-
The crash
In the midst of a raging war, a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down over a deserted tropical island. -
Period: to
Lord of the Flies Timeline
-
Who's in Charge
Once assembled, the boys set about electing a leader and devising a way to be rescued. They choose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appoints another boy, Jack, to be in charge of the boys who will hunt food for the entire group. -
Fear of the Beast
It quickly becomes clear that some of the boys have started to become afraid. The littlest boys, known as “littluns,” have been troubled by nightmares from the beginning, and more and more boys now believe that there is some sort of beast or monster lurking on the island. -
Playing games
At first, the boys enjoy their life without grown-ups and spend much of their time splashing in the water and playing games. -
New Leader
Jack declares himself the leader of the new tribe of hunters and organizes a hunt and a violent, ritual slaughter of a sow to solemnize the occasion -
The Beast's attack
A parachutist drifts to earth on the signal-fire mountain, dead. Sam and Eric, the twins responsible for watching the fire at night, are asleep and do not see the parachutist land. When the twins wake up, they see the enormous silhouette of his parachute and hear the strange flapping noises it makes. Thinking the island beast is at hand, they rush back to the camp in terror and report that the beast has attacked them. -
The Beast within all of us
Simon has a terrible vision, during which it seems to him that the head is speaking. The voice, which he imagines as belonging to the Lord of the Flies, says that Simon will never escape him, for he exists within all men -
Evil
When Simon comes back from what he saw, the boys attack and kill him with their own hands and teeth, even Jack and Piggy. The following day, Jack and Ralph get in a fight while Piggy gets killed by Roger and Raplh barely manages to escape a torrent of spears -
Rescue?
Ralph hides for the rest of the night and the following day, while the others hunt him like an animal. He is forced out onto the beach, where he knows the other boys will soon arrive to kill him. Ralph collapses in exhaustion, but when he looks up, he sees a British naval officer standing over him. -
Blinding Light that Reveals the Truth
Amazed at the spectacle of this group of bloodthirsty, savage children, the officer asks Ralph to explain. Ralph is overwhelmed by the knowledge that he is safe but, thinking about what has happened on the island, he begins to weep. The other boys begin to sob as well. The officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their composure. The presence of safety and the light of the captain exposes the darkness that the boys have shown.
