Golding. William - Lord of the Flies

Contents

About the Author page

Short summary

Chapter 1 The Sound of the Shell

2 Fire on the Mountain

3 Huts on the Beach

4 Painted Faces and Long Hair

5 Beast from Water

6 Beast from Air

7 Shadows and Tall Trees

8 Gift for the Darkness

9 A View to a Death

10 The Shell and the Glasses

11 Castle Rock

12 Cry of the Hunters

Golding, Sir William Gerald (1911-1993), englischer Romanschriftsteller

Golding stammte wurde am 19. September in St. Colomb Minor in Cornwall geboren und war nach seinem Anglistikstudium in Oxford eine Zeit lang als Bühnenautor, Schauspieler und später als Lehrer tätig. Im 2. Weltkrieg diente er als Marineoffizier und schlug nach Kriegsende seine schriftstellerische Laufbahn ein.

Bereits sein erster Roman "Lord of the Flies" (1954, Herr der Fliegen), war ein außergewöhnlicher Publikumserfolg. Golding thematisierte dort die destruktive Natur des Menschen am Beispiel einer Gruppe englischer Schüler, die als Überlebende eines Flugzeugabsturzes auf einer Insel eine neue Zivilisation aufbauen. Dieses Ereignis endet in Chaos und bestialischer Grausamkeit und bestätigt aus Goldings Sicht die Dominanz des Bösen (,,Herr der Fliegen" ist ein traditioneller Beiname des Teufels). William Golding schreibt: "The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of human nature. ...The whole book is symbolic in nature except the rescue in the end where adult life appears, dignified and capable, but in reality enmeshed in the same evil as the symbolic life of the children on the island."

Im Jahre 1983 wurde Golding mit dem Nobelpreis für Literatur ausgezeichnet, wurde 1988 in England geadelt und verstarb dort fünf Jahre später.

Lord of the Flies

Summary

A plane, carrying a group of young boys between six and twelve years old, is shot down in a war and crashes on an uninhabited tropical island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Ralph, a strong boy and son of a Navy officer, is at first delighted in the freedom of the island and the fact, that there are no grown ups. Then he meets Piggy, a short fat, asthmatic boy, who is nearly blind without his glasses. Piggy is more realististic and intelligent and gives advice to Ralph, to find the other boys and organize a kind of social life. They start to explore the Island and search for the other boys. In a lagoon, they find a conch shell and blow it. lt makes a deep, loud sound and one boy after the other appear out of the jungle. At last, a group in choirboysuniform marches up, led by a boy called Jack. The decide to choose a leader for their mutual activities. Ralph is chosen their chief but Jack remains commander of his choir, the so- called "hunters".

Ralph ordres to make a signal fire on the mountain top in order to be seen and rescued by someone. They use Piggy's glasses to light the fire and Jack with his hunters should look for the fire not to go out.

In their first meeting they also decide to build some huts to shelter from wind, rain and the "Beast". In the beginning, everybody is binding to their social rules and work together in building huts, keeping the fire alive and looking for something to eat. But, after a while, nobody is interested in the fire any more and all the boys just do whatever they want to. One day, a ship passes the island, but there is no fire on the mountain. Ralph is very angry, and asks, why Jack and his crew didn`t look for the fire. But the hunters answer him that they are only interested in hunting and killing pigs. They think survival is a game to be played and that there's no need to keep a fire. Weeks later, a little boy starts speaking about a "Beast" which he has seen lurking on the beach at night. First, the older boys doubt the existence of the beast, but they are all afraid of it. The hunters promise to find and kill the Beast. They begin to dislike their social rules "Bullock to the rules!" and start to mistreat the other boys.They also separate themselves from the rest of the group and build up their own fort up in the mountains. The hunters also put on masks in order to hide their faces and act however they like, not seen behind the mask. One day, a boy has a sudden thought about the Beast "maybe there is a beast... what I mean is... maybe it's only us!"

After, that boy has an inspiration in which he is talking to the "Lord of the Flies". He wants to report to all the other boys but he is mixed up with the Beast in the dark and Jack's crew stabs his to death. Now, most of Ralph's remaining crew members join the hunters just to be save from their brutal activities. Only Piggy stays with the ex- leader. In a nightly hold- up, Jack's gang steals Piggy's glasses to light their fire with.

Ralph and his new friend decide to go to the hunters' newly built stone- castle and ask politely for their specs. But Jack does not want to give way and attacks the two. Superfluously, Piggy is killed in this assault and Ralph is now on his own an hides in the jungle. He is searched for systematically and a fire is made to smaller Ralph's possible hiding places. It would be his death to be found, so he hides under a mat of creepers but his persuers still find him. In the very last moment, Ralph is able to run away and as he reaches the beach, he falls over the feet of a Navy officer whose ship ankered to look for survivors. He thinks, that living on the island meant "fun and games" for the kids.. Ironically, the Navy couldn't see the island earlier because of the great fire..

WILLIAM GOLDING: LORD OF THE FLIES

Chapter 1 The Sound of the Shell

The opening chapter begins with two boys, Ralph and "Piggy", making their way through the deep and dark jungle. We learn from their dialogues, that they had been travelling in an airplane together with several other British school children. The plane had presumably been shot down and crashed on an island somewhere in the pacific ocean. It is hinted that the rest of the world is at war and that most of it has been destroyed during nuclear attacks. That possibly explains that the kids were being evacuated by their parents. Ralph and Piggy revel at the prospect that they are completely alone on an tropical island without any adults or someone to get help from. As they make their way through the bushes to the beach, they find a big sea shell which they use as a horn to call for other stranded children. Following the loud sounds of the horn, more and more children from all over the island appear and Piggy begins to take their names.

Along the beach, a marching group of black- dressed children, led by Jack Merridew, approach.

Piggy is immediately singled out by the group that makes fun on him. The children do not like him and never will. As children do, they think that survival is just a game to be played and that rescue is evitable. They decide to select a chief "to decide things." It is obvious the only two contenders are Ralph and Jack. Ralph, already in possession of the conch that is considered as magical by the children, seemed the most able and is beeing elected chief. Jack envies Ralph but remains under control of his choir. The choir is designated as hunters upon Jack' s insitence, already revealing his need to hunt and kill.

Ralph's first decision as chief is to send out a troop to investigate whether they are truly on an island or not. Himself, Jack and another boy, Simon, leave their meeting- place to scale the mountain. As they climb the pink granite, they take their time to have fun and roll a large boulder off the edge to watch it be destroyed "like a bomb".

This need to destroy begins with this innocent rock- rolling and will eventually culminate with the killing of a sow, Simon, Piggy and the hunting of Ralph later in the story. They reach the summit and discover that they are actually on an island, apparently uninhabited. Meanwhile, a new friendship between Ralph and Jack develops. They save the "right of domination" and Jack thinks about how to have fun and hunt "until they fetch us". Jack believes rescue is inevitable and these thoughts will contribute to his behavior later in the novel.

On the descent down the mountain they discover a piglet caught in the underbush. Jack unsheathes his knife and raises it to kill the animal, but he can't. his current nature will not allow him to spill blood but this will change dramatically. He is embarrassed and promises that he will be able to kill next time.

Chapter 2 Fire on the Mountain

Later that evening, Ralph calls another meeting by blowing on the conch. He conveys to the group of kids that they are on an island with no adults (The number of kids will never be known exactly but I assume it is about 30. Most of them are very small and between six (so called "littluns") and twelve years old, such as Ralph.).

Jack insists on having an army of hunters and Ralph lays down some rules.

First, when someone wishes to speak at an assembly, he must hold the conch shell. No one except Ralph is allowed to interrupt the holder of the shell. The shell begins so symbolize the organisation of society and the rules that such a society must uphold to maintain. They speak excitedly about their new temporary home, the "good island", until a "littlun" steps forward to speak. The child reports on a "beastie" that he saw in the dark, lurching on the island. It it said to look like a snake and the children argue whether such a beast could live on a small island or not. Ralph dos not believe in the the story but is convinced that his hunters will kill the beast, in case it does exist.

Ralph then introduces another prevailing symbol of the novel: the signal fire.

He wants to assure that a signal fire is maintained to aid them in their rescue. At mention of such a big fire the children become excited and rush off, lead by Jack, to the summit of the mountain to see if they can complete such a task and to really prove they can make it on their own. Ralph follows and Piggy comments that they are acting like "a crowd of kids". That's ironic because they are a crowd of kids! It shows how Piggy is set apart from the group. He cannot influence the others the way Jack or Ralph can.

A huge pile of wood is made on top of the moutain and Jack steals Piggy's spectacles to light the fire with. Jack begins to argue with Piggy after Piggy told him that the whole effort to make a fire was wasted because it produces little smoke.

Piggy tells Jack that he has got the conch, thus he should not be interrupted, but Jack says, "The conch doesn't count on top of the mountain, so you shut up!" Jack is beginning to ignore their social rules. The group of hunters are told to keep the fire going but they they don't succeed.

Instead, sparks of the now- dead fire have ignited half the forest below the mountain. Piggy accuses the group not to be responsible because they don't even know how many kids are on the island. Piggy points to the inferno and remarks one kid is missing. Nobody knows that he has been killed by the fire, by the lack of responsibility and the need for adventure. He is the first to die and all the boys can do is staring helpless at the fire and marveling with horror at what they have done.

Chapter 3 Huts on the Beach

This chapter begins many days, maybe weeks after the great fire on the mountaintop. Jack is hunting for pigs and has become good at tracking them, but he has not killed one yet. He returns to the beach where Ralph and Simon are trying to build huts. Ralph complains to Jack that the children do not support them in constructing huts, they are bathing or eating fruits in the forest instead.

This seems to be a trend in every project they try to accomplish together. Every time a project is proposed at a meeting, they work hard for a while but never complete their work. The subject of the Beast comes up again and most of the littluns are frightened of it. That's why they continue to build huts. Jack comments that, when he is hunting alone, he feels he is "not hunting but being hunted [...] As though something is always behind you in the jungle." Ralph continues to badger him about the fact that keeping up the signal fire is more important than hunting but Jack does not seem to think that way. The two boys are beginning to dislike each other. They go to the bathing pool, where "the shouting and splashing and laughing were only just sufficient to bring them together again." Simon wanders into the jungle, helping the littluns get some fruits, separates himself and spends the night under a cool and dark mat of creepers near a clearing.

Chapter 4 Painted Faces and Long Hair

Two boys, Roger and Maurice are beginning to destroy things which the littluns have made in the sand and later, Roger even throws stones at playing littluns. He aims to miss because "the taboos of the old world" are still with him. Afterwards, Roger and Jack decide to put on a "mask" of painted camouflage in order to hunt pigs better. As Jack smears the clay on his face, the mask is "..a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-conciousness." The mask allows Jack to do whatever he likes to.

Later, Ralph and the rest of the boys recognize that their signal fire on the mountaintop had gone out. Arriving on the summit, Ralph must notice that his watchers are absent from their duty. Jack and a crowd of hunters move up to the others, carrying a dead pig. None of them cares about the extinguished fire, they are too exited about their first kill and begin to explain it to Ralph. When he tells them a ship passed the island, they fall silent. Jack tries to make excuses and during Piggy's protests and lecturing Jack punches him, he falls to the ground and one lens of his specs breaks. Making a fire was no longer possible and Ralph does not accept Jack's apology.

The fire is re- lit and the pig is eaten by the boys who re- enact the story of the hunt. After meal, Maurice pretends to be a pig with all the others dancing and singing around him. This is the first time the "dance" is performed. Even though its already dark, Ralph calles out an assembly.

Chapter 5 Beast from Water

An assembly is called and all the kids come. Ralph complains that one one is abinding to the rules strictly and, of course, there is matter about the fire. He tells them that "we ought to die before we let the fire out" and that the fire is much more important than a pig. Furthermore, he explains that "things are breaking up. I don't understand why. We began well, we were happy. And then- ..then people started getting frightened." They are all frightened of the beast and the children have been talking about that large animal living on the island. The beast, in reality, is a sort of dangerous evil that resides in all of the kids and ought to be withheld. Ralph, from the start, has tried to hold it back by laying down rules and organizing society. Nonetheless, none of the kids realizes this, yet, and the Beast is manifested in their minds as an animal lurking on the island.

Jack argues that he has been everywhere on the isle but has never seen a Beast. Piggy holds a very important speech in which he states that there is no Beast, at least "..not with claws and all that..".

Also, "there isn't no fear either.. unless we get frightened of people." A littlun reports that he has seen something "horrid in the forest". It turns out that the horrid thing was Simon, who had been returning from his secret place he likes to be at.

Another littlun talkes about a different beast, the beast from the water.

Again, this is debated. Simon takes the conch and says some interesting things "Maybe there is a Beast.. what I mean is.. maybe it's only us."

Simon begins to understand what the beast really is, but he is laughed at and will be laughed at for the rest of the novel, until his death.

The debate continues and turn towards talking about rules. Jack does not want Ralph to have the right to make rules. He points out that Ralph can't hunt, nor can he sing. Ralph counters that he was chosen and that this is reason enough. "The world, that understandable and lawful world was, slipping away".

Jack turns against Piggy as well "Bullock to the rules! We're strong, we hunt!

If there is a beast, we'll hunt it down! We'll beat and beat and beat!" Jack does not like the rules and the beast within him is beginning to expose itself little by little. The assembly breaks up and the hunters do their dance once again.

The boys are drifting apart into two groups: those who follow Ralph's ideas and those who follow Jack.

The chapter ends with Ralph, Simon and Piggy, sitting on the assembly platform and listening to the cries of the littluns' nightmares.

Chapter 6 Beast From Air

In the following night, while the boys are sleeping, two fighter planes are engaged in a nighttime- battle over the island. That proves, the world is evidently at war.

A pilot, who, hanging on his parachute, lands on the mountain of the island. He is already dead and begins to rotten slowly.

Presently, though, the twins Sam and Eric are on fire duty and have fallen asleep. They wake up, re- light the fire and see the "Beast from air" `breathing' in and out. They run to tell Ralph and as the sun is rising, an assembly is called.

The kids all believe that they are now in terrible danger. Jack calls for volunteers to help him go to the top and kill it.

A debate ensues and it is determined that the Beast does not leave tracks and moves by swinging through the tree tops, which is why Jack has never seen traces of it. lt is decided that a party of hunters, plus Ralph and Simon, will go to hunt the Beast. Piggy is left at the beach with the littluns.

The hunters will first check the only place on the island that no one has been to: Castle Rock. lf the Beast is not there then they will check the mountain and re-light the fire. They trek to the castle and discover that nothing is there. Jack exclaims that the rock would make a great fort for them where they could live separatly from the others. Ralph breaks up the fun and they start the journey to the mountain.

Chapter 7 Shadows and Tall Trees

As they make their way to the top of the mountain they stop to eat and rest and Ralph thinks about how dirty they all look. He yearns to have his hair cut and take a bath which again reveals his character and his longs to hold back the wild.

They start off and Jack finds traces of a pig. They decide to hunt it. A boar is found and Ralph wounds him with his spear. He is delighted that he made the only strike on the animal. The boar gets away and the hunters begin to dance again, but this time it is a little differerent. Robert is playing the part of the pig, but the kids are a slightly out of hand and some of the fake blows to the "pig" are landing hard. Even Ralph, who previously shunned the dance and chanting feels that "..the desire to squeeze and hunt was overmastering." That's the first time we see Ralph having trouble suppressing the Beast.

They continue to the mountain and Simon is sent through the forest to tell Piggy and the others that the hunting party will not be back before dark.

Night falls as they reach the base of the mountain and the boys argue about whether they should wait until morning to scale it or not.

Jack goes to the top and comes back down, reporting that he saw something billowing up on top. They all climb to the summit and see the Beast. lnstead of fighting it and finding out that it is only a man, they run away. As they flee, "...the creature lifted its head, holding toward them a ruin of a face."

Chapter 8 Gift for the Darkness

The stunned boys report the story about the dangerous beast to Piggy and decide about what to do next. Ralph tells Jack that they are not armed well enough to kill it. Someone comments that, "now that thing sits by the fire as though it didnt want us to be rescued." Which, in a sense, is what the "real Beast" is doing.

Jack calls an assembly by blowing the conch. He tells the group that the Beast is real; they have seen it. Also, Ralph has called the hunters cowards and Jack accuses Ralph of being a coward himself.

Jack asks the assembly if any of them think Ralph should not be chief. No one raises his hands. Jack, in defiance, says angrily "All right then... l`m not going to play any longer. Not with you...I`m not going to be a part of Ralph`s lot." Jack thinks that survival is a game to be played and he is fed up with the rules that Ralph lives by.

He invites others to come join him and runs off into the forest.

Simon steps forward to propose to climb the mountain. No one wants to. lnstead, Piggy decides that the signal fire should be moved to the beach, and the kids start building a fire.

The fire is lit, and as the crowd gathers, it is noticeably smaller. Most of the bigguns have left to go "play" with Jack. The only bigguns left are Ralph, Piggy, Sam, Eric and Simon. Simon wanders off to the mat of creepers, while Jack gathers a group of boys in the forest to teach them how to hunt. They decide that Jack will be chief, they will forget the Beast, and they will try to take more bigguns away from Ralph.

They begin to track a pig and and it leads them to Simon`s clearing. A few pigs are laying around and the group decides to attack a sow and her piglets. The piglets escape, but the sow is brutally killed. Jack decides to offer the pig`s head as a gift to the Beast. He orders his new henchman, Roger, to sharpen a stick at both ends. One end is jammed into the rocky earth and the other one is draped with the head of the sow. Simon climbs from under the creepers and is confronted with the head.

Later, Jack and his gang raid Ralph`s encampment. They steal a burning log for their own fire and invite a couple of other boys to join their feast they want to have the following evening evening.

As the "savages" leave Ralph, he comments about how he wishes he could have fun too, but still the fire is more important to him.

Nonetheless, this importance of the fire and the rescue are drifting away from Ralph and he must be constantly reminded of it by Piggy.

That evening, a storm is coming up and thunder predicts heavy rain.

Back at the clearing Simon is having a "discussion" with the pig`s head. This discussion is probably mostly in Simon`s head, but Golding uses this interview as an eerie way to unveil the theme of the novel. Golding now refers to the fly and covers the pig`s head as the "Lord of the Flies" who asks Simon if he is afraid of him.

He says:

"I am the Beast... Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You

knew, didn`t you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close! l`m the reason it`s no go? Why things are the way they are?"

Although Simon may have known that the Beast was really inside the kids, it is now confirmed. Now that Simon knows for sure, the Beast warns him not to teIl anyone the truth, otherwise he will be killed by him, the "Lord of the Flies".

Chapter 9 A View to a Death

The storm keeps boiling over the island, possibly representing the turmoil that is occurring below it. Simon regains consciousness and heads for the mountain. He sees the rotting airman and realizes the Beast is "harmless and horrible", which, in reality is true. lf the boys choose to suppress the Beast it is harmless, or they can let it run rampant. Simon makes his way to the beach to tell the other boys.

Piggy and Ralph have decided to go to the pig roast, just to see what is going to happen. All of the other boys are already there, except Simon, and they fall silent as the two outcasts approached. They are both given portions of meat as Jack begins a speech. He asks who will join his tribe. Ralph interrupts him, trying to persuade the boys to help him keep their signal fire going. Instead, the crowd of boys agree to join Jack, who promises to give them meat and keep them safe from the Beast.

Dark clouds bring heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Ralph is asking them what they`re going to do without shelters and Jack orders them to begin the dance. As they chant around Roger, who is playing the pig, Piggy and Ralph "..found themselves eager to take place in this demented but partly secure society". The dancing boys are armed with clubs and spits and again, they are getting out of hand in this game. A figure is crawling out of the forest and the ring opens to let it inside.

Mistaken as the Beast by the Jack`s tribe, Simon is beaten to death. The group disbands to shelter from the storm. On top of the mountain wind fills the parachute of the airman and lifts him away from the island. As the storm subsides and the tide moves in and out, Simon`s body is washed to sea.

Chapter 10 The Shell and the Glasses

lt is the next morning and the only boys still in Ralphs confidence are Piggy, Sam and Eric.

The twins are in the forest collecting firewood while Ralph and Piggy discuss Simon`s murder and what they are going to do next. Piggy tries to make excuses for the boys by claiming it an accident, but Ralph is angry.

On Castle Rock Jack (now continually painted) has created a fortification that is constantly guarded.

lf, for whatever reason they need to defend themselves, Roger has placed a lever underneath a large boulder that will send it smashing onto the rock bridge that connects the fort to the mainland. Jack has begun to rule by force and the kids who are out of line are tied up and beaten. Although some of them realize they have killed Simon it is sensed that they are trying to cover it up by convincing themselves they really just hurt the terrible Beast. Back at the lagoon Ralph and the rest are trying to keep the fire going. Again, Ralph rnust constantly be reminded by Piggy that the fire is "something overwhelmingly good." Ralph tells the protesting twins that ,,Anyone can play at hunting, anyone can get us meat". Ralph could not keep the twins at the beach and they decided to leave the fire until night falls and they retire to the rickety shelters.

During the night they awake to noises outside and they are afraid the Beast has come for them, but it is only Jack and his tribe searching to steal fire. Not finding a lit lire they charge into the shelter and in the violent fight that ensues, Piggy`s specs are stolen. They have now been stripped of the ability to make fire and the only symbol left to to remind them of society and order is their conch.

Chapter 11 CastIe Rock

At day break the four plundered and bruised boys try to ignite any smoldering ashes left in the fire, but it is dead. In desperation Ralph calls an assembly. Only the four boys plus some littluns attend. Ralph speculates that maybe if they try to comb their hair and look decent they could go to Jack to ask politely for the specs, "..after all we aren`t savages really and being rescued isn`t a game".

Piggy agrees to this idea and talks about Simon`s murder and the death of the littlun in the first fire:

"What can he do more than he already has? I`ll tell him what`s what. You Iet me carry the conch, Ralph. I'll show hirn the one thing he hasn`t got."

As they get ready, they take a meal. Sam and Eric are afraid to go because Jack will be painted but finally, they set off. Ralph and the twins carry spears and Piggy the conch, being led because he cannot see with out bis specs.

They reach Castle Rock and Ralph steps out onto the neck of the land leading to it with Piggy just behind, followed by the twins. Roger, the guard, orders them to halt and Ralph blows the conch. He tells the savages that he is calling an assembly. Jack emerges from the forest behind him with his hunters and the carcass of a pig. Ralph demands the specs to be returned and the tribe laughes at him.

Ralph and Jack fight each other briefly using spears as sabers. Jack gets between Ralph and the rock and orders the twins to be captured. Some kids come out to tie up Sam and Eric and Ralph has bad enough.

Jack and Ralph blame each other and begin fighting again. Piggy stands up and yells for them to stop and to listen to him. Surprisingly, the crowd is silent and Piggy, holding the conch, asks, "Which is better to have, rules and agree or to hunt and kill? Which is better, law and rescue or hunting and breaking things up?"

During this speech, the tribe, bearing spears, has formed along the far side of the rock bridge, intending to attack the others.

A great yell goes up and Roger heaves on the lever. The huge boulder totters and crashes onto the bridge. Ralph ducks out of the way, but the nearly blind Piggy does not move. As the boulder strikes him the conch explodes "...into a thousand white fragments...". Piggy falls forty feet to his death on the rocks below. Jack feels no sympathy and warns Ralph not to mess with his "savages" to avoid further punishment. The tribe launches another assault and Ralph is running, crashing through the forest. The pursuit does not last long and Jack orders the crowd back to the fort. Ralph, free from now on, bravely returns to Castle Rock.

Chapter 12 Cry of the Hunters

Night falls and Ralph stays close to Castle Rock. Sam and Eric, now savages, have been stationed as guards. Ralph crosses the bridge and scales the tower to talk to them. They tell Ralph that Jack and the tribe are going to hunt him tomorrow. The plan is that the kids will make a line stretching from one shore of the island to the other and they will slowly advance until they find him.

When Ralph asks what they will do when he is caught, the twins reply, "Roger has sharpened a stick at both ends" but Ralph dos not seem to realize the threatening situation he is in. He tells Sam and Eric that he plans to hide in the thicket near Castle Rock, thinking that Jack will not look so close to the fort.

Ralph wakes up the next morning and the twins have been forced to confess where he is hiding. The tribe tries to roll another boulder from the castie to land in Ralph`s thicket, but they just barely miss him. A savage tries to crawl through the branches to see if their enemy is still there and gets the sharp end of a spear. They burn the thicket down and Ralph runs into the forest as the line of savages spreads out to begin the sweep of the island.

Deciding that the best option is to hide, Ralph finds the place where Simon used to stay and hunkers down. As the line of savages advances, the entire island behind them is burning, but they only seek to catch and kill Ralph. The line reaches his hiding spot and Roger peeks under to look. Ralph attacks him and runs to the beach, persued by the tribe. He runs past the burning shelters right into a Navy officer.

lronically, the massive fire and smoke enabled the Navys' ships to see them.

As the boys gather around, the officer comments on how it must be all be fun and games. Some of the boys are crying, realizing what they have done. The officer sees the spears and asks, "We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having war or something?" He learns that two children have been killed and they are taken off the island to the waiting cruiser. As they are taken away, "...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."