Lord of the Flies facts for kids
The original UK Lord of the Flies book cover
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| Author | William Golding |
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| Cover artist | Anthony Gross |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Allegorical novel |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
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Publication date
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17 September 1954 |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 0-571-05686-5 (first edition, paperback) |
| OCLC | 47677622 |
Lord of the Flies is a famous book written by the British author William Golding in 1954. Golding won the Nobel Prize for Literature later on. The story is about a group of British boys who get stuck on an island with no people. They try to create their own rules and society, but things go very wrong.
The book explores big ideas like how people act in groups versus alone. It also looks at how we choose between doing what's right and what's wrong.
Lord of the Flies was Golding's first book and was liked by many people. It has been listed as one of the best novels ever written. It's also a very popular book to read in schools, especially in English-speaking countries.
Contents
About the Book
How the Book Was Made
Lord of the Flies was published in 1954. William Golding got the idea after reading an older book called The Coral Island (1857). That book showed children on an island behaving in a very perfect way. Golding wondered what would really happen if children were stranded alone. He thought they might not act so nicely!
Golding even asked his wife, Ann, if it would be a good idea to write a book about how children really would behave. His book even mentions The Coral Island a few times. For example, the naval officer who rescues the boys says their early efforts were "Like the Coral Island."
Many publishers first said no to Golding's book. But then, a company called Faber & Faber decided to publish it. After some changes, the book slowly became a huge success. By 2015, over ten million copies had been sold!
Where the Story Happens
The book never says exactly where the island is, but it seems to be in the Pacific Ocean. The story starts when the boys' plane crashes near the island. This happens during a war, after an atomic bomb has gone off.
The island setting is very important. Since no adults survive, the boys have to try and create their own rules. They need to figure out how to live together and survive in this wild place.
The island also shows how human societies can form and change. The boys try to build a community and even choose a leader. But then, the story explores how things can fall apart and become chaotic, just like a real war.
What Happens in the Story
During a war, a British plane crashes near a lonely island. The only people who survive are young boys. A fair-haired boy named Ralph and a smart, heavy boy nicknamed "Piggy" find a conch shell. Ralph blows the conch like a horn to gather all the other survivors.
Ralph quickly becomes the leader because he has the conch. The boys elect him as their "chief." Ralph sets up three main rules: have fun, survive, and keep a smoke signal going. This signal could help passing ships see them. Ralph, along with a red-haired boy named Jack and a quiet boy named Simon, use Piggy's glasses to start the signal fire.
But soon, things start to fall apart. Most of the boys become lazy and don't help Ralph. They also start to get scared of an imaginary monster they call the "beast." Ralph tries to tell them there's no beast, but Jack becomes popular by saying he will hunt and kill the monster.
One day, Jack takes many boys to hunt a wild pig. They forget to keep the signal fire going. A ship passes by, but it doesn't see them because the smoke signal is out. Ralph gets angry at Jack, but the other boys don't care. Ralph feels like giving up being leader, but Piggy convinces him not to.
One night, a dead fighter pilot falls onto the island from a battle in the sky. His body gets caught in a tree. Two twin boys, Sam and Eric, see the body and think it's the beast. Ralph, Jack, and another boy named Roger go to check. They also think the dead pilot is the beast and run away scared.
Jack then tries to turn the other boys against Ralph. When that doesn't work, he leaves to start his own group. Most of the other boys slowly join Jack's new "tribe."
Simon often goes into the forest by himself. One day, Jack and his followers put a pig's head on a stick as an offering to the "beast." This head is covered in flies. Simon imagines talking to the head, which he calls the "Lord of the Flies." The head tells Simon that the real "beast" isn't a monster outside, but something inside the boys themselves. It also warns Simon that the other boys will turn on him.
That night, Ralph and Piggy visit Jack's tribe. They see that the boys have painted their faces and are doing wild dances. Simon discovers that the "beast" is just the dead pilot. He rushes to tell Jack's tribe. But the boys are in a frenzy. They mistake Simon for the beast and tragically beat him to death.
Jack's group then steals Piggy's glasses. These glasses are the only way the boys can start a fire. Ralph, now with only Piggy, Sam, and Eric left, goes to Jack's camp to get the glasses back. But Jack's boys refuse. Roger pushes a huge rock, which kills Piggy and breaks the conch shell.
Ralph escapes, but Sam and Eric are forced to join Jack's tribe. That night, Ralph secretly talks to Sam and Eric. They warn him that Jack plans to hunt him. The next morning, Jack's tribe sets the forest on fire to find Ralph. After a long chase, Ralph falls in front of a British naval officer. The officer's ship has landed because of the fire.
Ralph, Jack, and the other boys start to cry. The officer is surprised and disappointed to see how wild and violent the boys have become. He turns to look at his warship waiting offshore.
Main Characters
- Ralph: He is the athletic and popular leader chosen by the boys. Ralph tries to keep order and build a civilized society. He wants to build shelters and get rescued. At first, the boys listen to Ralph, but his power fades as they become more wild.
- Jack: He is strong-willed and wants to be in charge. Jack represents the wild, savage side of human nature. He gets angry when he loses the leadership vote to Ralph. He leads his choirboys into the forest to hunt pigs. By the end, he uses the boys' fear of the "beast" to control them.
- Simon: He is a quiet and thoughtful boy. Simon often tries to make sense of things between Ralph and Jack. He is the one who understands that the "beast" is not real.
- Piggy: He is Ralph's smart and talkative friend. Piggy helps Ralph with many good ideas. He represents the logical and intelligent side of people. But Piggy has asthma and poor eyesight, which makes him a target for bullying.
- Roger: At first, he is a quiet boy. But as the story goes on, he becomes very cruel and enjoys hurting others. When Jack takes over, Roger becomes a brutal follower.
Other Characters
- Sam and Eric: These are twin brothers who are stranded on the island. They are some of Ralph's last supporters. But Roger forces them to join Jack's tribe.
- The Officer: He is a naval officer who rescues the boys at the end of the book. He is shocked by how wild and violent the boys have become, even though he is a military man himself.
Big Ideas in the Book
What Things Mean (Symbolism)
William Golding was a philosophy teacher and served in the Royal Navy during World War II. He saw a lot of violence and terrible things during the war, like the D-Day landings. After the war, the world was facing the Cold War, with two powerful countries threatening each other with nuclear bombs. These experiences made Golding think deeply about human nature. This inspired him to write Lord of the Flies.
The book's title, Lord of the Flies, comes from the name of a biblical demon, Beelzebub. This demon is sometimes seen as a god of pride and war. The book is often seen as a dark, satirical (meaning it makes fun of something to show its flaws) version of The Coral Island. That book was about boys having adventures on a beautiful island. But Golding's book shows that without adults, children can quickly become wild and chaotic.
The story also looks at leadership. Ralph and Jack fight over who should lead the group. This leads to dark actions and disappointment. The book's main ideas, like morality, civilization, and how society works, make it a satire of human behavior. It questions what we believe about people.
The Story as an Allegory
An allegory is a story that has a hidden meaning, often a moral or political one. In Lord of the Flies, the main hidden meaning is the fight between two human desires. One is the desire for civilization and living by rules. The other is the desire for power and savagery.
The book shows the tension between acting as a group and acting as an individual. It also explores the difference between thinking logically and reacting emotionally. And it looks at the struggle between doing what's right and doing what's wrong. The name "Lord of the Flies" is a direct translation of "Beelzebub," which is mentioned in the Bible.
Type of Book and Style
Lord of the Flies is often seen as an adventure story about boys surviving on an island. But it's also a philosophical fiction novel. This means it explores big questions about human morality and what it means to be human.
The book is mostly written as an allegory. It shows that humans can be savage, especially when they act as a mob or follow a totalitarian leader (someone who has total control).
Golding's book is different from other allegories like The Coral Island. In Lord of the Flies, the characters are complex and show both good and bad feelings. This is because Golding wanted to explore human emotions, how people interact, and what civilization truly means. This comes from his own experiences as a philosophy teacher and a naval officer.
In Other Media
Movies
There have been three movies based on the book:
- Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook
- Alkitrang Dugo (1975), a Filipino film, directed by Lupita A. Concio
- Lord of the Flies (1990), directed by Harry Hook
Television
In April 2023, the BBC announced that a British company called Eleven Film will make the first ever TV show based on the novel. It will be written by Jack Thorne.
Stage Plays
The book was first made into a play in 1984 for a school. The author, William Golding, even gave his permission and watched the first show!
Later, Nigel Williams wrote another play version. This was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1995. This play has been performed in many places.
Radio Shows
In June 2013, BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast a radio play based on the book. It was split into four 30-minute episodes.
How the Book Influenced Others
Books
The famous author Stephen King named his fictional town of Castle Rock after the mountain fort in Lord of the Flies. King's own books, like Cujo and Misery, also mention Lord of the Flies. King said Golding's book influenced his novel It. He wanted to write about what we gain and lose when we grow from childhood to adulthood.
Music
The band Iron Maiden wrote a song inspired by the book. It was on their 1995 album, The X Factor.
The Filipino band The Camerawalls also have a song called "Lord of the Flies" on their 2008 album.
See also
In Spanish: El señor de las moscas para niños
