An In-Depth Analysis of “Lord of the Flies” Chapter 1

PDF download Download Article
Everything you need to know about what happened in the first chapter
PDF download Download Article

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies has earned the top spot on many high school reading lists. The classic tale revolves around a group of English schoolboys whose airplane crash lands on a deserted island, leaving them to fend for themselves. But how does it all begin? What ideas are introduced during Chapter 1 and how are they threaded through the rest of the novel? Keep reading for a comprehensive analysis of Chapter 1 of this acclaimed book, from characters to tropes to important, recurring themes.

‘‘Lord of the Flies’’ Chapter 1 Overview

A plane full of English schoolboys crash-lands on an island, leaving them without adult supervision. The 4 major characters are Ralph, Piggy, Jack, and Simon. Piggy finds a conch shell that the boys use to establish order. Ralph is voted chief, trekking into the jungle with Jack and Simon to find the island is uninhabited.

Section 1 of 8:

‘‘Lord of the Flies’’ Chapter 1 Summary

PDF download Download Article
  1. Ralph, who is about 12 years old and described as “fair-haired,” is climbing down some rocks toward a lagoon when he encounters another boy of similar age named Piggy. Piggy is described as “chubby” and wearing thick glasses. Piggy asks Ralph’s name but Ralph does not ask Piggy’s name. Their conversation reveals that they’re in the midst of war back home. [1]
    • After an atomic bomb went off, a group of schoolboys including Ralph and Piggy was being flown to safety when their plane was shot down. It crash-landed on this tropical island with no sign of adult survivors.
    • Supporting quote: “The fat boy waited to be asked his name in turn but this proffer of acquaintance was not made; the fair boy called Ralph smiled vaguely, stood up, and began to make his way once more toward the lagoon.” (Page 9)
  2. Ralph and Piggy go to the beach and wonder about the remaining survivors, hoping the pilot is still alive. Piggy stumbles upon a cream-colored conch shell, which he realizes he can use to make a sound that will help let the other potential survivors know to gather on the beach. Piggy’s idea is a success and other boys begin staggering onto the beach, ranging in age from 6-12.
    • Among them is a boy’s choir, dressed in black gowns and seemingly led by an older boy named Jack, who commands them to stand at attention. They make fun of Piggy’s name and appearance.
    • Supporting quote: “In color the shell was deep cream [..] with fading pink. Between the point, worn away into a little hole, and the pink lips of the mouth, lay eighteen inches of shell with a slight spiral twist and covered with a delicate, embossed pattern.” (Page 17)
    Advertisement
  3. Deciding to try to maintain some semblance of structure and civility, the surviving boys elect a leader. Ralph receives most of the votes, although all the choir boys vote for Jack. Ralph assumes the leadership role but does ask the choirboys to serve as the hunters, with Jack as their leader. Ralph asks Jack and one of his choirboys, Simon, to help him explore the island, denying Piggy’s requests to come along.
    • Supporting quote: “Jack started to protest but the clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself. None of the boys could have found good reason for this; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy while the most obvious leader was Jack.” (Page 25)
  4. The three boys begin trekking through the jungle, bonding over the prospect of being on undiscovered land without adult supervision. When they reach the end of the dense jungle, they can see rocks and mountains, but no signs of civilization. They climb up one of the steep hills and note that the view is beautiful, with Ralph expressing excitement at having the island to themselves.
    • Supporting quote: “‘There's no village smoke, and no boats,’ said Ralph wisely. ‘We'll make sure later; but I think it's uninhabited.’ ‘We'll get food,’ cried Jack. ‘Hunt. Catch things...until they fetch us.’” (Page 34)
  5. As Ralph, Jack, and Simon are walking back to the beach, they encounter a wild pig tangled up in dense jungle vines. Because Jack has just been named lead hunter by Ralph, he pulls out a knife and attempts to kill it, but is ultimately unable to follow through.
    • The pig manages to free itself and flees. Jack promises not to hesitate the next time he has a similar opportunity.
    • The boys continue walking until they reach the beach, where the rest of the boys are waiting for their direction.
    • Supporting quote: “The three boys rushed forward and Jack drew his knife again with a flourish. He raised his arm in the air. There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk […] Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth. They were left looking at each other and the place of terror.” (Page 36)
    6. Advertisement
Section 2 of 8:

"Lord of the Flies" Characters

PDF download Download Article
  1. Ralph is the main character of the novel, evident as early as Chapter 1. He’s described as “fair-haired” and “attractive,” and the other boys choose him to be their leader. At 12 years old, he’s one of the older boys and is often a symbol of order and morality. Ralph is initially excited about the prospect of being alone on an island, although the potential pitfalls of being in charge soon begin to dawn on him. [2]
    • Supporting quote: “He was old enough, twelve years and a few months, to have lost the prominent tummy of childhood and not yet old enough for adolescence to have made him awkward […] there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil.” (Page 10)
  2. Similar in age to Ralph, Piggy acts as a foil to Ralph, meaning he contrasts him in terms of appearance and likability. Piggy has asthma, wears thick-rimmed glasses, is “chubby” and not athletic, causing the other boys to bully him. Piggy never gets a chance to reveal his real name, and his attempts at maintaining social order are always met with ridicule from the other boys. Piggy is intelligent and uses the conch to establish order in Chapter 1. [3]
    • Supporting quote: “He was shorter than the fair boy and very fat. He came forward, searched out safe lodgments for his feet, and then looked up through thick spectacles” (Page 7).
  3. Described as tall and lanky, Jack is appointed head hunter at the beginning of the novel. Ironically, Jack embodies immorality and bloodlust despite his position as leader of the choirboys, which would imply virtue and goodwill. Close in age to both Ralph and Piggy, Jack carries a knife and is allegedly ready to wield it, although he fails to do so when the opportunity arises. However, his increasing thirst for violence, power, and cruelty grows as the story progresses. [4]
    • Supporting quote: “Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness.” (Page 22)
  4. Simon is small and frail, fainting at the beginning of the novel, which is perceived as a weakness by Jack. Simon plays a less important role in Chapter 1, but his trek into the jungle with the other boys demonstrates signs of bravery. Simon is a stark contrast to Jack, as he is good-hearted, sensitive, and perceptive. [5]
    • Supporting quote: “Now that the pallor of his faint was over, he was a skinny, vivid little boy, with a glance coming up from under a hut of straight hair that hung down, black and coarse.” (Page 27)
    5. Advertisement
Section 3 of 8:

"Lord of the Flies" Themes

PDF download Download Article
  1. This prevalent theme is clear from the opening chapter, as the boys must immediately face their own sense of morality. After realizing that they’re all alone on the island without the rules of government and civilization, they struggle to establish order amongst themselves.
    • They elect a leader, delegate tasks, and designate a group to go out and explore the land.
    • However, there is already evidence of moral corruption, such as how vigorously they bully Piggy as well as Jack’s headstrong, vicious nature. [6]
    • Supporting quote: “He lifted the shell on his knees and looked round the sun-slashed faces. ‘There aren't any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves.’” (Page 39)
  2. Like many other tales of survival, Golding’s Lord of the Flies underscores the conflict between man and nature. After their plane crash lands on this tropical island, the boys must fend for themselves, hunting for food and building shelter so that they may weather the elements until they’re presumably rescued. Jack is tested early on when the boys encounter the wild pig and he is unable to kill it. [7] ​​
    • Supporting quote: “He jumped down from the terrace. The sand was thick over his black shoes and the heat hit him. He became conscious of the weight of clothes, kicked his shoes off fiercely and ripped off each stocking with its elastic garter in a single movement.”
  3. In Chapter 1, we are introduced to 2 opposing figures: Ralph and Jack. Ralph represents order and civility, while Jack represents greed and chaos. Ralph is voted leader, which enrages Jack, hinting at his explosive temper and sinister nature. As the novel progresses, the boys begin giving in to their animal instincts, suggesting that evil exists in all of them, no matter how hard they try to fight it.
    • Supporting quote: “‘Shut up,’ said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.’ ‘A chief! A chief!’ ‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance.” (Page 24)
  4. The boys are all prepubescent, in between boyhood and manhood, and still capable of being molded. While growing up in England, they were shaped by laws and social structures, but on the island, they have no one to answer to but themselves. The new laws they must live by are set forth by the island and their quest for survival, resulting in a loss of innocence for many characters. [8]
    • Jack may be the first to experience a loss of innocence, as evinced by his brush with the wild pig and his vow to kill the next time the opportunity is presented to him.
    • Supporting quote: “[Jack] snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk. Next time there would be no mercy. He looked round fiercely, daring them to contradict.” (Page 37)
    5. Advertisement
Section 4 of 8:

"Lord of the Flies" Symbolism

PDF download Download Article
  1. The conch stands for order. Found by Piggy at the beginning of Chapter 1, the conch is used as a kind of horn to call the other surviving boys to the beach. The conch becomes a symbol of order and democracy, and offers a tether to civilization for the boys, as they use it literally to signal when it’s someone’s turn to speak. As their behavior becomes more savage, the conch loses power.
    • Supporting quote: “Most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart.” (Page 25)
  2. Piggy’s glasses symbolize rational thought. Piggy is considered the voice of reason among the boys and his thick-rimmed glasses help reinforce that idea. Piggy is the one who finds the conch and thinks to use it to summon the rest of the boys, highlighting his quick thinking. However, Piggy is bullied for being “smart” and leading with logic instead of animal instinct. [9]
    • Supporting quote: “He took off his glasses and held them out to Ralph, blinking and smiling, and then started to wipe them against his grubby wind-breaker. An expression of pain and inward concentration altered the pale contours of his face.” (Page 9)
      • Although it’s not discussed in Chapter 1, Piggy’s glasses also have the potential to help the boys make a fire, which would be essential to their survival.
  3. The wild piglet represents the potential for savagery. The wild pig that Ralph, Jack, and Simon encounter on their walk back to the beach represents the theme of savagery that blossoms later in the novel. The piglet is tangled in vines, rendering it an easy target. However, when Jack pulls out his knife and attempts to kill it, he ultimately can’t bring himself to do it but vows to never hesitate again. This represents the inevitably of the boys’ turn toward violence.
    • Supporting quote: “They knew very well why [Jack] hadn't [killed the pig]: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood.” (Page 36)
    4. Advertisement
Section 5 of 8:

"Lord of the Flies" Literary Tropes

PDF download Download Article
  1. 1
    Synecdoche The island is a microcosm, or representation, of civilization. We learn in Chapter 1 that the boys were being transported to safety because there was an atomic war waging in the outside world. Although crash-landing on the island may have offered them a brief respite from the war, a new one began brewing among themselves. [10]
    • The corruption that the boys experience is thought to mirror the atrocities being committed in the outside world, depicting the island as a microcosm, or example, of civilization.
    • A microcosm is an example of a popular literary trope called synecdoche, in which a smaller part of something symbolizes the larger whole. [11]
    • Synecdoches are often used in literature to represent big themes without having to directly name them.
  2. 2
    Allegory An allegory is a story that uses symbols to convey deeper meanings, often with political or moral undertones. The boys on the island represent the way humans treat each other in the outside world, even within the confines of civilization, and demonstrate how greed and power can destroy one’s humanity and morality. [12]
    • The conch is a fleeting symbol of democracy, highlighting the boys’ attempts to maintain order. They’re ultimately unable to, and their savage groupthink leaves several victims in its wake.
  3. 3
    Metaphor and simile Golding implements the use of metaphor and simile all throughout the book and certainly in Chapter 1. One of the most prominent uses of this literary device is how the boys refer to the crater left by the airplane as a “scar.” Page 29 reads, “Beyond falls and cliffs there was a gash visible in the trees; there were the splintered trunks and then the drag, leaving only a fringe of palm between the scar and the sea.” [13]
    • A metaphor is a comparison between two things without using the words “like” or “as.” A simile is a comparison between two things that does use “like” or “as.”
    4. Advertisement
Section 6 of 8:

Lord of the Flies Context

PDF download Download Article
  1. reflected the political turmoil of the time. Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was William Golding’s first novel. Golding experienced the atrocities of war firsthand when he served as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during World War I. Shortly after World War I ended, the Cold War began, threatening the use of nuclear weapons and the end of humanity as they knew it. [14]
    • These circumstances largely inspired Lord of the Flies , along with the 1857 children’s adventure novel, The Coral Island .
    • The title, Lord of the Flies , derives from a synonym of Beelzebub, a biblical demon associated with envy and gluttony.
Section 7 of 8:

Reading Comprehension Questions & Answers

PDF download Download Article
  1. 1
    Where did these boys come from, and why were they together before coming to the island? Based on Piggy’s references to an atom bomb, these boys were schoolboys being evacuated from England during wartime.

  2. 2
    Why does Ralph seem unaffected by the severity of potentially being stranded on an island? Initially, Ralph isn’t even sure he’s on an island. He believes that his father in the Navy will somehow be told where he is and rescue him despite Piggy’s reminder about an atom bomb having killed many people.
    • Furthermore, he’s excited by the prospect of spending a period of time with “no grownups,” free of adult supervision.
  3. 3
    What contributes to the boys becoming united after being scattered throughout the jungle? Upon hearing the loud sound of the conch that Piggy was able to guide Ralph in using, they are all drawn to the lagoon. They also briefly become a cohesive unit when they’re all laughing at Ralph’s revelation of Piggy’s old nickname.
    • Supporting quote: “A storm of laughter arose and even the tiniest child joined in. For the moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy outside.” (Page 24)

    4. Advertisement
Section 8 of 8:

Questions to Prep for Class Discussion

PDF download Download Article
  1. To prepare for a class discussion, assignment, or assessment, consider how you'd answer these questions about Lord of the Flies .
    • What is the significance of the difference between what Jack and Piggy would like to be named and what they end up being called? What does this imply about their characters? 
    • Ralph is described as looking like he might grow up to be a boxer, except that “there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil.” Do you think there’s “no devil” in the way he behaves in this first chapter? Why or why not? 

    • Golding repeatedly refers to the “scar” caused by the plane wreck in an otherwise idyllic landscape. What does this suggest about the arrival of humans on this island?
    • If you were stuck on an island, what would your priorities be?


Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Video

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

      You Might Also Like

      How to
      Type the Euro Symbol
      How to
      Say "Thank You" in Vietnamese: Pronunciation, Cultural Tips, & More
      How to
      Spot an Intj Female
      How to
      Read Your Chinese Zodiac Birth Chart
      3 Easy Ways to Request High School Transcripts
      The Minor Goddesses of Greek Mythology
      Why ChatGPT Stops Suddenly: Response Limits, Glitches, & Fixes
      What Does "Including But Not Limited To" Mean?
      Signs She Is Hiding Something (And How to Confront Her about It)
      How to
      Drop Out of High School
      How to
      Determine When Limits Do Not Exist
      What Do the Eyes of a Psychopath Really Look Like?
      What IQ Do You Need to Be in Mensa?
      The Best Ways to Respond to an Emotional Text
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://www.pipersparaphrases.com/episodes/lord-of-the-flies-chapters-1-4
      2. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgfcxsg/revision/2
      3. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgfcxsg/revision/4
      4. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgfcxsg/revision/3
      5. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgfcxsg/revision/5
      6. ↑ https://schoolworkhelper.net/lord-of-the-flies-chapter-1-characters-and-themes-analysis/
      7. ↑ https://www.coursesidekick.com/communications/2867670
      8. ↑ https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/lord-flies-themes
      9. ↑ https://william-golding.co.uk/resources/piggys-glasses
      1. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microcosm
      2. ↑ https://literaryterms.net/synecdoche/
      3. ↑ https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-allegory
      4. ↑ https://www.ipl.org/essay/Scar-In-Lord-Of-The-Flies-Quote-FCFJ8L7UZT
      5. ↑ https://www.salempress.com/Media/SalemPress/samples/ci_lord_of_the_flies_pgs.pdf

      About This Article

      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 162 times.

      Did this article help you?

      Advertisement