
- A leader, Ralph, is elected but not everyone is happy about this, especially Jack.
- Although some of the younger boys are scared because they think there is a beast on the island, they all try to be civilised by making a fire to signal for help and by building shelters.
- Jack, however, seems only interested in hunting and, as some of the boys start to follow his lead, things begin to go wrong – arguments break out and Jack becomes increasingly aggressive.
- Concerns over the Beast continue, particularly when Sam and Eric report that they have actually seen it.
- The boys break into two groups – one is led by Ralph and one by Jack.
- Simon sets out to discover the truth about the Beast but, in a horrific turn of events, is killed by the others.
- Piggy is also killed and Sam and Eric are taken prisoner by an increasingly dangerous Jack.
- Jack and his tribe try to hunt Ralph down and attempt to smoke him out by starting a huge fire, but a passing ship sees the fire and rescues all the boys. Ralph is saved from certain death and the rescuing officer chastises the boys for not behaving in a ‘British’ manner.
In an essay called Fable, William Golding wrote: “Man produces evil as a bee produces honey”.
His novel Lord of the Flies sets out to show how evil and cruelty lurks within the heart of every individual.
Plot summary
Lord of the Flies is set on a remote island and shows how a group of stranded schoolboys go from civilisation to savagery in a very short space of time.
Although their situation at first seems to have the makings of a fun adventure, their fight to survive in their environment and their struggle with each other for power reveals the wickedness which lives inside all of us.
Before they are finally rescued there is savagery, destruction, terror and even death.
Katy Brand takes us through the plot of William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies.
Narrator: The first thing to know about Lord of the Flies is that it's not an insect-based sequel to Lord of the Rings.
Lord of the Flies is set on a deserted island. I mean, totally deserted – no hotels, no sun loungers, no burger stands or cheap sangria. A plane has crashed and the only survivors are children, who are left to fend for themselves. The story starts with two boys meeting each other on the beach.
This is Ralph – he's the good guy.
This is Piggy, and he has acquired this nickname because he's quite fat.
Piggy: I am not fat.
Narrator: Piggy finds a conch – a big shell that can be blown like a trumpet. [PIGGY BLOWS THE CONCH, MAKING A QUIET, SPLUTTERING SOUND. RALPH THEN BLOWS THE CONCH, MAKING A LOUD AND CLEAR TRUMPETING SOUND BEFORE PLAYING SOME JAZZ] The noise attracts all the other boys. Ralph and Piggy explain the relevance of the conch.
Piggy: The conch works like a horn. The rule is, you can only talk if you've got the horn. [LAUGHTER FROM OTHER BOYS]
Narrator: There are also a lot of ‘littluns’ on the island. They are scared of a beast, which they believe to be living in the sea. The Beast probably looks like this.
This is Jack. He's the bad guy. He's also the lead singer of a choir.
Who is elected camp leader? A) Jack, B) Ralph, C) Piggy.
Both Jack and Ralph want to be camp leader, but Ralph wins the vote.
Ralph: Right, Jack, you can lead the hunters. We need to build signal fire so passing ships can see us and we can get rescued. We must also build huts.
Piggy: Can we build Pizza Huts? I'm starving.
Narrator: Jack grabs Piggy's glasses to light the fire with, but the fire burns out of control. In the days that follow, Ralph says the boys are doing too much playing and have not worked hard enough on the fire or the huts. Then Jack and the hunters return from their first kill and are in a frenzy of bloodlust.
Jack: We killed a wild boar.
Narrator: When Piggy shouts at Jack for allowing the fire to die, Jack punches Piggy in the face. Piggy's glasses get broken in the fight and things start to get out of control. Jack smears the hunters' faces in pigs' blood. Suddenly, Jack starts chanting.
Jack: Kill the pig. Cut her throat. [OTHER HUNTERS JOIN IN] Smash her in! Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Smash her in! Kill the pig!! Cut her throat!! Bash her in!!
Narrator: One boy tries to stop the other boys worrying about the Beast.
Simon: Guys, maybe the Beast is just part of us.
Jack: Who's this?
Narrator: That is Simon (he will shortly die).
Simon: Oi, I heard that.
Narrator: A wild dance starts up, like some mad rave, with Jack and Piggy powerless to stop it. Ralph convinces the boys they should relight the signal fire, but then they discover a dead parachutist – which they think is the Beast.
[THE BOYS SHOUT IN FEAR]
Ralph: A beast – RUN!
Narrator: Jack breaks away with his hunters and starts a new tribe. He celebrates by slaughtering a pig and putting its head on a stick as an offering to the Beast. Not the best gift – I got my nan a pig's head on a stick last Christmas and, if anything, she was… underwhelmed.
Simon sees the pig's head.
Simon: Oh no – is this where I die?
Narrator: No, not yet. Simon believes the pig is talking to him when, really, it's a swarm of flies moving around the pig's face.
The 'Lord of the Flies': Hello. I'm a fly. I play the title role in this book. I'm the titular character. Pretty cool, eh?
Narrator: Yeah. Back at Camp Jack, Jack orders them all to dance and the crazy chant begins again. Suddenly, Simon bursts into the camp and the others mistake him for the Beast and kill him with their hands and teeth.
Simon: Guys, guys… [SIMON IS ATTACKED] I was such a small part… I turned down a role in Holby City to do this.
Narrator: The next morning, the hunter tribe steal Piggy's glasses. Piggy will just have to get used to a lifetime of bumping into palm trees. I know this is a harrowing bit of the book, but doesn't he look funny without his glasses?
Ralph and Piggy confront the hunter tribe, demanding Piggy's glasses back. Then, Roger moves a massive rock down a hill that hits the almost blind Piggy in the head. Huh, he didn't see that coming!
Piggy: Stop making jokes, this is serious!
Narrator: Eh, Piggy, no talking! You're dead. The conch is broken and, with it, Ralph's authority. Jack wants to kill Ralph, who hides like a wild animal.
Jack: Let's set fire to the forest. We'll smoke him out.
Narrator: Ralph flees the hunters and ends up on the beach.
Who does Ralph see at the beach? A) A pirate, B) A teacher, C) A naval officer.
He falls at the feet of a naval officer, who has seen the burning forest and come to investigate.
The other boys appear on the beach too, ready to kill Ralph. Realising he's safe, Ralph begins to sob. The other boys start crying too.
And that's it, Lord of the Flies. A book about goblins, rings, elves and hobbits it is not.
Test yourself
Further study
Lord of the Flies (2026) video
Jack Thorne's bold retelling of a dystopian classic, where a gang of stranded schoolboys create their own community – but, when the rules vanish, the beast within awakens.
The Dreams of William Golding. video
An Arena documentary revealing the extraordinary life of one of the greatest English writers of the 20th century.
William Golding on how he writes a novel. video
Golding talks candidly about the process of writing a novel and the painstaking craftsmanship that he brings to his work.
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