"Ralph sat on a fallen trunk, his left side to the sun. On his right were most of the choir; on his left the larger boys who had not known each other before the evacuation; before him small children squatted in the grass." ― Chapter 2
Ralph is the main protagonist in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
He is among the survivors of a plane crash that landed on an unknown island somewhere in the Pacific and is chosen as the leader of the group of boys. He creates different rules and guidelines and, most importantly, tries to create his own civilized society. But it all goes wrong as Ralph fails to do so and is about to be consumed by savagery.
Description[]
Aside from being the main character, Ralph is an important protagonist because he represents civilized and socialized leadership. When voted chief, he is very open with the group and well-spoken during their meetings and balancing civilization. While on the island, he strives to make the place feel like home, like his familiar life before the airplane collision. He longed for a more comfortable, happy place and hoped it could be civilized like before.
Ralph is the son of an officer in the Navy and hopes he will come for him and the others, although it's obvious that his father's fate is either unknown or deceased due to the mysterious nuclear war. As such, it is the only known background detail about Ralph since he is now alone without any adults to counsel or guide him, and he must do it all for himself.
Like the other boys, Ralph is innocent initially and believes living on the island without adults would be a paradise. But his paradise would soon be lost as Ralph's power as chief went downhill when all his allies became empowered by savagery and The Lord of the Flies. He goes from being a socialized leader to an unfortunate victim who is the last boy not being among the savages, and all those who he once saw as his friends and troops turn on him and plot to either make him one of their own or kill him for the power of their evil.
Storyline[]
Arrival on the Island[]
Ralph was a schoolboy living in Great Britain either during the 1950s (at the time of the novel's publication) or in an unpredictable apocalyptic future. Not too long afterwards, a nuclear war breaks out, and an atomic bomb explodes in England.
Ralph and all the other male students in his school are evacuated on an airplane. But sometime during the flight, the plane got shot down and plummeted onto an island in the Pacific Ocean. Ralph exited the wreckage and went through the jungle and towards the lagoon.[1]
A fat, asthmatic boy catches up with him and asks him where the man with the megaphone is. Ralph thinks they are on an island, and no adults are around. The fat boy talks about the pilot on their plane and what happened to the other boys as Ralph walks towards the water, seemingly uninterested in the conversation. He realizes no adults are on the island, which excites him, and the fat boy says they were attacked. Ralph asks what happened to the plane, and the fat boy explains it was dragged out to sea by the storm.
He introduces himself to the fat boy but doesn't bother to ask his name and walks away. The boy asks if he has seen the others and tries to catch up with him as Ralph runs to the lagoon. He trips over a branch, and the fat boy tells him he can’t run since he has asthma and wears glasses.
Ralph jumps down from the jungle terrace and arrives at the beach. He takes off his shoes, shirt, and pants, happy to be stranded without adults. Piggy tells Ralph they should meet to see who is still alive. Upon discovering that the fat boy's nickname is Piggy, Ralph makes fun of him by laughing, jumping around and saying his name repeatedly, while Piggy begs him to keep his nickname a secret.
Ralph inspects the shiny ocean water before he plunges into the beach pool with delight. Piggy comes out on the beach and tests the water to be too hot. Ralph dives under the surface, and Piggy explains that he can't swim due to his asthma. Ralph mimics his asthma and says his father taught him how to swim. He mentions that he is in the Navy and will soon come to rescue him and the others. He asks Piggy about his father and replies that he is dead.
While he relaxes in the lagoon, Piggy asks if his father knows where they are, and Ralph replies that he will find out at the airport. Piggy says that everyone else may have been killed by an atomic bomb. Nobody knows where they are; they will be on the island until they die. The island's heat increases and Ralph asks Piggy to bring him his clothes. After Piggy returns, he says they need to find the others. As the breeze blows on the platform, the sunlight gets brighter, and Ralph smiles as he wonders if it is an island. He spots something creamy and pink in the lagoon and points it out to Piggy, thinking it's a stone, but it is a conch shell.
Piggy gets excited and recalls he knew someone who would use the conch as a megaphone. Ralph picks up a sapling from the lagoon and pokes at the shell with it. Piggy reminds Ralph not to break it as he pushes the shell towards the weeds with the sapling, and Piggy grabs it. He babbles about the conch before Ralph takes it from him. Piggy suggests he blow into the conch to call the others since he discovered the conch. After being instructed on how to blow into it by Piggy, Ralph attempts to blow the conch twice but lets out no sound. When he tries again, the conch blows a farting sound, to which both boys laugh when making more attempts.
Ralph blows into the conch and immediately lets out a loud, blasting sound that sweeps across the island, with some birds flying out from treetops and animals scurrying away. Ralph is astounded and blows another loud blast into the conch until he is out of breath, filled with birds chirping and echoes. Ralph even claims anyone can hear it from miles away.
After a couple more blows, Piggy spots a six-year-old boy with torn clothes and a messy face coming out of the jungle. His pants fall off as he walks towards the platform. Ralph keeps blowing into the conch until voices can be heard from the jungle. He ignores Piggy, calling out the boy's name as he continues trumpeting. More boys come towards the platform, some naked while others still wear part of their school uniforms. They sit down on the tree trunks and wait for more. A pair of twin boys arrive next to the platform, laughing and smiling together. Between the blows from the conch, they introduce themselves as Sam and Eric. The trumpeting stops, and Ralph sits down in silence. Shortly afterwards, the choir boys, all dressed in black robes and caps, approach the platform in parallel lines. Their leader, Jack Merridew, also wears black with a golden cap badge and orders them to stop as they approach the platform.
When Jack asks where the adult leader with a trumpet is, Ralph replies that there is no one. Jack looks down at Ralph before asking if there is a ship or an adult. Ralph says they are having a meeting and invites him to join. The choir boys move, and Jack demands them to be still, with one of them fainting and placed on the platform. Everyone looks at Ralph with interest. Piggy takes no names and sits beside Ralph to clean his glasses.
Rise to Power[]
Jack sits on the trunk as Ralph decides they must look after themselves. Piggy goes over the names, such as recognizing that one boy is called Johnny. Ralph introduces his name to everyone, and Piggy knows they got everyone’s name. Jack insists he is called by his surname “Merridew.” As Piggy tries to figure out someone else’s name, Jack tells him to shut up and calls him “Fatty.” The boys start laughing, and everyone joins in when Ralph reveals he is called Piggy. Piggy lowers his head and cleans his glasses again.
After the boys calm down, more names are taken. One was called Maurice, and another who was sly, quiet, and nobody knew before was called Roger. More names came up, including Bill, Robert, Harold and Henry. The choir boy who fainted is Simon.
Jack decides they need to devise a plan for how they should be rescued. There is some murmuring in the crowd as one of the smaller boys, Henry, wants to go home. Ralph holds up the conch shell, deciding they need a chief to handle things. The boys get excited, and Jack wants to be chief. The crowd murmurs again, and as Jack hesitates, Roger suggests they make a vote. The boys agree, and while Jack starts to protest, Ralph receives the most votes. The boys admire him as attractive and tall, and he called them with the conch.
After raising his hand for silence, Ralph asks the crowd who wants Jack as chief. Only the choir boys and Piggy raise their hands. Ralph counts the hands and confirms he has won the election as chief. Everyone applauds while Jack sits down, humiliated. Ralph consoles him by saying he still has his choir to form a kind of army. Ralph waves for silence and announces that Jack is in charge of the choir boys. Jack suggests they should be hunters, gets up and tells his choir boys to take off their black robes. The boys remove their clothes, and Jack lays them on the trunk.
Ralph holds up the conch and announces that he needs time to think through everything. They could be rescued immediately if it is not an island, and he decides that he and two others will go on an expedition to figure out where they are. He chooses Jack and Simon. Piggy also wants to come, but Ralph says he isn’t fit for this task, and Jack replies that three is enough.
Piggy protests that he was with Ralph when he found the conch and met him before anyone else. Ralph, Jack and Simon ignore him as they leave the platform and walk down the beach. Ralph turns back at Piggy while the other two walk on and again, telling him he cannot come. Piggy, now humiliated, tells him he’s ashamed that Ralph revealed his nickname to the group. Ralph says he is better called Piggy, feeling sympathetic for him. He makes Piggy go back to the boys and take more names.
Island Expedition[]
Ralph, Jack and Simon walk along the beach. The tide is low, and the boys laugh and talk. Ralph attempts to stand on his head and falls over, and after they laugh, Ralph suggests they go to the end of the island and around the corner. By late afternoon, they reach the island's end and spot a block out on the lagoon surrounded by birds. Jack says they won't be able to go around the corner as the rocks are becoming too dangerous. Ralph looks at the outline where the crags lead up the mountain, and the beach is closer.
Ralph suggests they climb up the mountain since it is an easier way. They make their way up the mountainous slope and notice some tracks. Ralph wonders if men made the tracks, but Jack thinks they could be animals. Ralph peers through the trees and urges everyone to keep going. They struggle through tangled roots, creepers and stems as they make their way up. They are hot and exhausted, and Ralph is badly scratched from walking through the tangles. Jack comments that nobody has explored here before, and Ralph thinks about drawing a map despite not having paper. Simon suggests they make marks on tree bark.
They walk on a pink granite cliff path leading them into a forest and get a glimpse of the ocean. They come across a boulder and pause from going up the summit by pushing it off the cliff. After a couple of heaves, the boulder falls off and crashes into the jungle below. The island shakes with echoes and birds fluttering before it all goes still. The boys are astounded, and after a few minutes, they climb to the summit. They gaze around the island surrounded by the horizons of ocean water, and Ralph declares to the others that the island belongs to them.
The boys take some time surveying the island, from seeing the rocks, cliffs, and jungle trees; on one side is a rocky formation shaped like a fort. They look out at the ocean, where they see the coral reef, and Jack spots the "scar," a rip in the forest where their plane crashed. Ralph looks down a slope with a gorge that leads to the scar and decides that is the quickest way back down. The boys are already starting to become friends.
Ralph says there aren't boats or signs of a village's smoke and believes the island is uninhabited. Jack decides they will provide food for themselves by hunting until they are rescued. Ralph is excited at having the island all to themselves as the boys laugh and climb down. Simon is hungry, and Ralph says they'll figure out what can be used as food. After scrambling down the rocky slope, they land on the ground full of flowers and walk through the jungle. They are deeper in the forest when they hear the squealing and stomping of hoofs. They found a piglet trapped in vines and frantically struggling. The boys approach it, and Jack draws out his knife and pauses as he prepares to strike. The piglet eventually frees itself and escapes.
The boys look at Jack stunned and ashamedly laugh before continuing their way. Jack says he is deciding where to stab the pig, vows to do it next time and slams his knife into a tree trunk. They spent some time finding some food before they went back to the meeting at the beach.
Ralph's Plan of Rescue[]
After Ralph blows the conch, everyone is gathered on the platform.[2] The afternoon sun slants on the platform, and most boys have put their clothes back on. The choir boys have taken off their cloaks.
Ralph sits on the fallen trunk. On the right are the choir boys, the larger boys who didn’t know each other before the crash, and the smaller boys sit in the grass. A breeze blows across the platform, and he can’t decide whether to stay seated or stand up. He looks toward the bathing pool, and Piggy is sitting nearby but doesn’t appear to help him. After briefly uttering, he clears his voice and suddenly realizes that he can speak fluently and is about to explain anything. After brushing his hand through his hair, Ralph announces they are on an island. After going to the top of the mountain and looking at the ocean around them, Ralph declares that there are no other signs of life on the island, such as people and houses, and they are alone on an uninhabited island.
Jack interrupts him and says they will need hunters to hunt pigs. Ralph cuts in and says there are pigs on the island. The boys picker and talk over each other, with Jack slamming his knife into a tree trunk. After the talking quiets down, Ralph explains that they need hunters to find meat for food and adds that without adults, they will need to look after themselves. The meeting goes quiet.
Ralph announces that he cannot have everyone talking at once, and they will have to raise their hands like at school. He holds the conch and says he will give anyone in the group the conch, and they will have the right to speak without interruption. Jack shouts excitedly about making rules and punishing those who make them. The boys cry out and make noises. Piggy takes the conch from Ralph’s lap as the group calms down. Piggy reminds Ralph that he forgot to mention something important. He pauses, and he and Ralph talk over who knows their whereabouts, followed by silence. Ralph admits they may be on the island for a long time but says that it is a good island since he, Jack and Simon have climbed onto the mountaintop.
Ralph says they should have fun on the island. The boys called out names of other island stories, including "Treasure Island" and "Coral Island." Ralph waves the conch and says it is their island and they will have a good time until they are rescued. Jack holds his hand out for the conch and says there are pigs, food and a little stream with water for bathing.
A group of boys notice a six-year-old schoolboy with a mulberry-coloured birthmark and urge him to come forward, but he refuses. He stands up, muttering and about to cry. The other younger boys push him towards Ralph. Ralph persuades him to talk, and the boy is panicked, and then Ralph yells at him to speak. The little boy holds his hands out for the conch, and the boys start laughing. The boy draws his hands back and cries, and Piggy shouts at Ralph to give him the conch. Ralph tries to give the conch to the boy but is afraid to speak. Piggy kneels beside him and listens to him while his hand is on the conch. Afterwards, Piggy says the boy wants to know what Ralph would do about the "snake thing." Ralph and the other boys laugh it off, with the boy trembling. Ralph tells the boy to describe the "snake-thing," and Piggy says it is a "beastie" that can be found in the forest.
The group starts to stir restlessly. Ralph explains to the boy that he couldn't have possibly found a "beastie" on the island, and they could only be found in other places like Africa or India. The boys nod their heads and laughingly make comments about the beast. Ralph sees that the older boys agree with the others and claims the boy must have been having a nightmare. The boys believe that the beast they call the "snake-thing" comes out at night, and Ralph insists the beast doesn't exist.
Jack takes the conch and agrees that there isn't a "snake-thing," and he will find and kill it while hunting. Ralph gets annoyed when he continually repeats that the beast is not real. The audience goes silent as Ralph takes the conch and calms down. He talks about how when he was on the mountain, he thought up a plan that they would still have fun while wanting to be rescued. He explains that his father is in the Navy and that he had said there aren't any uninhabited islands left. He points out that the Queen has maps that include all the islands in the world and is convinced that there is a map of the island they are stuck on.
The boys cheer as Ralph assures them a ship will soon arrive, which he thinks could be his father's, and they will all be rescued. Everyone claps and applauds, and Ralph flushes when he sees Piggy and Jack applaud him. Ralph waves the conch again in triumph and explains that they will need to help the ships notice their presence, and he suggests they build a fire on top of the mountain to make a smoke signal. When they heard about making a fire, the boys immediately got to their feet. Ignoring the conch shell, Jack instructs the boys to follow him. Ralph yells at the boys for silence, but nobody hears him. All the boys join Jack as they leave the beach, with Ralph left behind with Piggy.
Piggy berates the boys' behaviour, and Ralph looks at him doubtfully. Piggy wonders what the boys are doing up the mountain and calls for Ralph, who joins the others. In a forest on the other side of the mountain, Ralph instructs the boys to gather as much wood as possible. The trees were rotten by the heat, with barely any soil to function, while the creepers took over, and saplings grew slightly.
Jack turns to the choir and says they will build a pile. They find a path and collect pieces of dead wood. The task is difficult as the sticks break easily when the boys pull at them, but they manage to get some trunks. Samneric found a piece of the log but couldn't do anything until Ralph, Jack, Simon, Roger, and Maurice found a spot on the mountain. They carry the wood up the hill and place it on top. The boys work together, and the pile grows; afterwards, Ralph asks Jack to light the fire. Jack asks if anyone has any matches. Roger says they can make a bow and spin the arrow.
A little air blows over the mountain as Piggy comes in from the forest with the conch and is surprised by the pile when Jack points to Piggy’s glasses and declares they use them to make fire. Jack snatches the glasses off Piggy’s face, and Ralph elbows him to stay away from the sunlight.
Ralph rotates the glasses back and forth until a ray of sunlight shines on a piece of rotten wood. A thin smoke makes Ralph cough, and Jack blows the smoke, which thickens, and a tiny flame appears. The fire grows bigger and bigger, and the boys begin cheering while Piggy demands his glasses back. Ralph gives the glasses back to Piggy while the boys start dancing. The fire grows larger, up to twenty feet, and starts to spread through a forest of trees; Ralph demands more wood as the boys rush as fast as they can to provide more wood until most of them become exhausted.
Ralph is disbelieved that the first fire signal didn’t go well, with Piggy admitting to their failure and Jack frustrated with the boys’ lack of effort. Simon points out how the glasses nearly helped. Jack tells Piggy to shut up as the conch doesn’t work on the mountain, with Maurice suggesting they could have used branches.
Ralph takes the conch and discusses that anyone should be responsible for the signal fire and that a ship could show up any day. When the signal fire is lit, they will be rescued. He declares that there will be more rules, such as the conch shell being more important when they are on the mountaintop. Everyone agrees with him, but Jack reaches for the conch. With the conch in his hands, Jack admits to having more rules and obeying them. He tells Ralph he will have some of his hunters watch the signal fire, with the boys applauding until Jack waves the conch for silence. Jack explains that the fire will burn out now, but they will build a new one anytime. They will also do a lookout; if they spot a ship on the horizon, they will make the smoke fire bigger. The boys gaze towards the sea and hope a ship will appear. The sun sets as Roger holds the conch, and he has spotted no sign of a ship anywhere. Ralphs takes back the conch and says they must be more patient.
Piggy takes the conch, whines that is what he is talking about, and adds that they will build a signal fire, but no one listens as the fire continues to burn more areas of the jungle. Ralph sees the boys are quiet and tells Piggy to shut up in a frustrated tone. Piggy says they will have to let the fire burn from what would have been their firewood, and they need to be more careful.
Piggy confronts the boys for acting like kids; instead of focusing on building shelters, they have handled the fire recklessly. He questions how they will be rescued and even debates how they will live when the island is set ablaze. Ralph yells at him that they should have kept track of all their names and how many younger boys there are. Piggy replies that he isn’t able to keep track of all of them. He points out that several young boys went down to the area where the fire started. He becomes shocked and asks what happened to the boy with the mulberry birthmark, and everyone goes silent. A tree explodes as the fire continues to burn. The boys ask each other about the boy with the birthmark, with Ralph trying to say where he went but going silent again.
Life on the Island[]
Some time goes by after the boys arrive on the island.[3] While Jack is busy hunting pigs in the jungle, Ralph is on the beach by a pile of palm trunks and leaves, struggling to build a hut as a shelter. Only Simon helps him while the other boys play and swim in the lagoon.
Ralph doesn't notice Jack ask him for water; even if he looks up briefly, he goes back to work and ignores Jack's request before he drinks some water from a coconut. The leaves quickly fall apart, and Ralph surveys the damage as he laments it will never be done.
He then falls to Jack's feet and complains about how he spent days building the huts, pointing to two shaky huts, and the one he was building was ruined. He berates Jack on how everyone at the meeting will work hard until they are saved. Jack is about to talk about his hunters, but Ralph cuts him off. He explains that the young boys, called littluns, don’t do much to help, but the older boys, called biguns, are not making an effort and that he and Simon spent all day building the shelters while the others are playing, eating or swimming. Simon reminds Ralph that he’s the chief and will discipline them.
Ralph looks up at the trees and sky. He talks about how they have meetings once or twice daily, and he can easily blow the conch to call for an assembly. Afterwards, they would work for only 5 minutes and then go hunting or wander off. Jack says he needs meat, and Ralph replies they have none; he claims the shelters are more important, and the rest of Jack’s hunters returned hours ago and went swimming. Jack says he let them go so he can hunt alone and thought he could get a kill. Ralph tells him he has failed as his tone gets serious and asks if he would help with the shelters. Jack then gets angry and says he will find a pig by getting a barb on his spear next time. Ralph argues about the shelters, Jack furiously yells at him if he is accusing him, and Ralph assures him that he and Simon have worked too hard.
Both boys stare at each other while feeling red in the face. Ralph rolls around in the grass and talks about wanting to have shelters in case it rains before he suddenly pauses. He asks Jack if he has noticed anything about the boys as Jack squats beside him, and Ralph says the boys are becoming more scared and having nightmares. He asks Jack if he has been awake at night, and he shakes his head. Ralph discusses how all the boys, even the littluns, would talk and scream until Simon interrupts them by claiming it may not be a good island. Ralph and Jack look at him astonished, as Simon explains how the beast or “snake-thing” is real.
Ralph and Jack flinch at these words, and Ralph agrees that it may not be a good island. Jack stretches his legs as he thinks the boys are crazy, and Ralph asks him if they remember their island expedition. While remembering their first day on the island, they smile at each other and agree that the shelters are meant to be homes. Jack says he gets an unsettling feeling of being hunted or followed by something whenever he is alone in the jungle.
The boys are silent again. Ralph isn’t sure about this, and Jack gets up and quickly explains how he feels in the forest. He goes towards the beach but returns afterwards, adding that the others might feel the same way, too, but Ralph says being rescued is their top priority. Jack thinks about the rescue plan and agrees it is most important, but he is more interested in hunting. Ralph looks at him seriously, reminding him of his hunters’ responsibility to watch the signal fire. Jack taunts him about the signal fire as he and Ralph run to the beach. They look up at the mountain and see a trickle of smoke wavering into the air. Ralph says there isn’t enough smoke when the thin smoke suddenly becomes thicker. He mutters if the boys added greener branches to the signal fire and looks from the mountain to the horizon.
Jack suddenly shouts, and Ralph jumps, asking if he saw a ship. Jack points at the slope from the mountain to the beach and discusses where his hunters would stay hidden in the shade during a hot day. Ralph yells at him if he sees a ship, but Jack isn’t listening as he plans to paint their faces when hunting. Ralph gets frustrated while talking about the signal smoke and chastises Jack for constantly wanting to hunt pigs. Jack argues that they need meat, and Ralph replies that he spent the whole day building huts and that Jack failed to help. As they face off against each other, Ralph turns away to see a group of littluns playing in the sand and even spots Piggy lying down on the platform, gazing into the water. He comments how nobody helps around here and wants to explain how people are not quite as they seem.
Jack points to the shelters and says that Simon helped him at least. Ralph explains how everyone ran off, with only Simon completing as much as he has, and Jack interrupts him that he is always roaming around. They gaze at the unfinished shelters, and Jack mutters that he would do some before bathing. When they reach the shelters, they notice that Simon isn’t there. Ralph pokes his head through the hole of one of the huts and tells Jack he has run off. Jack believes he may have gone for a bath from overworking too much.
Ralph frowns and comments on Simon’s odd behaviour. Jack nods in agreement and heads towards the bathing pool. He decides that after he washes and has something to eat, he’ll go over to the other side of the mountain to do more hunting and asks Ralph if he would like to come. Ralph says the sun is setting, and Jack is sure he will have more time. They walk along without a proper conversation, with Ralph focusing more on shelters and Jack on finding a pig. The boys look at each other, baffled; then they swim in the ocean water, which relieves them from their heated argument earlier.
The boys soon adjust to life on the island as more time passes.[4] They are awakened in the morning by the sweet scents of the air and a brightened sun. By afternoon, it gets too hot with the boys lying down and napping in the shade while noticing strange shapes from the water, and Piggy dismisses this as just being sunlight. After nightfall arrives, the boys become more restless and terrified inside their shelters. The littleluns spend all their time playing and swimming, but also suffer from stomach cramps and diarrhea from eating wild fruit. They also bother the biguns but are obedient to Ralph when he calls for them with the conch.
One day, Ralph emerges from the bathing pool and sits in the shade underneath the trees. He brushes aside his long, tangled hair from his face, and Piggy joins him. Piggy suggests they could make a sundial in the sand, while Ralph suggests an airplane, a television and a steam engine. Piggy says they don’t have any metal ingredients, but they have some sticks. Ralph then smiles, and Piggy thinks it is a sign of his friendliness as the other boys constantly shun him. Piggy says they have enough sticks to make enough sundials, with Ralph remarking on the amount. Piggy reminds him that this is what he wants while awaiting rescue. Ralph runs to the pool, relieved to get over the conversation, and jumps in. He is already enjoying life on the island with the other boys as he swims under Simon and lays on the beach shore.
Ralph stares out at the horizon and suddenly yells that he sees smoke. Piggy rubs his glasses and squints at the sea but says he doesn’t see any smoke. Simon asks him where the ship is. The smoke fumes from a funnel out on the horizon; as Ralph mutters, he hopes it will see their signal smoke. Piggy is looking in the right direction before turning back at the mountain as Ralph stares anxiously at the ship. Piggy asks Ralph if there is smoke on the mountain as Ralph’s eyes are still fixed on the ship. Maurice stares at the ocean while Simon and Piggy look at the mountain.
Ralph gazes at the horizon and the mountain. He then runs down the beach towards the scar, with Simon, Piggy and Maurice running after him. Ralph arrives at the end of the scar, his body bleeding from running through the creepers. He stops at the mountain's base and hopes to use Piggy’s glasses if the signal fire is out. With Piggy approaching, Ralph looks up from the mountain to the horizon and wonders if he should fetch Piggy’s glasses or let the ship sail away. Even if he makes it to the mountaintop and the fire is burnt out, he would either have to wait for Piggy to arrive or see the ship leave.
Simon runs through the bushes as Ralph hurries up the hill. When he finally reaches the top, he immediately sees that the fire is out. The watchers are absent, and a pile of unused fuel lies nearby. Ralph runs to the cliff's edge and begs the ship to return as it disappears from view. Simon and Maurice arrive as Ralph says the hunters had let the fire go out. Piggy arrives shortly afterwards, and Ralph clenches his fist angrily as he sees the hunters approaching. Jack leads a procession, with the twins carrying a stake on their shoulders. A pig carcass hangs from the stake as the hunters chant, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” He goes up the hill and excitedly tells Ralph he has finally caught a pig, and the hunters rant about how the hunt went. Ralph tells him he has let the fire go out, and Jack says they can light it again. The twins continue to smile, and the boys chatter and dance. Ralph again tells him he has let the fire go out. Jack explains that he needed the twins in the hunt, and the fire had only been out for about an hour. There is a moment of silence when Jack gets excited again about the bloodshed from the hunt, and the hunters become talkative. Ralph points towards the horizon and says that there has been a ship. He tells Jack they would have been rescued if he had watched the signal fire.
Piggy cries out and berates Jack for his constant hunting and how they could have gotten home. Ralph pushes Piggy aside and says he is chief and Jack must obey his orders. Jack says he needs everyone for the job; Ralph argues that he could have used everyone once the shelters are finished, and Jack replies that he needs meat. Piggy tells Jack he shouldn't have let the fire go out and that he was supposed to watch over it. The hunters shout in agreement, which causes an enraged Jack to punch Piggy in the stomach, and then he hits him in the face, knocking off his glasses.
Simon finds the glasses and notices one side is broken. After putting them back on, Piggy can now only see with the only eye and warns Jack as he stumbles away. Jack mimics and mocks Piggy's whiny voice, with the hunters laughing. Ralph mutters angrily about Jack's insult. Jack then apologizes for letting the signal fire go out. Ralph is still angry about the burnt-out signal fire and the passing ship, but after a moment of silence, he orders the fire to be lit. Jack and the hunters build another pile for the signal fire but cannot light it. As Ralph takes Piggy's glasses, he realizes that he and Piggy are starting to have an alliance.
Later, the boys gather around the fire, some finding more wood and Jack cutting the pig carcass apart. After they can’t roast the whole pig over the fire, they use branches as skewers and cook some meat pieces over the fire. Each of the boys is given one portion. Ralph initially isn't interested in eating the meat, but since he hasn't had any healthy food to eat in a while, he eats his half-cooked meat. Piggy asks if he can have a piece, and Jack refuses. Simon gives Piggy a piece of his meat, and Jack slashes a large chunk of meat and throws it at Simon, demanding him to eat it before asking the others to do so.
Ralph sits silently as the hunters reenact their hunting expedition, and chant, "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in,” Once everyone is quiet, Ralph announces that he’s calling for an assembly at the platform and expects them to come immediately when he blows the conch before he walks down the mountain.
The Beast[]
The tide comes in as Ralph walks onto a strip terrace to do some thinking.[5] As he paces around the water, he learns that being a leader isn’t so easy. He is always responsible for the boys' well-being, and life is boring instead of being cheerful. He smiles as he remembers the expedition on the island before he heads to the platform where the assembly will take place. He carefully considers what he should say during the speech and clarifies that this meeting will be serious. He continues walking along as the wind blows on his shirt and notices how stiff it is. He also sees the sunburnt areas on his front thighs and is frustrated by his long, tangled hair covering his face. Ralph rests in a pile of leaves as the sun sets before continuing his way.
Several boys wait for the assembly on the beach near the bathing pool. They let Ralph pass while aware of his frustration and earlier signal fire incident. The meeting area is triangular, with a dead tree log that Ralph sits on. On the right is a polished log, and on the left are four small logs. One of them was springy, and during an assembly, the crowd laughed as one of the boys leaned too close to the log, and a dozen were thrown into a pile of grass. Ralph knows the boys won’t have the wit to fix it and leave it as it was. He is again lost in thought.
He then turns to his seat. The assembly was never held this late before, as the underside of the green roof was lit by the sunshine and lit upside down. But the sun is now slanting to one side, leaving their shadows where they should be. He moves impatiently but struggles to think about what to say or do. He can tell how time has passed when he takes the conch from the tree and sees how it has transformed into a near-white, transparent colour. He respects the conch affectionately, even if he has found it himself. He faces the assembly and blows into the conch.
The boys are summoned immediately. Those aware of the ship passing by without the signal fire lit were controlled by Ralph’s anger, while the others who didn’t know what happened were moved by the solemn atmosphere they are in. Jack, Simon, Maurice and most hunters are on Ralph’s right, while the rest are on the left. Piggy stands outside the triangle, indicating he will listen but not speak.
Ralph says they need an assembly as all eyes are fixed on the conch, and he needs to make these statements twice to get everyone’s attention. He thinks about simple things to say so that the littluns can understand the assembly. He declares assemblies are not meant to have fun and joke around as a group of littluns giggle. He thinks of a simple sentence and announces that they need to be more clever and put things straight. He pauses for a moment, says he has been struggling alone, and hopes this meeting will improve the situation.
He pauses again as he moves his long hair aside, and Piggy tiptoes to the triangle to join the meeting. Ralph talks about how they have meetings to devise plans that never come to fruition. He brings up how they have planned to gather water with coconut shells from the stream under fresh leaves. A few days passed, and no water was collected, and the shells were dried up, with the boys drinking from the river instead. The group murmurs with assent. Ralph says he doesn’t have a problem with the boys drinking from the river as he wants more from the waterfall than a coconut shell. He only wants the water brought, but only two shells were filled that afternoon. He then brings up the shelters as the murmurs fade away. He explains the huts were built for shelter and everyone must sleep there tonight but assigns Samneric to sleep by the signal fire.
Ralph explains that they all built the first one, only four built the second one, and he and Simon finished the last one on their own. He says the last shelter that was feebly built could collapse from rainfall, and they need the shelters then. He clears his throat and explains further that the rocks beyond the bathing pool were chosen to be toilets as the tide cleans it up. He reminds the littluns that they should have known about that. There are sniggers and glances as Ralph talks about how the boys relieve themselves everywhere, including near the shelters and platform. He talks to the littluns about gathering fruit before relieving themselves when the audience laughs. Ralph yells that if they need to go to the bathroom, they must stay away from the fruit. The boys laugh again as Ralph says they should relieve themselves at the rocks.
Piggy reaches for the conch, but Ralph shakes his head as he already has his speech planned. He then talks about the fire and says it is the most important thing and, unless they are lucky, they won’t be rescued if the fire isn’t being watched. He scolds the group for not making enough smoke from the fire. The hunters start giggling as Ralph reminds them that the signal fire is more important than hunting pigs. He faces the triangle and declares they must make smoke on the mountain or die. He pauses to think what to say and mentions another problem when someone calls out they had too many problems, with the others nodding in agreement.
Ralph explains that they nearly set the whole island on fire and wasted time rolling rocks and making fires to cook food. As the chief, he declares that the fire must only be lit on the mountain and nowhere else. The boys stand up and shout at Ralph, and he yells back at them by saying that if they want to cook a fish or crab, they can do it on the mountaintop. The boys then reach their hands out for the conch, and Ralph holds it up and reminds them what they are expected to do from him since they voted him as their chief. The boys are quiet and sit back down. Jack reaches for the conch, and Ralph holds it back, saying he is not done speaking. Jack complains he's talking too much, and Ralph insists he has the conch. Jack sits down, grumbling.
Ralph waits until everyone is still. He then reveals that everything was going well and everyone was happy until now. He pauses for a moment to remember about the "beastie" and then says everyone is starting to become scared. There is a brief murmur and moan before there is silence. Ralph abruptly says they will resolve their fears and decide what to do. He admits he is also frightened but considers it nonsense and suggests they should keep their duties with their signal-fire and enjoy themselves. He lays the conch down on the trunk as a sign that he has finished his speech.
Jack takes the conch, berates the littluns for their fear, and starts talking about the beast when he insists they can put up with it. He then calls them sissies and crybabies while Ralph looks on in shock. Jack tells the littluns there isn't an animal or anything on the island, and Ralph interrupts him by saying what he means about an animal on the island. Jack tells Ralph that he came up with the idea of an animal, and the littluns are crying and having nightmares. Now, the hunters are also talking about the beast, even though Jack claims the only animals on the island are pigs. Ralph is about to say something, but Jack says he has the conch, and they are supposed to be talking about the beast, but he tells him he could be scared, too.
Jack claims he has already been all over the island and would have seen the beast himself. He assures there is no beast in the forest. He puts down the conch and sits, with everyone applauding him in relief. Piggy takes the conch and disagrees with everything Jack says. He tells the littluns to be quiet and disagrees with how fear was discussed. He says there is nothing to be afraid of in the forest as he was alone the other time and hopes someone could put it right. He thinks there is no fear but pauses for a moment. Ralph asks him what he is saying, and Piggy says that unless they get frightened of other people.
Several boys start laughing and mocking him. Piggy asks the littlun who talked about the beast to come forward and speak up. The littluns chatter as one of them stands up, and Piggy asks his name. The littlelun's name is Phil as he holds the conch and waits for everyone to pay attention to him. Phil explains that he had a nightmare fighting "twisty things" outside the shelter. He then wakes up in fright and is outside the shelter in the dark, and the "twisty things" in his dream are gone. Everyone is silent as Phil claims he called out for Ralph when he spotted something large moving through the trees. He then pauses, half-frightened from what he had just described.
Ralph assures it was just a nightmare and he was sleepwalking, with the assembly murmuring in agreement. Phil shakes his head and claims he was asleep when the "twisty things" attacked him. They soon disappeared when he woke up and saw the strange shape in the trees. Ralph takes the conch as Phil sits down, telling him he is asleep and nobody is there. He asks who was in the forest late that night, and there is a long pause. Simon stands up, and Ralph asks him why he was roaming in the dark forest the other night. Simon replies that he is going to a place he knows in the jungle.
Simon feels humiliated as Ralph takes the conch and tells him not to go into the forest at night again, as he's spooking the littluns about the beast. The assembly laughs as Simon asks for the conch but sits back down. After everyone is quiet, Ralph turns to Piggy to see if anyone wants to speak up. Piggy points out to another young boy as the littluns push a boy named Percival forward, who squatted down on the grass, and Ralph remembers another littlun who sat down like this. He brushes it aside, as there are numerous little boys, and Ralph remembers something he asked Piggy on the mountain. All the littluns looked the same but dirty, and their faces were not blemished. The boy with the mulberry birthmark is never seen again, but Ralph nods at Piggy when he mentions the missing one.
Ralph tells Piggy to ask the boy his name. Piggy asks the boy his name, but he runs to his shelter. Ralph asks his name out loud, and the boys chant about it, and Ralph orders them to be quiet. The boy says his full name and address before breaking down in tears. He cries so loudly that Ralph tells him to shut up, but he continues to cry. The littluns are no longer silent and cry, too. Maurice calms them down and pretends to fall until the littluns sniffle and laugh. Then the biguns join in. Despite not having the conch, Jack speaks out loud about the beast. He seizes Percival and shakes him, demanding where the beast lives. Percival slips away from Jack's grasp as Piggy wonders if the beast is clever enough to live on the island. Percival mutters something as the assembly laughs again.
Jack listens to Percival's answer before he lets him go, and the littlelun falls asleep on the grass. Jack declares that the beast comes out from the sea. The laughter immediately stops as Ralph gazes out towards the water from the lagoon. Maurice says loudly that his father hasn't found all the creatures in the sea. Everyone starts arguing but stops when Maurice is given the conch. He admits that everyone is frightened, but after taking a deep breath, he says that squids live in the sea and laughs that he doesn't believe in the beast. A couple of boys shout that squids couldn't come out of the sea, and everyone argues again. Ralph sits down, thinking he is already losing his mind from this, and takes the conch from Maurice and blows into it until the boys are quiet again.
Simon touches the conch beside Ralph and admits there may be a beast with them. The assembly cries out as Ralph stands up in amazement and asks how he knows about this. Simon hesitates as the boys cause an uproar, and Ralph orders them to be quiet. Simon suggests that the beast is within them, and Piggy doesn't believe him. Simon is about to talk more when the hunters start laughing, and Simon returns to his seat. When the assembly is silent again, someone says that what Simon said was probably just a ghost. Ralph lifts the conch and looks out to the pale beach, and the littluns huddle together on the grass, with the wind making eerie sounds from the palm trees. Piggy takes the conch and says he doesn’t believe in ghosts, and Jack gets up angrily, saying he doesn’t care. Everyone starts fighting over the conch, and Ralph wrestles it away, saying it isn’t worth talking about ghosts and that they should have discussed this in the daytime. Another voice from the assembly says the beast could be a ghost, and Ralph says nobody is following the rules if they are all talking at once.
Ralph openly regrets calling for an assembly this late and decides to vote on ghosts before going to shelters for bed. Ralph says he doesn’t believe in ghosts or thinks he does, but he doesn’t like the thought of them. He then raises the conch and declares everyone to have a vote on ghosts. He thinks for a moment and then asks the assembly if they think there are ghosts. There is silence among the group, and Ralph peers in the darkness until he sees a bunch of hands raised. Piggy takes the conch, says he didn’t vote for ghosts, and turns to the assembly, claiming what the adults would think if they were seen hunting pigs, starting fires and believing in ghosts. Jack tells Piggy to shut up and fights him over the conch, and Ralph tells Jack to stop. Jack tells Ralph to shut up, too, and scolds him for giving out orders.
An argument ensues where Ralph yells at Jack that he’s breaking the rules and that they are the only thing they have. Jack mocks the rules and vows to hunt the beast before running down the beach. All the boys let out laughter and screams of excitement as they follow Jack. Piggy wonders what the adults will think as Ralph takes the conch, and loud mocking and laughing can be heard down the beach. Piggy encourages Ralph to blow the conch, reminds him about the fire and persuades him to be tough. Ralph says if he blows the conch, the boys will never come, and they might as well give up and never be rescued. Piggy says they will still be stranded if he doesn’t call them. The boys come together and begin chanting while the littluns went away howling. Ralph raises the conch to his lips but lowers it, asking Piggy if there really are ghosts or beasts. Piggy says they don’t make any sense. The boys continue dancing and singing until they sing no words. Ralph asks how they don’t make sense and suggests the beasts or ghosts are waiting for them on the island. He lets out a frightening shudder that bumps Piggy when he moves closer to him.
Piggy tells Ralph not to talk about that as they have other things to worry about on the island. Ralph wants to give up being chief, as he has already lost control. Piggy begs him not to and points out that if Jack were chief, he would make them all hunt without a fire, and they would be stuck on the island until they were dead. Simon then appears, and Ralph again insists he wants to step down. Piggy whispers what would happen if he gives up, and Ralph replies nothing. Piggy says Jack hates him, but he respects Ralph.
Simon persuades Ralph to keep his position, and Ralph tells him to shut up. He asks Piggy why he won’t talk about the beast, and Piggy replies that he is scared of Jack; he tells Ralph that Jack despises him, too, and Ralph wonders why. Piggy replies that he isn’t sure, but it may be that Ralph is a leader and Jack isn’t. He also explains that he has thought and knows about everyone. While Jack may not hurt Ralph, he will likely harm Piggy if the chief stands out of the way. Simon agrees with Piggy and again convinces Ralph to stay as chief. Ralph laments that everything is going wrong now and wishes they had adults with them.
The boys finish dancing, and the hunters go to their shelters. Piggy brings up how adults know everything, and he, Ralph and Simon comment on the successes of the adults, such as building ships or fighting. Ralph wishes desperately that the adults could send them a message or a sign. A wailing can be heard in the darkness, and the three boys huddled together in fear.
The sound is coming from Percival, wailing in his sleep.[6] After Percival calms down, Ralph and Simon pick him up and carry him to a shelter. The three boys go into a shelter and lay on dry leaves. They watch the stars from the lagoon and hear a littlelun cry and a bigun speak. The three of them are soon fast asleep. While the boys are asleep, an air battle occurs above them. A dead parachutist falls from one of the planes, and the winds blow it onto the beach before it is blown from the lagoon and up the mountain until it gets entangled in a bunch of vines. The winds would cause the body to sway back and forth. Samneric, now in charge of the signal fire, are sleeping by the burnt pieces of wood and are the first to find the body. They run back to the beach in terror.
Ralph was dreaming and fast asleep. He had spent a long night tossing and turning, and the other nightmares from the boys in their shelters didn’t bother him. He is suddenly awakened when one of the twins shakes his arm, demanding he wake up. Ralph asks what happened, and the twins say they saw the beast. Piggy bumps into Ralph, and a twin grabs him, begging him not to go anywhere and ask for the spears. Piggy calms them down, and he, Ralph and Simon are silent for a moment but are filled with dread as the twins describe what they have seen. Ralph peeks out of the shelter and asks the twins to call for an assembly quietly. While still trembling, Samneric spread the news while Ralph walks to the platform with Piggy, Simon and several other boys following behind. Ralph takes the conch left on his seat and raises it to his lips but hesitates and doesn’t blow. He instead holds it up high to get their attention, and the boys gather around with hunting spears. He then hands the conch to Eric, who briefly explains that he and his brother saw the beast. Sam explains the rest, and while they hold the conch, the twins describe the beast, which is how they saw it had wings, teeth, and eyes and sat up in front of them. Ralph fearfully points to Eric’s scratched face and asks how he got them. Eric feels his face and asks if he’s bleeding.
The boys tremble in fear as Johnny starts crying until Bill slaps him. Jack calls them back to the center and decides who will accompany him to hunt the beast. Piggy takes the conch and suggests they stay where they are, as he thinks the beast wouldn’t find them here. Ralph says if they stay on the beach, they will always have to be on the lookout and not gather food or watch the fire. After Jack mocks the littluns, Ralph wonders who will watch them but assigns Piggy to supervise them. Ralph then explains that the beast doesn’t leave tracks, even if they may have seen them and may even jump from trees. The boys nod as Ralph says they should think. Piggy cleans the lens from his glasses and asks about the others before Ralph passes the conch.
Piggy explains his fear of the beast coming for the others on the beach while the rest are on the hunt. Jack mocks Piggy’s cowardice and doesn’t think the conch is important anymore. He claims that letting others decide on more important things for the boys is what matters the most now. Ralph seethes with anger from Jack and tells him to sit down. Jack, however, stands still with a pale face and says this is a job for the hunters. The boys watch eagerly as Piggy places the conch on Ralph’s knees and takes his seat. Ralph explains that the beast cannot be tracked and asks everyone if they want to be rescued. He glances at Jack, explains the fire's importance, and how it must be relit.
Ralph asks Jack where on the island he hasn’t been to before. Jack replies that there is a rocky formation on the tail-end part, and he had been near there before. Ralph thinks the beast could live there, and the assembly starts chatting. Ralph quiets the crowd and decides they will investigate the rocks. They will search around the mountain and light the signal fire if the beast isn't there. Jack wants to go immediately, and Ralph insists they eat before they go. He also reminds the boys to bring spears. After they have eaten, Ralph and the biguns walk down the beach, with Piggy left behind at the platform. With Ralph’s directions, the biguns walk along the palm terrace instead of the hot sand, with Jack leading the way. Ralph follows along in the rear, relieved he has escaped responsibility for once. Simon walks in front of Ralph while thinking about the beast. When Simon walks into a tree, Ralph looks at him impatiently and dismisses him when Simon’s forehead starts bleeding. Jack trots back and says they are getting closer to the rocks, and Ralph concludes they will keep going. He follows Jack to the rocky formation, where the ground rises slightly, with a tangle of vines and trees on their left.
Ralph asks why something hasn’t come out of the vines, and Jack replies that nothing goes in or out and has him take a look. Ralph looks out and can see the two different sides of the island, with the rest stretched out at sea by a few yards. The side of the rocky formation they are in was about a hundred feet and was spotted when Ralph was on top of the mountain. The hunters hide in the tall grass behind Ralph as he tells Jack and the hunters to stay where they are, and he’ll go in and search. Jack insists he's been all over the island and the beast should be at the rocks. Simon mumbles that he doesn't believe in the beast.
Ralph shudders as he gazes out at the lagoon, as the water from the Pacific crashes against the rocks. He turns to the red cliff while the others wait anxiously on the tall grass for him. He notices he could climb the cliff, but it isn't necessary, and he manages to peer around the rock. He hears a sound and looks back to see Jack along the ledge. Jack says he couldn't let him explore the rocks alone, but Ralph says nothing as Jack inspects a half-cave in the rocks, which includes some rotten bird eggs. Jack excitedly says this is a perfect place for a fort but notices no fresh water. They see a green smudge on the rocks, climb up, and taste some water. Ralph suggests keeping a coconut shell there, but Jack refuses.
The boys explore more. Ralph looks towards the mountain and says there's no signal fire; Jack suggests they should search for the beast there. Ralph says it isn't there. The other boys climb up the rocks as Ralph gazes gloomily at the mountain. He then mutters smoke and shouts at Jack to come with him, but he isn't there, and the boys push a boulder off a cliff. Ralph orders them to stop, and the word "smoke" clouds his mind. He then declares he must make smoke and tells the boys they are wasting their time and they must go to the mountain. The boys argue that they want to return to the beach, while the others want to push more rocks.
Ralph tells Jack he can lead again as the beast could be on the other side of the island. Jack says they should walk by the shore as there is fruit along the way. Bill asks Ralph to stay here while Jack wants to make a fort. Ralph says there is no food, water or shelter at the rocks, and the boys again want to stay behind.
Ralph loses his temper and demands they go now. When the boys argue back and forth again, Ralph declares there is no signal smoke on the fire, and they must check on it. The boys fall silent, and Jack leads the way down the narrow bridge. On their way to the mountain, the boys stopped for a quick rest and eat some fruit they had found.[7] As they sit, Ralph feels the heat for the first time that day, pulls at his grey shirt, and wonders when it should be washed. He also wishes to cut his hair, bathe, and brush his teeth. He examines his fingernails and sees they are bitten, though he doesn't remember biting his nails. The boys are busy enjoying their fruit, and Ralph sees how filthy they look, their hair tangled, faces sweaty, and clothes worn out. He realizes they are part of the new normal on the island, and he doesn't mind it. He sighs and pushes away the stalks where they had picked the fruit.
While the hunters wander into the jungle to do some hunting, Ralph turns and looks out to the blue horizon of the sea. He walks down to the rocks, where the sea water washes against the cliffs. He watches the waves and looks at the sea barrier on the other side of the island and away from the lagoon. He longs to be rescued but sees how the rough waters make the island inescapable. Simon appears before him, and Ralph sees he has a rock clutched in his hands. Simon assures him he will get back home, and Ralph comments on how large the ocean is. Simon consoles him that he will make it off the island as Ralph gives a bitter smile.
Roger then calls out to them and says they must see something. The hunters have spotted some pig droppings, and Jack examines them. He tells Ralph they will need some meat before they walk up the mountain, with the hunters shuddering with fear when the beast is mentioned. Ralph leans against a tree and begins to daydream. He remembers living in a cottage on the moors with his father, and he would be sent away to school soon afterwards. His mother still lived with him, and his father would come home daily. He also saw some wild ponies outside, and it was snowing; there was also a shed beyond the cottage where he would sit and watch the snowflakes fall. He would go inside when he's cold and look outside his window, and then he would go to bed with a bowl of cornflakes and cream and his books laid untidily on a shelf by the bed.
Ralph is awakened from daydreaming when the boys crash through the bushes screaming. A boar with tusks charges toward Jack, and Ralph notices he can measure the distance and take aim. He then flings the wooden spear and hits the boar's snout; it lets out a loud squeal before the spear falls off. Jack and the others come running back, wondering where the boar went. The pig was running ahead of them, and Jack and the others chased after it, leaving Ralph stunned but prideful of striking a pig with a spear for the first time. He, Jack and the others come to an open area by the sea, and Jack notices the boar is gone. Ralph again comments on how he hit the boar with the spear and asks if anyone had witnessed him. Maurice nods and says he saw him hit it on the snout. Ralph then talks excitedly about striking the boar and thinks hunting feels good.
Jack returns, saying he hit a boar, but Ralph insists it was the beast. Jack asks why he didn't wait and hit the boar himself, then shows everyone the bloody wound on his left forearm from the boar’s tusks. Simon tells him to suck on the wound, and Ralph describes how he hit the boar. Robert snarls at him, and everyone, including Ralph, jabs their spears at Robert, who makes squealing noises. Jack orders a circle, and everyone gathers around Robert as they jab more spears at him until Robert cries in pain and demands they stop. But all the boys hold him down as Ralph grabs Eric's spear and jabs at him with it. The boys chant, "Kill him! Kill him!" as Robert screams and panics while Jack prepares his knife. The chant then changes to "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" as Ralph struggles to get closer and have a handful of Robert's flesh. The circle cheer and make squealing noises before they are quiet, listening to Robert's terrified snivels. He wipes his dirty face and rubs his butt, as Jack says he enjoyed playing that game. Ralph comments that he once got hurt during a game of rugby.
Maurice thinks they could use a drum since Ralph needs a fire. Roger says they should have a pig and make it like an actual hunt, and Jack insists they should have someone pretend to be the pig and act like it, then knock him over. Robert suggests they use an actual pig, and Jack jokes they should use a littlun. Everyone laughs. Ralph gets up and says they should keep going. Everyone else stands up, and Jack says they should head to the mountain. Maurice asks if they should return to Piggy before it gets dark. Ralph agrees, and they will go up the mountain the next day; while looking out at sea, he says they need to make a fire first. Jack tells him he can't light a fire without Piggy's glasses, and Ralph replies that they will figure something out when the mountain is clear.
Hunting the Beast[]
Ralph suggests that if they walk by the sea, they will come out below the burnt bit and up the mountain. As Jack leads the walk while still nursing his wound, Ralph daydreams again while they cross the bare rock by the wavy waters to get to the forest. There are very few cliffs, with some used as pathways. They will have to clamber over wet rocks surrounded by harsh waves. A large wave of water sprays at a creeper, causing the boys to be drenched. Unable to access the thick forest, they jumped one by one on the rocks until they got drenched for a second. Now that the rocks are impassable, they wait for their clothes to dry and find some fruit. Ralph climbs up a tree and sees the mountain is still a way off, and they then attempt to cross the rocks again. Robert cuts his knee, and the boys cross slowly to reach the other side safely. Once they finally pass the dangerous rocks, Ralph looks at the sun and sees it is early evening.
Jack doesn’t remember this cliff as he may have missed this part of the coast. Ralph thinks about the littluns and Piggy, whom he imagines alone in a silent shelter. Ralph says they cannot leave Piggy alone with the littluns all night, and it would take hours to return. The other boys are silent until Jack clears his throat and says in a friendly voice that they shouldn’t let anything happen to Piggy. Ralph suggests that one of them should go across the island to inform Piggy they won’t return until after dark. One of the boys, Bill, is disbelieved. One has to go by themselves, and Ralph says they cannot spare more than one. Simon pushes his way through and offers to go himself. Before Ralph can reply, Simon disappears into the forest.
Ralph turns to Jack and asks him what happened when he walked along the shore below the mountain when he was heading to the rocky formation called Castle Rock. Jack replies that he found a pig run that went for miles and must be somewhere there. Ralph points to the forest and decides they will keep going until they find the pig run, and everyone agrees with him. He prepares to step forward but suddenly stops and wonders where the pig run goes. Jack asks Ralph if he wants to go to the mountain first. Ralph claims there wouldn't be enough daylight, and Jack asks if he would return to the shelters and inform Piggy of their absence. Ralph feels flushed and asks Jack why he hates him, with the other boys stirring uneasily. He then leads the way, with Jack behind the others.
The boys find the pig tracks in the forest and go on a swift trot. They look at each other doubtfully, and Ralph announces they will return to the platform and climb the mountain the next day. Most agree, but Jack says he can go if he's scared. Ralph asks who went to Castle Rock first, and Jack replies that he has during the daytime. Ralph then asks the others if they want to climb the mountain tomorrow, but nobody answers. Samneric say they should tell Piggy themselves, but one of the twins says Simon has already gone. Robert and Bill were already leaving for the platform, as they were too scared and tired to go on.
Jack viciously declares he is going up the mountain to search for the beast and asks Ralph if he's coming, too. At that moment, other boys heading back to the platform change their minds and join the hunt. Ralph then gives in on returning to the lagoon and replies that he doesn't mind coming along, and they climb the mountain. The boys scuttle away, and Roger appears to join them.
It is dark as Ralph, Jack and Roger climb the mountain slope. A gust of wind blows down, which causes the boys to splutter and choke. Ralph says it is ashes from the burnt patch. After they stop, Ralph thinks it would be foolish if there isn't a beast on the mountain, and they are wasting pointless time climbing up with sticks. Jack says he could go alone. Ralph is filled with rage and demands that Jack press on, and he and Roger will stay behind. After some silence, Jack asks if he is afraid before he goes on further himself. Ralph feels his knee touch a charred bark on a trunk on the edge. He sits down with Roger, who says nothing to him and doesn't give an opinion of the beast or why he joined the hunt in the first place.
Ralph hears a rapid, annoying tapping sound, and Roger's stick hits something. They both sit silently as Jack finds them and says shiveringly that he has found something on top of the mountain. He sits down and mutters to them to keep a lookout as it could be following them. Ashes fell around them as Jack gets up and claims he saw something bulging on the top. Roger says it could be a frog. Jack replies that it cannot be a frog as it is making a plopping noise followed by a bulge. Ralph hesitates and says they will go and look, and they must go now. He gets off the trunk and climbs the slope with the others following him.
Ralph could hear voices in his head, with Piggy calling him childish and another telling him not to be foolish. They come up the last slope; Jack and Roger draw near and crouch together. On the horizon, the night sky brightens as the moon is about to rise. The wind blows into the forest, and Ralph stirs by telling them to move on. They crept on forward, with Roger moving slowly behind them. Jack and Ralph turn a shoulder of the mountain, and Roger catches up with them. Jack whispers they should approach it quietly as the beast may be asleep. They arrive at the top of the mountain peak, and the parachutist’s body is seen bulging. Ralph places his hand in the ashes of the burnt-out signal fire and lets out a faint cry. Roger sits next to him with Jack in front of them and says he can see the beast where the gap in the rock used to be. The ashes are blown into Ralph’s face, and they cannot see the gap. Jack whispers to him if he’s still scared.
Ralph cannot speak, so Jack moves ahead, and Roger follows. He whispers to Jack if he sees anything, and just a few yards ahead of them, they can spot a rocky hump. Ralph hears a chattering noise somewhere, possibly from himself. After summoning his courage, Ralph takes a few steps forward, and the moon behind him rises over the horizon. The boys could see something like an ape sleeping with its head between its knees. Then the wind blows, and the head of the parachutist’s body lifts. Ralph, Jack, and Roger scream and run back down the slope in terror, leaving behind their walking sticks.
Back on the beach the following morning, Ralph tells Piggy a dozen times that they have just seen the beast.[8] Piggy asks him if they are safe at the beach, and Ralph doesn’t know, pacing along the beach. Piggy asks Ralph if he really saw the beast, and Jack says he'll see for himself. Ralph says with a shudder that the beast has teeth and black eyes. Piggy asks what they'll do now, and Ralph turns toward the platform where the conch glimmers in the trees. He replies that he doesn't know and remembers when they ran down the mountainside in fear last night. He and the others won't take down anything that size and insists to Jack that they hide instead.
Ralph says they'll still be brave as long as they have light, but he isn't sure if they will be rescued if the beast is close by the signal fire and knows they will be stuck forever without one. Piggy tells Ralph he's been rude about the hunters, and Ralph tells him to shut up. They are interrupted by Jack blowing the conch, and all the hunters and littluns arrive at the platform. Ralph and Piggy join them, too. Ralph takes the conch from him, and Jack says he called the meeting. Ralph orders him to talk by thrusting the conch into his arms and sitting on the trunk.
Jack announces he has called the assembly because they had seen the beast up close when they got closer to it. The boys argue that the beast comes from the sea and trees, and Jack quiets them. He says the beast is at the top of the mountain and suggests it is hunting. He also says that Ralph told him his hunters aren’t good. Ralph argues that he never told him that. Jack claims Ralph had called them cowards, and he is also a coward. He argues that Ralph stayed behind when he and Roger went up the mountain. Ralph says he fled from the beast, and so did Jack. The two boys glare at each other, and Jack tells the hunters that Ralph has done nothing but give out orders and wants everyone to obey him, making Ralph frustrated and yell at him.
Jack asks who will vote to remove Ralph from his role as chief, but nobody casts any votes. Jack tearfully tells the assembly he won’t play with them anymore or be part of Ralph’s tribe. He decides to go somewhere on the island alone, and anyone who wishes to hunt can join him. Ralph calls out to him as he gets off the platform and begs him not to leave as he runs down the beach until he disappears into the forest.
Ralph watches Jack run away, assuring himself that Jack will return at dusk. Piggy says they will be better off without Jack, but now they must focus on other issues, such as the beast. Ralph laments that there is nothing else they can do, and there is a moment of silence until Simon takes the conch. He suggests they climb the mountain again, and everyone shudders. Piggy says they shouldn’t find the beast when Jack and Ralph have nothing to do. Piggy takes the conch and declares they must focus on the signal fire, but Ralph says they can’t make the fire where the beast is. Piggy suggests they make a fire on the beach instead. Everyone chatters about where on the beach the fire will be. Ralph says the fire should be built between the bathing pool and the platform, but after a pause, he says the smoke won’t be as visible as it was on the mountain. He decides they should make the fire now.
The boys get to work and collect wood from a fallen tree on the platform. The wood wasn’t so dry as their previous signal fire but was rotten and filled with insects. The boys collect more wood from the skirts of the forest and the scar than venturing deep into the jungle. After assembling the fire pit, Piggy uses his spectacles to ignite the flames. The littluns get excited and dance and sing around the fire. Ralph announces they should keep this fire small, and Piggy thinks they should use small branches to make smoke.
After the fire goes out, the littluns calm down and drift towards the sea, fruit trees, and shelters. Ralph says they need someone to watch the new signal fire but notices very few biguns in the group. He asks where Maurice is, and Piggy replies that he couldn’t have gone into the forest alone. Ralph says they need to have a list of the biguns and then notices Bill and Roger are also absent.
Ralph pokes holes in the sand, and a drop of blood from his bitten nail falls onto the sand. Piggy claims he saw Bill and Roger running down the way Jack went when gathering wood. The twins return, dragging a log and dumping it into the fire. While the log is dried before catching fire, Piggy and the twins enter the forest to find fruit. Ralph is invited to eat the fruit with Piggy and Samneric. When they are finished, Ralph wonders where Simon is and thinks he could be climbing the mountain.
Later, Ralph and Piggy sit at the fire. Ralph asks where the twins are, and Piggy says they need more branches for the fire. Ralph notices a storm approaching and quickly returns with more branches from the forest. Piggy points out that there aren’t enough boys to watch the signal fire, suggesting that Samneric will watch the fire rather than take turns. Ralph contemplates and agrees with this idea, although he is frustrated that the situation on the island is going from bad to worse. Piggy says the fire needs more wood, and Ralph replies that he is scared that nobody seems to care about staying civilized and maintaining the signal fire. He worries that if nobody tends to the fire, they will die on the island, but nobody seems to care. Piggy removes his glasses and says they need to keep moving forward. He asks Piggy what’s causing their civilization to fail, and Piggy suggests it could be Jack.
At that moment, Jack and his hunters burst out of the jungle and scare Piggy and some littluns away. They take some half-burned branches and then run down the beach. Jack turns to Ralph and Piggy, says his hunters are having a feast, and invites them to join. After the hunters flee, Ralph notices Maurice and Robert have joined Jack's tribe, and Piggy thinks Jack was going to get the conch. Ralph is given the conch and announces on the platform that the hunters raided for their fire, which is most important to them. Piggy and the others are silent until Bill receives the conch and decides they will go to the feast to tell the hunters the importance of the signal fire, but also considers hunting to be fun. Samneric agree with Bill, but Ralph says they should get their own meat and not be like the hunters.
The Feast/Simon’s Death[]
As an evening thunderstorm approaches, Ralph goes for a swim, and the littluns play on the beach.[9] He splashes water at Piggy and laughs. Piggy wonders where everyone is. Ralph and Piggy realize that Samneric and Bill have gone to the feast, but Ralph insists they let them go since he thinks they are pretending to be hunters in Jack's tribe. Piggy suggests they go, too, so they can keep an eye on everyone. Ralph agrees, and they go to the feast, where pigmeat roasts over the fire. The boys are laughing, eating, and talking, and Jack is sitting on a log in the centre, wearing a garland and face paint. Near Jack are piles of meat, fruit and coconut shells with drinking water.
Everyone is silent when Ralph and Piggy arrive at the platform. The boys remove a large chunk of meat from the fire, and everyone laughs and talks again. Jack orders his hunters to give Ralph and Piggy some food. They are served chunks of meat when they hear thunder from the upcoming storm. Jack asks if everyone has eaten everything as Ralph sits by the fire to eat and notices the flames are more visible in the darkness. After Jack orders everyone to sit, he asks who will join his tribe. Ralph says he is chief, as they must be responsible for the fire and still have the conch. Jack declares that the conch isn't important anymore. Thunder strikes, and Ralph considers calling for an assembly as the boys agree to join Jack's tribe. Piggy tells him they should leave. It thunders and rains, and Jack and the boys start to dance. Ralph and Piggy end up joining.
The boys dance in a circle and chant, "Kill the Beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" They have become so frenzied that when they spot Simon coming out of the forest and trying to tell them about the dead parachutist, they scream and viciously beat Simon to death with their bare hands and teeth. A strong wind picks up, and the parachutist's body is blown from the trees and dragged onto the beach. The boys run away in fear, and the bodies of Simon and the parachutist are washed out to sea.
The Aftermath[]
The next day, Ralph walks onto the platform with a cut under his eye and a scab on his right knee. He asks Piggy if he’s the only one left, and Piggy says there are the littluns and Samneric, who went to collect some firewood.[10] The biguns are no longer in their group, as they have joined Jack's tribe. Ralph asks what they should do, and Piggy suggests they can call for an assembly. Ralph laughs but then shudders and says they had murdered Simon. Piggy refuses to discuss it and insists they were scared during the thunderstorm. Ralph says he didn't see who it was, and Piggy insists it was just an accident. Ralph recalls they were outside the dancing circle, and Piggy decides they will survive alone with the twins. Samneric then arrive with a log and dump it into the signal fire. They tell Ralph they were in the forest to gather firewood after the feast but got lost overnight. Ralph says he and Piggy left early because they were tired, and the twins admit it.
Piggy gives Ralph his glasses to ignite another fire. They tried to light it for the third time, and Ralph doesn't want another night without a fire. Eric breathes into the damp wood until it sparks a small flame. Piggy wishes they could build a radio, plane or boat, and Ralph thinks they could be abducted. He shudders when he remembers the parachutist's body blown onto the beach. Piggy complains about his asthma as the smoke gets thinner, and the boys return to the forest to fetch more rotten wood. They gather some fruit from the trees with their spears, but when they return to the beach, the sun starts to set, but there is no smoke. Eric is too tired to carry more wood, and Ralph affirms they must make this signal fire bigger and keep it going. He decides two of them will tend to the fire for 12 hours, but the others don't want to get more firewood at night.
Ralph, Piggy, and the twins crawl into a battered shelter to sleep. In the next shelter, a littlun talks in his sleep. While getting comfortable, Ralph imagines a jet will rescue them, arrive in Wiltshire, and he'll be at the cottage that appeared in his dream. He wakes up to see the twins fighting, and when everything is quiet again, he tells Piggy that he desperately wants to be rescued. Piggy warns that they will go insane if they don't leave soon, and Ralph says he should write to his aunt. Piggy says he doesn't know where she is and there isn't a way to send a letter to her.
After Ralph falls asleep, Piggy wakes him and says he hears something, but Ralph insists it's nothing. A voice calls for Piggy outside the shelter, and Piggy fearfully clings onto Ralph, telling him to stay quiet. Ralph prays that the beast will want littluns instead and hears someone brushing against the shelter. A massive fight erupts, and Ralph fights his opponent in the darkness as the shelter collapses. Some shadowy figures climb out of the wreckage and run away. Ralph orders the littluns to go back to sleep and checks on the twins. Samneric say they have been beaten up, and they drag Piggy out of the wreckage and lay him against a tree. Piggy says he isn't hurt, and Ralph says Jack and his tribe have just attacked them, but he managed to fight back one of them. Piggy wonders if the hunters have come for the conch but then realizes that they have stolen his glasses.
End of Civilization[]
The next morning, Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric gather around the burnt-out signal fire, where Ralph tries to light a fire by blowing, but nothing happens.[11]Ralph closes his swollen eye and is outraged that the hunters have stolen the glasses. Piggy urges him to call for a meeting, and when Ralph blows the conch at the platform, only Piggy and Samneric attend the meeting. Piggy takes the conch and says he cannot see without his glasses, and they must get them back.
Ralph takes the conch and recalls the time when Jack was busy hunting when a ship was passing instead of tending to the signal fire, and none of this would have happened if Jack had been more responsible. Piggy wants his glasses back and asks Ralph what they should do. Ralph suggests they should clean up and act civilized. Samneric want to bring spears, but Piggy won’t take any with him. He will bring the conch to reason with Jack and protect themselves from savagery. Ralph then declares they should eat first and prepare to go.
The boys eat some fruit from one of the fruit trees. Ralph thinks they should wash and comb their hair, but after a brief debate with Piggy and Samneric, they decide to show up instead of cleaning up. They remember that the hunters are painted, but Ralph urges them that they need smoke. They trail down the beach with their spears and walk past the area where the tribe danced and then head toward Castle Rock, where the boys can see some smoke wavering into the air.
As they get closer, Ralph says he’ll go first, and then Piggy and Samneric will follow behind. They walk along the neck to Castle Rock, and Ralph kicks a rock that falls into the ocean waters below. They can hear war cries and voices from inside the rock, and Roger is seen guarding the front entrance and throwing rocks at the twins. Ralph blows into the conch, summoning the savages onto the neck with their spears. After taking in a breath, Ralph wants to call an assembly. The savages mutter and snigger, and then there is silence. Robert says Jack is out hunting, and they can’t let Ralph, Piggy and Samneric inside. Ralph says he has come to talk about the signal fire and Piggy’s glasses. The savages laugh, and Jack returns from hunting in the jungle and demands what’s happening. Behind him is the headless body of a sow they have just hunted.
Piggy becomes terrified as Ralph angrily demands Jack to return Piggy’s glasses and calls him a thief. Jack hits Ralph in the chest with his spear, and Ralph strikes back. Ralph and Jack fight with their spears, and Piggy reminds Ralph what they have come for. Ralph pauses and tells the hunters to give Piggy his glasses back, and they should keep the signal fire burning until it attracts a ship. Ralph gets frustrated as he says he, Piggy and Samneric have struggled to maintain the signal fire while the others are busy hunting. He even scolds them for using fire to cook food instead of attracting ships.
After silence, Jack orders the hunters to seize the twins and tie them up. With the twins captured and surrounded by the tribe, Ralph loses his temper, insults Jack, and they fight again. During the fight, Piggy holds the conch and demands to speak. There is silence as Piggy talks about which is more important: civilization or savagery. While Piggy is speaking, Roger throws more rocks at him as Ralph demands if the boys want to be rescued or killed. Roger then rolls a large boulder down the neck, striking Piggy and smashing the conch shell. Piggy falls to his death from the cliff, and the ocean water washes his body away.
Following a brief moment of silence, Jack declares he’s chief now and throws his spear at Ralph, which cuts him over his ribs. The tribe screams as they throw more spears at Ralph as he runs away, jumps over the headless sow’s body, and escapes into the jungle.
Downfall/Loss of Innocence[]
In the forest, Ralph sits in a thicket and nurses his wounds.[12] His hair is dirty, and he is covered in bruises and cuts from his fight with Jack. He decides that cleaning up will have to wait. Castle Rock isn’t too far from where he is hiding and spots some hunters retrieving the spears they had thrown at Ralph earlier. He even spots Bill but doesn’t recognize him from his face paint.
As it darkens, Ralph crawls out from the thicket, and he sees Robert sitting at the edge of the cliff at Castle Rock, with smoke rising from the rocks. Ralph sniffs the smoke and notices he’s hungry, as he hasn’t eaten since morning. Robert then leaves his seat and disappears behind the rock for the hunters’ feast. Ralph limps in the forest through the fruit trees and realizes he is safe for now. He even wonders if the hunters will leave him alone but realizes he will likely be hunted next when he thinks about the conch breaking and Piggy’s death.
Ralph eats some pieces of fruit and then heads to the beach. He thinks he could try to light another signal fire but knows he cannot do it alone. He limps back into the forest and into a clearing, where he sees the head of the Lord of the Flies, now a gleaming, white skull. Ralph is scared of how the skull grins at him, so he knocks it to the ground and retrieves the spear. He crawls back into the thicket, fearing falling asleep from his fear of the tribe. He even contemplates if he should go to Castle Rock and convince the hunters to let him join them, but he knows this is unlikely. He hears the ocean waters and the tribe’s chanting from Castle Rock.
Ralph gets closer to Castle Rock and spots Samneric guarding the entrance. Ralph calls quietly to them without rousing the hunters. The twins don’t hear him, so he climbs up toward them and calls to them again, afraid they will be alarmed and alert the tribe. But when they notice Ralph, they urge him to leave. Ralph says he has come to see them, but they aren’t painted like the savages. The twins say they have been tortured into joining Jack’s tribe, and Ralph mutters that he just wants to reason with Jack. Samneric warn Ralph that the hunters will hunt him the next day, and they have been constantly trained on what to do during the hunt.
Ralph insists he didn’t do anything wrong and then thinks dreadfully about tomorrow. He asks what the hunters will do if they find him, but the twins don’t answer. They again urge him to leave and stay far away, and Ralph convinces them to join him so they can take on the hunters themselves. But after a moment of silence, they warn that Roger is a terror, and they see someone from the tribe approaching them. Ralph climbs back down but asks Samneric again if he will be alright and what they’ll do if they catch him. The twins refuse to answer him, but they give him a piece of cooked meat. Ralph tells them he’ll be hiding in a thicket near Castle Rock, and Samneric also give him an ominous hint that Roger “sharpened a stake at both ends.” Ralph quickly flees as Samneric argue with one of the hunters but is filled with dread about a stake “sharpened at both ends.”
Inside the forest, Ralph devours the meat the twins gave him and hears them crying in pain. He crawls under the thicket and falls asleep. The next morning, he wakes up to hear voices near the thicket, and he grabs his spear and crawls further into the thicket. He sees the legs of the hunters drawing nearer and thinks he’ll be safe inside the thicket, and nobody will attack him in his hiding spot. He sits quietly, waiting for the hunters to pass, and for a moment, their voices start to fade away. But within a few minutes, he hears Jack, Roger, and Samneric outside the thicket. Jack and Roger demand the twins where Ralph is, beating them until Samneric reveal where Ralph is hiding. This prompts Ralph to prepare his spear for battle, but he wonders how the hunters will make their way into the thicket.
Ralph glances toward Castle Rock and sees the hunters pushing boulders toward the thicket. The first one misses and rolls toward the beach. The tribe cheers, followed by silence, and Ralph nervously observes how large the next boulder will be when they roll it to the thicket. The hunters roll a second boulder, which hits the thicket this time. Afterwards, he hears voices outside the thicket, and a pointed spear appears inside the crack. Ralph strikes back with the spear and hears a hunter cry in pain. He hears a hunter saying he’s dangerous, and the wounded hunter asks what they should do next. After some muttering, the wounded hunter is shocked, and the others laugh.
Ralph holds onto his spear and prepares for another strike. Then, he hears crackling sounds, and the thicket fills with smoke, with the sky above turning dark. He crawls out of the thicket, trying to stay underneath the smoke, and sees a small hunter standing before him, coughing and struggling to see. Ralph charges at him and breaks into a run. He hears whooping and wailing behind him, so he runs until he leaps under a bush while he tries to think hard about how he will hide from the hunters. He wonders if he should climb a tree or run back to the other side of the island, but it will only be a matter of time before the hunters catch him. He hears the hunters’ cries and runs into some creepers, where he desperately thinks about what he should do.
The hunters’ cries are heard again, so Ralph runs into an open space in the jungle, where he finds the grinning pig’s skull and flees into the forest. He then realizes the hunters have set the island on fire to smoke him out, and the entire jungle is set ablaze. He hides under a deep thicket, where he sees some rays of sunlight, but the flames and hunters are getting closer. A savage appears outside Ralph's thicket, and some pigs run behind him in terror. Ralph stays quiet as he clutches onto his spear, but when the savage crouches down and peers at him through the thicket, Ralph screams and jumps out, swinging his spear. The savage falls back, and Ralph breaks out again into another run.
As the forest becomes consumed with flames, Ralph panics and runs faster with the hunters close behind him, and some of them trip or get tired from running. Ralph stumbles over a root as he makes it to the beach, where a shelter bursts into flames. He then collapses, exhausted. When he staggers to his feet, he sees a British naval officer looking down at him, with his ship on the horizon. At that moment, all the hunters run onto the beach but stop when they see the officer and remain silent.
The officer asks if any adults are with them, and Ralph replies no. Then, the palm trees catch on fire, and the sky turns black. The officer smiles and asks the boys if they are playing games and having a war, saying he has seen their smoke. The officer inspects Ralph, who is dirty and wounded, and asks if anybody has been killed. Ralph says only two have died, and some boys come forward. Percival has even forgotten his own name. The officer declares he’ll take everyone off the island and asks who is in charge and how many there are. Ralph replies that he is in charge, and Jack is about to say something while holding the broken glasses but says nothing. Ralph says he doesn’t know how many boys are left on the island, and everything has gone well for them until now. The officer assumes they are British schoolboys and sarcastically jokes about it being fun.
Ralph looks at the officer dumbfounded and then bursts into tears, with the entire island engulfing in flames behind him. All the hunters start to cry, too, but Ralph cries for his loss of innocence and the death of his friend Piggy. The officer, feeling embarrassed, turns his back to them and waits for them to regain their composure.
Personality/Appearance[]
Ralph is among the oldest of the boys on the island, and at 12 years old, he is handsome, charming, and displays natural leadership skills. When everyone assembled on the beach following the plane crash on the island, Ralph brought some common sense and caution to the boys, explaining that they are alone without adults and must work together to be rescued. Because of his attractiveness and civility, he was voted chief, and he also called them with the conch shell, which became important to keep their civilization intact. As chief, Ralph takes his leadership seriously, and his organization keeps the boys together in a tight-knit community. His most ambitious goals as chief are to ensure the boys are safe, such as building huts as shelters, and to keep the signal fire lit so they can be saved. He knows how to make decisions and rules and always knows what is right and wrong. In addition, he serves as a role model to the boys, as they respect him for his leadership skills, and he treats them warmly to assure them that he is a good leader.
However, as time passes, Ralph becomes frustrated with his role as chief. He gets fed up with the boys not listening to the rules and having fun rather than focusing on balancing civilization and order. He’s frustrated that the boys, except for Simon, don’t have any sense of responsibility. But things only go from bad to worse when the boys become terrified of a beast on the island, but Ralph insists there isn’t a beast. The longer they stay on the island, the more the boys forget their identities and lose interest in Ralph’s rules. It has gotten so bad that Ralph wants to give up his role as he has lost all control, and many of his plans have failed.
He is also known for his calm, charismatic manner. After he wins the vote to be the chief, Ralph wants to befriend Jack, who is humiliated and angry that he was defeated in the election. Civilization and savagery are always clashing on the island. Ralph hopes he will keep Jack civilized by hunting for food for the boys and giving him some authority so there will still be equality on the island. As such, Ralph mostly avoids conflict and wants peace against savagery. He only gets angry at Jack for his irresponsibility, such as not attending to the signal fire and spending time hunting rather than helping Ralph build huts on the beach.
Despite Ralph’s civility, he slowly descends into savagery the longer he is stranded on the island. Initially, he doesn’t understand why the boys are becoming savages and tries to avoid savagery at all costs. Normally, he doesn’t participate in hunting, but when he throws a spear that hits a pig, he gets excited and appreciates hunting. While attending a feast with the hunters, he falls into a frenzy state along with the others, and he participates in killing Simon. The next day, Ralph insists they did commit murder and admits that he has a dark side involved in Simon’s death. After losing his leadership, civility, and allies, Ralph realizes it’s hopeless to call for meetings and work together. He fears for his life as he prepares to survive as long as possible from the savages, who are determined to kill him or make him one of their own. At the last minute, he still hopes to stand a chance when he meets with Samneric and tries to convince them to retake his side. When he meets the naval officer in the final scene after he runs to the beach from the forest fire, he isn’t overjoyed he is finally rescued but is bewildered that he has lost his innocence and civilization from being stuck on an island haunted by a beast that corrupts innocence into savagery. He will likely never be able to adjust to life in the outside world, where civilization is lost and war has taken over.
Relationships[]
Piggy[]
A fat, obese boy who becomes Ralph’s closest ally and lieutenant. When they first meet, Ralph doesn’t show sympathy for Piggy and mocks his obesity and asthma. Later, Ralph becomes friends with Piggy for his wisdom and loyalty, often giving him some advice about leadership and civility. Ralph also somewhat becomes protective of Piggy’s civility as his glasses are needed to make fire and attract any ships, and without them, they cannot make a fire. While attempting to reason with Jack’s hunters, Piggy is killed when Roger rolls a large boulder at him, destroying the conch. Without Piggy, Ralph has nobody to turn to for advice as savagery takes over the island, and he cries at the end for possibly the only true friend he ever had.
Jack[]
The leader of the choir boys. Jack and Ralph are both candidates in the chief election and when Ralph wins the vote, he sympathizes with Jack and assigns him to be the hunters' leader and monitor the signal fire. While they are friendly with each other briefly, their friendship quickly endures a downward spiral when Jack spends more time hunting than watching the signal fire or helping Ralph build shelters and stay civilized. Jack and his hunters start to distance themselves from Ralph and disobey his rules, to the point when Jack declares that Ralph is a coward and needs to be removed from power. Everything quickly gets worse when all the boys join Jack as he forms his own tribe and then prepares to turn his back against Ralph. At the book's ending, Jack and his hunters set the island on fire to smoke Ralph out of his hiding spot, and when the British Naval officer meets the boys on the beach, Jack sobs for his loss of innocence.
Simon[]
A quiet, shy boy who is one of the choir boys and one of Ralph's closest allies. Simon is the only civilized boy and helps Ralph build the shelters while all the boys swim and play. When Ralph gets frustrated, he also consoles Ralph with positive thoughts and even convinces him to keep his leadership. However, when Simon meets the Lord of the Flies, who is the beast that lives within the boys, he tries to tell it to the others during a tribal feast. But all the boys, including Ralph, viciously kill him when in a frenzied mood.
Samneric[]
Twin boys who are Ralph's closest allies. Initially loyal to their chief, they are captured by Jack’s tribe and forced to betray Ralph to the hunters. However, just before this, the twins stay loyal to Ralph by urging him to run away and hide from Jack’s tribe when they hunt him the next day.
Quotes/Relatable Quotes[]
"Sucks to your ass-mar!" ― Chapter 1
Ralph mocking Piggy’s asthma.
"We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there… and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off. And another thing. We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s a meeting. The same up here as down there." ― Chapter 2
Ralph keeps civilization and order intact by ordering a signal fire to attract ships and establishing rules with the conch shell.
"Don’t you want to be rescued? All you can talk about is pig, pig, pig!" ― Chapter 4
Ralph confronting Jack for failing to monitor the signal fire and spending more time hunting pigs.
"Things are breaking up. I don’t understand why. We began well; we were happy." ― Chapter 5
Ralph’s bewilderment when the boys’ infrastructure and civilization on the island are falling apart.
"The thing is – fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream." ― Chapter 5
Ralph urging the boys to handle fear lightly when they become terrified of the beast lurking on the island.
"That was Simon…That was murder." ― Chapter 10
Ralph insists to Piggy that Simon’s death wasn’t an accident and that they killed him in cold blood.
"I’m frightened. Of us. I want to go home. Oh God, I want to go home." ― Chapter 10
Ralph realizes he’s terrified of the boys descending into savagery and desperately wants to leave the island as soon as possible.
"He knelt among the shadows and felt his isolation bitterly. They were savages it was true; but they were human and the ambushing fears of the deep night were coming on." ― Chapter 12
Despite Ralph being on his own and the boys becoming savages, he realizes they are still human beings and has to grapple with the fears of the night.
"Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy." ― Chapter 12
Ralph grieves over his loss of innocence, darkness corrupting his heart, and the death of his friend, Piggy.
Portrayals[]
In the 1963 film adaptation, Ralph is portrayed by James Aubrey.
In the 1990 film adaptation, Ralph is portrayed by Balthazar Getty.