This document provides chapter summaries of the entire novel, as well as brief character sketches and discusses important symbols. You will be well prepared for any test with these notes.
Chapter 1:
All of these boys are stranded on the island because of a plane crash.
Nobody from the “civilized” world knew that the plane had crashed.
Ralph and Piggy meet first and use the conch to call a meeting with the other boys.
The conch symbolizes democracy and order.
Jack and his choir come running along the beach in rows and black coats - unity.
Ralph was chosen as chief giving him some sense of leadership.
Chapter 2:
Ralph, Jack and Simon come back from their expedition. The small boy with the
mulberry birthmark tells everyone about the snake-like beast that he saw. The fire that
they created sets part of the island on fire. Fire was originally created to set off smoke
signals. Piggy’s glasses were used to start the fire.
His glasses symbolize intellect and rational thinking.
After the fire Ralph saw that the boy with the birthmark was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 3:
Ralph and Simon are building shelters on the beach while the little ones play.Jack
becomes obsessed with killing a pig, but some shred of civilization still holds him back.
Jack thinks that killing a pig will give him power. On the beach, Ralph and Simon are
building huts. Ralph is frustrated because only he and Simon are working on the huts,
which are falling apart. He complains to Jack that everyone else is off playing or
hunting.
Chapter 4:
Jack, obsessed with the idea of killing a pig, camouflages his face with clay and
charcoal and enters the jungle to hunt, accompanied by several other boys. On the
beach, Ralph and Piggy see a ship on the horizon—but they also see that the signal fire
has gone out. Jack lets the fire go out.
, Chapter 5:
Piggy, Ralph and Simon are left in despair. Piggy wants to blow the conch, but Ralph
makes the third amazing comment of the chapter, stating that, if he blows it now and no
one comes back, the conch will have lost its power completely. And then, they will all
"be like animals."
Chapter 6:
As the boys sleep, military airplanes battle fiercely above the island. None of the boys
sees the explosions and flashes in the clouds because the twins Sam and Eric, who
were supposed to watch the signal fire, have fallen asleep. During the battle, a
parachutist drifts down from the sky onto the island, dead.
Chapter 7:
That afternoon, the hunters find pig droppings, and Jack suggests they hunt the pig
while they continue to search for the beast. The boys agree and quickly track a large
boar, which leads them on a wild chase. Ralph, who has never been on a hunt before,
quickly gets caught up in the exhilaration of the chase. He excitedly flings his spear at
the boar, and though it glances off the animal’s snout, Ralph is thrilled with his
marksmanship nonetheless. Jack holds up his bloodied arm, which he claims the boar
grazed with its tusks.
Chapter 8:
Jack gets rid of Ralph's leadership role and when no one votes Ralph off then Jack gets
mad and storms off.
As Piggy and Ralph sit in the old camp discussing the deserters, the hunters from
Jack's tribe descend upon them, shrieking and whooping. The hunters steal burning
sticks from the fire on the beach. Jack tells Ralph's followers that they are welcome to
come to his feast that night and even to join his tribe.
Chapter 9:
Simon finds the dead pilot and goes to untangle the parachute and then runs down to
the beach to tell the others that there is no beast but when he gets there he is so
exhausted that he stumbles out of the forest making the boys think that he is the beast
and then they kill simon. After killing Simon they take cover from the storm.
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