Abstract nouns in Lord of the Flies. Antirobinsonade "Lord of the Flies" by W. Golding. Controversy with the enlightenment concept of man
Buy electronicThe child's psyche is a rather complex system in its structure, which hardly lends itself to logical interpretation. Young imagination can sometimes create truly paradoxical pictures, and burning events in childhood can leave an indelible scar on the fragile subconscious, and if we are talking about war, such an impression can have the effect of a bomb exploding. It is probably not for nothing that William Golding begins his work “Lord of the Flies” with war, a terrible nuclear war that literally overwhelmed all living things. It is unlikely that such a contradictory event can evoke emotions other than disgust, anger, despair, revenge, bloodthirstiness... The content of the book is more than filled with all this, and therefore “Lord of the Flies” is not just another tropical adventure, but the story of the gradual decline of man, the story confrontation between humanity and bloodshed. The book was published in 1954, but has anything changed significantly since then?!
"Lord of the Flies" is a kind of result of the classic English heritage about travel and stay on a tropical island. A similar basis has already been encountered in the novel about “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe, and especially in the book “Coral Island” by Robert Ballantyne. It was this story that became the basis for “Lord of the Flies,” but in its reverse version. While the boys Ralph and Jack arrive on Coral Island, like the messengers of Western civilization, to wean the indigenous population from their bloodthirstiness, cannibalism and primitive life, a group of English boys find themselves on the desert island depicted in "Lord of the Flies" and drown in swamp of barbarism and decline of humanity.
The two central characters in Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Jack, are ordinary boys whose names Golding borrowed from Ballantyne, thereby hinting at the similar circumstances in which they found themselves. But Golding goes further, and under the pretext of the outbreak of a nuclear war, he leaves a group of children on a desert island after a plane crash. At this moment, the birth of a new civilization occurs within a group of ordinary children, but the newly formed society is completely devoid of such rules and foundations as morality, honor, mutual understanding and mutual respect. The story unfolds against the backdrop of a struggle between two principles: the image of human madness is personified in the form of Jack Merridew and his paramilitary children's choir; They are opposed by an alliance in the person of the already mentioned Ralph, the universal laughing stock of Piggy and the innocent Simon.
However, initially the reader observes an idealistic scheme of social structure. All the kids share a common desire and desire to be rescued from the island, while this desire is richly seasoned with friendships and a thirst for adventure in the best traditions of pioneer troops (or rather, Boy Scout troops in the Western style). Making rules and laws seems like a bit of fun, which is why a simple seashell receives such important parliamentary status. Using her as a forge, Ralph calls general meetings to make vital decisions. Only the one who is currently holding this horn in his hands has the right to speak.
Another symbol of maintaining a civilized order in society is a bonfire built on a hill. And at the moment when Jack and his fellow hunters allow it to go out, a turning point comes in the coexistence of multidirectional ideologies. Now Jack is only interested in hunting pigs, and he uses the primal instincts of all the other inhabitants of the island (the desire to be well-fed and protected) for his own benefit, thereby “biting off” a good part of the supporters of Ralph’s ideology under his wing. From now on, for the new social group, murder takes on the image of a sacred ritual in which bloodthirstiness, gluttony and madness are integral components. The image of Homo sapiens in the person of Jack loses all its connecting elements, and is replaced by a creature, albeit human-like in form, but absolutely formless, greedy and hungry by nature. Freedom in wildness is the core tenet of the group led by Jack.
While the horn and the fire can be considered symbols of the democracy of Ralph's society, the social neoplasm led by Jack also has its own symbol - the Lord of the Flies. The head of a killed pig impaled on a stick is a vivid example of demonism and the embodiment of evil. The apogee of spiritual impoverishment occurs during a terrible ritual in which the innocent Simon, a symbol of Christ, finds himself embroiled in a devilish race accompanied by cries of “Beat the beast!” Cut your throat! Thus, murderous madness takes on a new, human dimension. Simon is killed in the heat of hatred, the next victim is Piggy - the last stronghold of civilization, after whose death its symbol - the horn of democracy - is destroyed. In the end, human ferocity finds its next victim in Ralph and attacks him with all its might.
Paradoxically, it is precisely at such a moment that salvation comes to the boys in the form of a naval officer. But the fact is that the point of no return has already been passed, a person has lost his face, his base features have been revealed to the world, so salvation for him is only formal, while his spiritual component has long been melting in a hellish cauldron.
Surely, his experience as a school teacher helped William Golding so reliably convey such diverse images of children on paper. In addition, the writer is frankly quite good not only at describing the island, but also at dynamically developing the plot. His skillful use of alliteration deserves special mention. Of course, his work occupies a worthy place among the classics of world literature.
This story truly strikes fear into the reader with its painfully realistic depiction of evil as the downside of human nature. Some will probably say that each work has its place in history, so Lord of the Flies was more relevant in the times when it was actually written. In 1954, the world's consciousness was still digesting the consequences of the horrific crimes committed by the Nazis; The Cold War was just gaining momentum, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were shrouded in radioactive dust. Is this the end of the list of human crimes on a global scale? I doubt. Every year we witness military escapades by the dominant powers, in which hundreds of thousands of citizens unable to defend themselves die. Isn't this a crime against a person?! Looking at the angle at which the modern world is sliding into the abyss of violence, it is hardly worth questioning Golding's pessimism, poured out on the pages of the novel Lord of the Flies.
Review of the book "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, written as part of the Bookshelf #1 competition.
“Maybe this beast is... Maybe... it’s us.”
As you know, what we now call the book “Lord of the Flies” was originally only the second part of the work. In the first version, the events began already on board the plane, and the horrors of a nuclear war were also described, during which the very actions of the dystopian parable that we know so well unfolded. However, publishers did not accept this manuscript for a long time. As a result, William Golding only had to shrug his shoulders and agree to reduce his creation. And although at first the public received “Lord of the Flies” rather coolly, a little later the book gained real success. And for ten years now it has continued to be published, without losing popularity, and this is no less than half a century.
It is important to note that Golding, a British national, participated in World War II, serving in the navy. It was there that he saw how cruelly one person could treat his own kind, which was later reflected in the book itself. The British, being representatives of an empire “on which the sun never sets,” have always been sensitive to such a literary genre as Robinsonade. And for Golding himself, being surrounded on all sides by water is a very close topic, because after all, he served in the navy. However, with all his desire to write according to the canons of Robinsonade, the author manages to go against it, which I will explain below.
I propose now to go directly to the work. So, the author tells us about children, exclusively boys, who find themselves on an island after a plane crash. First, they choose a leader, which Ralph becomes, and then hunters (from among the choir members, which is very important), who, in addition to their main occupation, will have to monitor the fire, lit in order to be noticed by a ship sailing nearby. Then Ralph, along with the leader of the hunters, Jack, and another boy named Simon, go to inspect the area to make sure whether this island is uninhabited, or even an island at all.
After this, a real drama unfolds before us. All attempts by Ralph, striving to restore order and progress with the help of Piggy, only lead to the opposite - complete disorder and chaos. In general, in addition to the nickname of one of the characters in the book, the image of a pig flashes before us constantly. Even the island itself, if you look at it from above, resembles this creature. An animal that is the personification of disgust and anti-civilization. If we remember the founder of Robinsonade Defoe, where the main character, thanks to his ingenuity and intelligence, triumphs over nature, then here we can observe a completely opposite picture. The closer children strive for civility, for example by starting a fire, the more disorder they cause in their society (a fire leads to a fire). This is Golding’s main fear - that humanity is doomed to self-destruction.
If you read the work carefully, you will notice an allusion to the Victorian youthful Robinsonade used in some moments "Coral island", which describes idealized good British boys (by the way, the author took the names Ralph and Jack from there) coping with any adversity that they encounter. Golding built on this work the complete antithesis of the theory of “good British boys,” showing readers what these “little saints” really could be. It should be remembered that this book is filled with allegories, so the guys mean the entire society of the most extensive empire in the world at that time, and even all of humanity. In “Lord of the Flies” we see all the stages of the formation of civilization from its very beginning. William Golding, having experienced the horrors of war himself, wants to say that it is not only the Germans who can be bad and cruel, and in general nationality has nothing to do with it. Even choir boys (and in Catholic countries this is an image of decency and modesty, which, however, Jack shatters) are capable of such atrocities, while the only thing that restrains people from showing their terrible side is social restrictions, laws. For clarity, here is an excerpt:
“Roger picked up a handful of pebbles and started throwing them. But around Henry there was a space about ten yards in diameter, where Roger did not dare to aim. Here, invisible but strict, hovered the prohibition of the former life. The child squatted over the protection of his parents, the school, the police, and the law. Roger was held by the hand by a civilization that did not know about him and was collapsing.”
The symbol of law and order in the book is the shell, which gives the right to speak at the meeting to anyone who holds it. At the same time, like a flag or coat of arms, it is only a completely ordinary object, and only people add the meanings they need to such things. In addition, the shell is also a sign of power, so when it is broken, Jack loudly declares that he himself can become a leader.
Perhaps some readers will have a question: why are there no girls at all on the island? Is Golding really a sexist? As the writer once answered in an interview, he “was a son, became a father, plans to become a grandfather, but he was never a girl,” so it is logical that it is more convenient and correct for him to write about the male gender. But the main reason is still that if the entire civilization is reduced to the size of a group of children, then it makes more sense to choose boys. In addition, William Golding did not add girls to the work in order to avoid the theme of sex in the text.
In addition to everything, the parable also contains a religious theme: the children ended up on the island after a plane crash, that is, they fell from the sky: they are, if you may, “fallen angels.” However, these angels soon turn into real devils. The name “Lord of the Flies” itself is a translation of the name of the ancient pagan god Baal Zubub (Beelzebub), known in the Christian world as the Devil. Finding themselves in the natural world, alien and completely inhospitable for boys, children begin to believe in a quick return to their “lost paradise” and wait for Salvation in the form of adults, although at this very time they are doing things no better. At the moment when the boys dream of help, all that the “adult” world sends them is the corpse of a paratrooper, which scares them even more.
Speaking about the religious side of the work, one cannot fail to mention such a character as Simon, who seems alienated and even blissful. Like any detail in this parable, this is not without reason: it is at a time when the seed of cruelty is ripening in the society of boys that Simon finds his “abode” and moves away from society, becoming closer to nature. It is also a fact that Simon was originally the name given to the Apostle Peter in English. In the book, before becoming a victim of the atrocities of his own comrades, Simon brings them a good message that there is no Beast, and there is nothing to be afraid of. However, in the end he is killed, and we are convinced that the real Beast is the children themselves.
However, not a single religion. William Golding, being a great admirer and connoisseur of ancient Greek art, could not ignore it. He was inspired by tragedy when writing Lord of the Flies Euripides "Bacchae". To make it a little clearer, I will try to briefly retell the plot of this ancient drama, and show how it resonates with the work of Golding himself.
The tragedy of Euripides tells the story of the Theban king Pentheus, who, upon his arrival in the city, is informed that all the women in the city have gone crazy: they left the city, naked, and girded themselves with snakes (the image of a snake, by the way, is also often found in Lord of the Flies - from the ubiquitous vines on the island to the children’s assumptions about the external appearance of the Beast), called themselves a choir of bacchantes (the hunters in Golding’s parable also consisted of choristers and wore togas, which unites them even closer to that era) and began to praise the god Dionysus. The valiant Pentheus, indignant, orders Dionysus to be tied to a stake. However, he is soon freed, once again surprising Pentheus, and invites him to go and spy on the women. The Theban king agrees, and the reader at this moment realizes that this character is not so valiant (like any other person, he has his negative side). The women, noticing Pentheus, kill the Theban king, mistaking him for a lion (the children attacked Simon, also considering him a beast) and return to the city with a joyful face, and Pentheus’s mother carries his head with her. And then they seem to be awakened from sleep - they realize who they killed. In the ancient Greek tragedy, as in Golding's book, everything ends in tears, universal crying. In “Lord of the Flies,” the author uses a literary device known since the time of Euripides, called “deus ex machina” (“Deus ex machina” - Latin), when help for the heroes comes from the outside, and it is not due to any natural causes. Here, the navy sailors become such a lifeline, who, however, when they saw the children, were surprised that these were their “good British boys.”
“Lord of the Flies”, published in 1954, still remains in demand and does not lose relevance. In the middle of the last century, the British considered themselves the most correct, the most educated, bearers of true gentlemanly values. William Golding clearly shows in his work that they themselves could have been in the place of the Germans, and not a trace of their civilization could remain if they had only unleashed the Beast lurking inside everyone. In many English-speaking countries, this work is included in the lists of compulsory school literature. A real mosaic of different meanings, allusions and subcontexts - it can be read from a variety of angles: as the formation and death of civilization, as an allegory of Nazism (the ritual of hunters is connected with this), through a religious prism (an imperfect world-island created by God) and even as a new story ancient Greek tragedy. However, the book has an amazing and rare property: no matter how you read it, it remains exciting and exciting and does not let the reader go until the very last page.
The English writer William Golding wrote 12 novels, but the dystopia “Lord of the Flies”, the author’s literary debut, brought him worldwide fame. Golding took Defoe's archetypal plot as a basis and created an anti-Robinsonade, that is, he showed a postmodern interpretation of the famous myth about a man on a desert island.
As a result of the plane crash, several English schoolchildren of different ages found themselves isolated from the civilized world. Thus, the writer simulated a borderline situation, ensuring the “purity of experience.” Over time, the children (basically) shed the guise of civilization, paint their faces like savages, and kill their comrades without remorse, burning the island to the ground.
Initially, schoolchildren choose a democratic method of government, nominating a leader (Ralph) and writing rules of conduct that are mandatory for everyone. They set up a special area for meetings, and use a horn to convey the word. Children build a simple life by collecting fruit, building huts and exploring the area. However, the question of hunting soon arises, which can only be solved by one person - Jack - the personification of brute force and totalitarian power. He alone is not afraid to kill an animal, so he gathers a group of hunters and goes on hunting trips. While Ralph (the personification of a democratic form of government and a humane leader), Piggy (the bearer of civilization and the personification of a parent), Simon (the image of Christ) and the kids build huts, hunters kill wild pigs for food.
Gradually, Jack takes power into his own hands, offering the “tribe” a wild and fun life instead of the boring wait for salvation that Ralph offers. The boys exchange responsibility and discipline for wild dancing around the fire and a constant thirst for blood. Their new idol becomes a pig's head on a spear - the same lord of the flies. With this sacrifice they appease the beast (the dead parachutist, who seemed like a monster to them in the dark). During a nightly feast around the fire, they mistake Simon for an animal and kill him. After the first unconscious murder, the tribe begins to hunt for those who disagree with the new regime. The second victim is Piggy, who is killed quite deliberately. Afterwards, the decision was made to hunt Ralph like a wild animal. The boy escapes into the forest, then Jack and company set fire to the forest to lure him out. At the moment when Ralph runs out into the open, a rescue team approaches the shore. When schoolchildren are jokingly asked if there are victims, they answer: “Only two” (if you count the boy who disappeared at the very beginning, then three). That is, for them the value of human life has fallen so much that two killed is “just.” They have become accustomed to blood and are no longer afraid of it. It is obvious that the anthropopessimism characteristic of postmodern literature also manifested itself in Golding.
The philosophical “filling” of postmodernism in the novel is manifested as follows: Finding themselves on the island, the heroes experience an existential epiphany, releasing their existence. In other words, they show their real essence, which is restrained by civilization. They understand that they no longer have to pretend and conform to generally accepted norms. Only in most of them the dark principle takes over, which just needs to be restrained so that it does not destroy the world to the ground.
Controversy with the enlightenment concept of man
If Defoe's faith in God and hard work provided the hero with a calm and even comfortable life on the island, then Golding's children were saved neither by the seemingly innocence at first glance nor by the impeccable manners instilled in English private schools. If the teaching of Tabula rasa (the theory of the Enlightenment) stated that a person is born pure, like a white sheet, and his personality depends only on the degree of enlightenment, then Golding's point of view refutes this idea. He depicts schoolchildren who are not spoiled by life and at the same time well-mannered and educated. They have not yet become cynical and vicious adults who send signs in the form of dead paratroopers. However, as time passes on the island, it becomes clear that people are not born pure. Each of them initially contained a whole world of conflicting passions; in each of them there was a savage and a civilized person. In some cases one won, in others the other. But neither victory nor defeat depended on upbringing alone.
What Golding portrayed is more realistic. The militant 20th century showed that history does not teach a person (the Second World War began twenty years after the First), education does not paint (remember the artist Hitler), and education does not save. From childhood he is able to learn to kill if he has an innate tendency to do so. When he finds himself on the island, his essence is unlikely to change for the better.
The meaning of the allegory in the novel “Lord of the Flies”
The novel was intended as an ironic "commentary" on R. M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island. At first, critics perceived it that way and showed little interest. But later, readers decoded “Lord of the Flies”: it turned out that it was an allegory of original sin with discussions about the deepest human essence.
Ralph- the embodiment of the rational human principle. It symbolizes a democratic leader - responsible and merciful.
Jack- the embodiment of wild negative energy, the dark side of man. He is a tough and ambitious leader, but he is attracted only by absolute power, which is based on enmity. He was immediately seized by the corrupting influence of the Lord of the Flies.
Lord of the Flies- a symbol of the devil, which in world culture has been repeatedly associated with various creatures. For example, Mythistophiles from Goethe's Faust presents himself as the lord of the flies.
Simon- image of Christ. He tried to convey the truth to the guys, but no one understood him. It is to him that the Lord of the Flies reveals his true face and explains that the monsters are themselves. When he brought the news to people that the beast was just a dead paratrooper, he was killed, and this murder was ritual. Jack explains to the tribe that this is a beast that came down from the mountain, in one of its guises. That is, the boy sacrificed himself, but the world never understood him. It is also interesting that Simon was not at enmity with anyone and never blamed anyone. He loved everyone, was silent and tried to discover the secret of the beast alone. In the end, he realized why they couldn’t do anything - it was people themselves who cultivated monsters within themselves.
Roger- a boy whose phenomenal cruelty appeared only in the finale. He purposefully kills Piggy during the day in front of everyone. The concept of his dangerous nature gives him a name - the skull on the pirate flag is called the “Jolly Roger”. In fact, it turned out that he was even more cruel than Jack.
Piggy– the bearer of civilization and the source of parental care. He advocates for reasonable organization of life and comfortable conditions. He constantly calls on the authority of distant adults for help. It symbolizes a certain scientific, theoretical perception of the world.
Twins- traitors. They can be compared to the apostles who abandoned Christ.
Dead skydiver– as the author himself wrote, this is the very sign from the adult world that Ralph was waiting for. This is the author’s mockery of those people from whom the children expected help. Obviously, the author wanted to say that growing up does not eradicate, but aggravates human vices. The children's war on the island will eventually develop into a world war, a piece of which ended up on the island in the form of a dead man.
Fortress- a symbol of belligerence. The very idea of fortifications is to defend against the enemy that Jack invented in order to unite and intimidate the tribe.
Outdoor meeting area- a symbol of peace and openness. They have no one to defend or hide from; everyone on the site can be clearly seen and heard.
Horn- a symbol of democratic power and equality of all those present. Everyone is given the right to vote.
Fire- a symbol of the need for salvation, something that illuminates children and does not allow the twilight to confuse them. Light dispels darkness and guarantees a chance of salvation. Not keeping the fire going means abandoning civilization forever and becoming savages.
Twilight- it was in the darkness that Simon was killed, in the darkness the boys went mad and became a wild tribe.
Masks– painted faces relieved their owners of all responsibility. They were no longer themselves, instead savages appeared who were not obliged to obey any norms. The masks freed the heroes' hands, and they began to kill without fear or embarrassment.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!The famous English writer and Nobel laureate William Golding (1911–1993) died 25 years ago. In our country, he is known primarily for his novel about children “Lord of the Flies” (published in England in 1954, and it was translated into Russian and published in the magazine “Around the World” back in 1969). The novel has traditionally been interpreted by us as an illustration of how cruel children can be when left to their own devices. Like, children are not such innocent, pure creatures as sentimental adults think. But it seems to me that the novel also has much deeper layers of meaning, including religious ones.
For those who haven’t read it, I’ll retell the plot on my fingers. The Third World War happened, and they are trying to evacuate a group of English children from some colony to England by plane. The plane was shot down by enemies, the pilot managed to land it on an uninhabited tropical island before his death, the children (boys aged 6 to 12 years) remained alive - and they have a peculiar society, two leaders stand out among them. Ralph believes that they need to remain civilized and wait to be saved, Jack is sure that they need to give up civilization, as well as dreams of salvation, live here and now, become savages. Gradually, most of the children join Jack, and Ralph turns out to be a persecuted dissident. The newly-minted savages are becoming wild and committing murders. In the finale, when Ralph is about to die at their hands, the children are nevertheless rescued by English sailors from a passing ship.
This is a plot, but the plot in “Lord of the Flies” is not an end in itself, it is only a means of saying something truly important. It is believed that Golding himself wrote his novel to argue with the classic of English literature Robert Ballantyne, who wrote the novel “Coral Island” in 1858, where the plot outline is the same - English boys find themselves on a desert island - but remain gentlemen, carrying the white burden with honor and firmly adhere to Victorian morals. Golding wanted to show how naive such hopes are. This is a literary dispute.
Essentially, the debate is about this: what is human nature? What is true in it and what is superficial? Is he naturally good or evil?
Golding is much more sober and pessimistic here than Ballantyne.
And I, re-reading the novel, thought that it is not only a matter of human nature, not only the degree of its damage by sin (if we consider all the same in Christian terminology). The point is also that a person does not exist on his own, outside of society and, most importantly, the culture that cements this society. But culture is a rather fragile thing; its maintenance requires, so to speak, infrastructure. Including material ones. We need newspapers and closets, we need sidewalks and steam locomotives, laboratories and laundries... we can’t list everything. If all this is taken away, if a person is returned to the wild (even if it is completely safe and capable of feeding him, as shown in Golding’s novel), then pretty soon the person will go wild. Why? Because only a thin layer of culture separates it from savagery, and outside its infrastructure it becomes thinner and loses strength. It's like a battery that has nothing to power it, it will work for a while and will be completely discharged. Which is what happens to most of the characters in Lord of the Flies.
Stills from the 1963 film adaptation
And here the question arises: what could preserve culture if its material infrastructure disappears? My answer is religious faith. Here, by the way, a parallel with . Robinson did not go wild, did not go crazy on a desert island only because he unshakably believed in God and communicated with Him daily in prayer. Now there is no need to clarify his confessional affiliation from an Orthodox position and expose the heretical errors of the Presbyterians. The fact is that he actively believed - and this allowed him to remain human. Let me remind you that Robinson’s story is not pure fiction, he had a real prototype, the English sailor Alexander Selkirk, who, having found himself on a desert island, seriously turned to God.
But if we return to “Lord of the Flies”, we will not see the slightest trace of faith in any of the children. They never remembered that they were Christians (a special piquancy is that some of these children are church choir members). They never tried to pray, they never tried to understand what happened to them from the point of view of the Gospel.
And, of course, the principle “a holy place is never empty” comes into play here. Children who have forgotten about Christ soon plunge into the quagmire of paganism, begin to believe in forest spirits, and invent rituals to appease or drive them away. In fact, the very title of the novel, “Lord of the Flies,” is only a literal translation of the Hebrew “Beelzebub.” The idea is completely obvious: a person indifferent to Christianity, finding himself in an extreme situation, becomes an easy prey for the devil. When there is no longer a protective layer of culture, when the former moral prohibitions begin to seem meaningless and useless, then the dark, bestial nature of human nature already dominates. The same Beast awakens in a person, which in the conditions of civilization is imprisoned in a cage of culture.
Let me emphasize: this is my interpretation. I don't know what Golding's religious views were or whether he thought of his novel as a Christian allegory. But the fact that his book can be read this way, and that such a reading does not contradict the text, is obvious to me.
And, of course, this is not about children at all. Or rather, not only and not so much about children. The beast lives in everyone, whether he is seven or seventy-seven. And it’s up to everyone to decide how to keep him in check: through secular culture or through faith.
Better, of course, both.
Still from the film “Lord of the Flies” (1963)
Duration of validity is not determined. As a result of a nuclear explosion that occurred somewhere, a group of teenagers who were being evacuated find themselves on a desert island. The first to meet on the seashore are Ralph and a fat boy with glasses nicknamed Piggy. Having found a large shell at the bottom of the sea, they use it as a horn and call all the guys together. Boys from three to fourteen years old come running; The last to arrive are the church choir singers, led by Jack Meridew. Ralph suggests choosing “the main one.” Besides him, Jack claims leadership, but the vote ends in favor of Ralph, who invites Jack to lead the choir members, making them hunters.
A small detachment of Ralph, Jack and Simon, a frail, fainting choir member, goes on a reconnaissance mission to determine whether they have actually reached the island. Piggy, despite his requests, is not taken with him.
Climbing up the mountain, the boys experience a feeling of unity and delight. On the way back, they notice a piglet entangled in the vines. Jack is already raising the knife, but something stops him: he is not yet ready to kill. While he hesitates, the pig manages to escape, and the boy feels ashamed of his indecisiveness, vowing to himself to strike the killing blow next time.
The boys return to camp. Ralph calls a meeting and explains that now they will have to decide everything themselves. He proposes to set rules, in particular, not to speak to everyone at once, but to let the one holding the horn, which is what they call the sea shell, speak. The children are not yet afraid that they may not be rescued soon, and they are looking forward to a fun life on the island.
Suddenly the kids push forward a frail boy of about six years old with a birthmark covering half his face. It turns out that he saw an animal at night - a snake, which in the morning turned into a liana. The children suggest that it was a dream, a nightmare, but the boy firmly stands his ground. Jack promises to search the island and see if there are snakes here; Ralph says with annoyance that there is no animal.
Ralph convinces the guys that, of course, they will be saved, but to do this they need to build a large fire on the top of the mountain and maintain it so that they can be seen from the ship.
Together, they build a fire and set it on fire with the help of Piggy's glasses. Jack and his hunters take charge of maintaining the fire.
It soon becomes clear that no one wants to work seriously: only Simon and Ralph continue to build huts; The hunters, carried away by the hunt, completely forgot about the fire. Due to the fact that the fire went out, the guys were not noticed from a passing ship. This becomes the reason for the first serious quarrel between Ralph and Jack. Jack, who just at that moment killed the first pig, is offended that his feat was not appreciated, although he recognizes the justice of Ralph’s reproaches. Out of impotent anger, he breaks Piggy's glasses and teases him. Ralph barely manages to restore order and assert his dominance.
To maintain order, Ralph calls another meeting, now understanding how important it is to be able to correctly and consistently express his thoughts. He again reminds of the need to comply with the rules they themselves have established. But the main thing for Ralph is to get rid of the fear that has crept into the souls of the kids. Jack, who took the floor, unexpectedly utters the forbidden word “beast.” And in vain Piggy convinces everyone that there is no beast, no fear, “unless you scare each other” - the kids don’t want to believe it. Little Percival Weems Madison adds further confusion by claiming that "a beast comes out of the sea." And only Simon reveals the truth. “Maybe it’s us ourselves...” he says.
At this meeting, Jack, feeling powerful, refuses to obey the rules and promises to hunt down the beast. The boys are divided into two camps - those who represent reason, law and order (Piggy, Ralph, Simon), and those who represent the blind force of destruction (Jack, Roger and the other hunters).
That same night, the twins Eric and Sam, who were on duty on the mountain near the fire, come running to the camp with the news that they saw the beast. The boys search the island all day, and only in the evening Ralph, Jack and Roger go to the mountain. There, in the uncertain light of the moon, they mistake the corpse of a parachutist from a downed plane hanging on the slings for an animal and rush to run in fear.
At the new meeting, Jack openly reproaches Ralph for his cowardice, offering himself as leader. Having received no support, he goes into the forest.
Gradually, Piggy and Ralph begin to notice that fewer and fewer children remain in the camp, and they realize that they have gone to Jack.
The dreamer Simon, who has chosen a clearing in the forest where he can be alone, witnesses a pig hunt. As a sacrifice to the “beast”, hunters impale a pig’s head on a stake - this is the Lord of the Flies: after all, the head is completely covered with flies. Once he sees it, Simon can no longer take his eyes off “those ancient, inevitably recognizing eyes,” for the devil himself is looking at him. “You knew... that I am a part of you. An inseparable part,” says the head, as if hinting that it is the embodied evil that generates fear.
A little later, hunters led by Jack raid the camp to get fire. Their faces are smeared with clay: under the guise it is easier to commit atrocities. Having captured the fire, Jack invites everyone to join his squad, tempting them with hunting freedom and food.
Ralph and Piggy are terribly hungry, and they and the rest of the guys go to Jack. Jack once again calls on everyone to join his army. He is confronted by Ralph, who reminds him that he was elected in the main democratic way. But with his reminder of civilization, Jack contrasts the primitive dance, accompanied by the call: “Beat the beast! Cut your throat! Suddenly, Simon appears on the site, who was on the mountain and was convinced with his own eyes that there was no animal there. He tries to talk about his discovery, but in the darkness he himself is mistaken for an animal and killed in a wild ritual dance.
Jack's "tribe" is located in a "castle", on a fortress-like rock, where, with the help of a simple lever, stones can be thrown onto the enemy. Ralph, meanwhile, is trying with all his might to keep the fire going, their only hope for salvation, but Jack, who sneaked into the camp one night, steals Piggy’s glasses, with which the guys started the fire.
Ralph, Piggy and the twins go to Jack in hopes of returning the glasses, but Jack greets them with hostility. In vain Piggy tries to convince them that “the law and that they save us” is better than “hunting and destroying everything.” In the ensuing fight, the twins are captured. Ralph is seriously wounded, and Piggy is killed by a stone thrown from the fortress... The horn, the last stronghold of democracy, is broken. The instinct to kill triumphs, and now Jack is ready to be replaced as leader by Roger, personifying stupid, bestial cruelty.
Ralph manages to escape. He understands “that the painted savages will stop at nothing.” Seeing that Eric and Sam have become sentries, Ralph tries to lure them to his side, but they are too scared. They only inform him that a hunt is being prepared for him. Then he asks them to take the “hunters” away from his hiding place: he wants to hide not far from the castle.
However, fear turns out to be stronger than the concepts of honor, and the twins betray it to Jack. They smoke Ralph out of the forest, not allowing him to hide... Like a hunted animal, Ralph rushes around the island and suddenly, jumping out onto the shore, he bumps into a naval officer. “They could have looked more decent,” he reproaches the guys. The news of the death of two boys strikes him. And imagining how it all began, he says: “Everything looked wonderful then. Just "Coral Island".
Retold
