Lord of the Flies

[Welcome. Today, we begin an exploration of Lord of the Flies, a powerful and thought-provoking novel. This first chapter serves as an introduction, setting the foundation for the story and its characters. As the chapters progress, the narrative grows darker, deeper, and far more compelling.]

Upon a tropical island, a twelve-year-old boy with fair hair was climbing out of plane wreckage on a beach and towards a lagoon. He faced another child around his age, a fat boy with glasses. The two, who have not previously met, began a conversation. The fair-haired boy introduced himself as Ralph.

Through their conversation, it was revealed that the boy had survived a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean, and ho adults were present among the survivors. They confirmed that both pilot and “the man with the megaphone”-perhaps some sort of rescue worker-both had died in the crash. The boys appeared to have been escaping from an atomic war in their country, a place referred to only as the Home Counties (signaling England). When Ralph insisted that his father, a Commander in the Navy, would rescue the stranded boys, Piggy reminded him that “they”- perhaps the adult population- were all killed “by the atom bomb.”

Ralph was excited by the idea of being free from any adult supervision. He enjoyed the shore with Palm trees and all other new sights. He started playing on the sand at the beach. He stood on a relatively high platform and looked into the river water that was clear to the bottom. He found a natural pool there, formed, perhaps, by a typhoon that had banked sand inside the lagoon. Ralph plunged in and started taking a bath.

The fat boy lowered himself over the terrace and sat down carefully, using the edge as a seat. He wiped his glasses and adjusted them on his button nose.

“I expect we’ll want to know all the names,” said the fat boy, “and make a list. We ought to have a meeting.”

About himself, the fat boy said, “they used to call me Piggy.”

Ralph shrieked with laughter. He jumped up and to tease him, started calling him “Piggy, Piggy.”

Piggy took off his shoes and socks, arranged them carefully on the edge, and tasted the water with on toe.

“It’s hot!”

Ralph asked,

“Aren’t you going to swim?” Piggy shook his head. “I can’t swim. I wasn’t allowed.

My asthma---” Ralph said proudly,

“I could swim when I was 5. Daddy taught me. He’s a commander in the Navy. When he gets leave, he’ll come and rescue us. What’s your father?”

Piggy flushed suddenly. “My dad is dead. I used to live with my auntie” Piggy spoke, “We gotta find the others. We got to do something.” And he insisted,”

Ralph came forward and stood by Piggy, “I don’t know.”

Ralph had stopped smiling and was pointing int the lagoon. Something creamy lay on the ferny weeds.

“A stone.”

“No. It’s a shell”. Piggy was excited, “It’s a shell. I seen one like that before. On someone’s back Wall. A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mom would come. It’s ever so valuable.”

Somehow, they managed to retrieve the shell. Piggy suggested that they could use the shell to call the others, to have a meeting. Ralph tried at blowing the shell with full force of his breath.

“I bet you can hear that for miles.”

A child appeared among the palms, about 100 yards along the beach. He was a boy of perhaps 6 years. His clothed were torn, his face covered with a sticky mess of fruit. He jumped off the palm terrace into the sand. Meanwhile, Ralph continued to blow till voices shouted in the forest. The small boy squatted in front of Ralph. Piggy leaned down to him.

“What’s your name?”

“Johnny”

Many more boys turned up there. The children gave Ralph the same simple obedience that they had given to the man with megaphone. Some were naked and carrying their clothes, others half naked, or more or less dressed, in school uniforms, grey, blue, fawn, jacked or jersey. Then appeared two children who were twins. Their names were Sam and Eric. Collectively, they were called Samneric. At last, Ralph ceased to blow the conch and sat there.

He saw some creatures stepping from mirage on the clear sand. It was a group of boys whose bodies, from throat to ankle, were hidden by black cloaks which bore a silver Cross on the left breast. The boy who controlled them was dressed in the same way though his cap badge was golden. When his party was about 10 yards from the platform, he shouted an order and they halted, gasping, sweating, swaying in the fierce light. The boy himself came forward with his cloak flying about him.

“Where is the man with the trumpet?”

Ralph answered him, “There is no man with the trumpet. Only me.”

Ralph spoke to his back,

“No, we are having a meeting. Come and join in.”

The group began to scatter from close lines.

The tall boy shouted, “Choir, stand still!”

Wearily obedient, the choir huddled into line and stood there swaying in the Sun. Jack Merridew turned to Ralph,

“Are not there any grown-ups?”

“No”

“Then we’ll have to look after ourselves”

Jack continued, “We have got to decide about being rescued.”

Ralph lifted the conch, “seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.”

“I ought to be chief”, said Jack with simple arrogance.

The Dark boy, Roger, stirred at last and spoke up, “Let’s have a vote” There was noise.

Ralph raided hand for Silence.

“All right. Who wants Jack for chief?”

With dreary obedience the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air.

Ralph counted,

“I am chief then,”

The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded. After becoming the chief, Ralph nominated Jack as the leader of the choir and declared the choir to be serving as the army or hunters. Jack and Ralph smiled at each other with shy liking. Jack stood up,

“Alright choir, take off your togs.”

Aa if released from class, the choir boys stood up, chattered, piled their black cloaks on the grass. Jack laid his on the trunk by Ralph. Ralph insisted that three of the boys, himself, Simon and Jack should go on an expedition to determine whether or not it was an island while, the rest of the group should stay near the lagoon. When Piggy requested to accompany the group, Jack dismissed his request and humiliated him. The three boys walked briskly on the sand. They turned to each other laughing excitedly, talking not listening.

“We’ll go to the end of the island”, said Ralph, “and look around the corner, if it is an island.”

Now, towards the end of the afternoon. The mirages were settling a little. They found this end of the island quite distinct and the beach was nearer the mountain than any other they had seen. They felt an unknown pleasure over there.

They started climbing the mountain there, and after great hardships, they reached the top of the mountain. From the top of the mountain, they could see that it was really an island surrounded by a circular horizon of water.

Ralph turned to the others and said assertively, “This belongs to us”.

It was roughly boat-shaped; on either side, rocks, cliffs, tree tops and a steep slope. The boys surveyed all this, then looked out to sea.

“There is no village smoke and no boats”, said Ralph wisely. “We will make sure later but I think it’s uninhabited.”

“We will get food,” cried Jack. “Hunt” “catch things until they fetch us”.

They scrambled down a rock slope, dropped among flowers and made their way under the trees. They were in the beginning of the thick forest, plonking with weary feet on a track.

They saw a wild lamb caught in a curtain of creepers. Jack raised his knife to stab the pig but it freed itself before he could do it. Jack gave meaningless justifications to cover his inability to stab the wild lamb but the fact was clear to all that he was unaccustomed to such situation. They started for their platform to call a meeting.