The Elements of Fiction of Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is an acclaimed novel written in 1952 about a group of
young British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island. As the boys are trapped on the
island, the innate evil inside of all of them becomes evident, they struggle to maintain a civilized
society, and many of them grow increasingly savage. To give you an insight of what Lord of the
Flies is about, I will outline its elements of fiction.
Setting
 Place: an uninhabited tropical island
 Date: early 20th century during a nuclear war
 Season: spring/summer
 Weather: warm, sunny/rainy/stormy
Characters
 Protagonist: Ralph
 Antagonist: Jack
 Dynamic: Ralph, Jack
 Static: Piggy, Simon, Roger, littluns
 Round: Ralph, Jack, Piggy
 Flat: Simon, Roger, littluns
Problem
Ralph struggles to maintain a civilized society on the island and attempts to signal possible
rescuers while the other boys descend into savagery.

Plot
 Introduction:
 A plane carrying a group of young British boys crash lands on an
uninhabited tropical island.
 Ralph gathers all the boys together and is voted to be chief of the
boys.
 Rising Action:
 There is speculation that a beast is on the island and the boys become
fearful.
 Most of the boys do not help build shelters and just play.
 A ship is spotted near the island, but Jack and the choir boys fail to
maintain the signal fire.
 Hostility between Ralph and Jack grows.
 The boys find what they believe to be the beast, but do not realize that
it is a dead parachutist.
 The boys become increasingly savage.
 Jack creates his own tribe and almost everyone abandons Ralph to
join Jack.
 Simon learns that the beast is not real, but is killed before he can tell
everyone.
 Jack’s tribe steal Piggy’s glasses.
  Climax
 Piggy is killed by Jack’s tribe.
 Falling Action
 Ralph attempts to hide from Jack’s tribe, who wants to kill him.
 The island is set on fire to force Ralph out of hiding.
 Conclusion
 A British naval officer, who saw the smoke from the fire, arrives on
the island, just as Ralph is about to be captured by Jack.
 The naval officer shows disapproval of the boys’ behaviour.
 The boys realize how vicious and savage they have become and are
ashamed.
Suspense
 Fear of the beast
 Lord of the Flies
 Uncertainty of survival
Point of View
 Third-person omniscient
Themes
 Innate evil of man
 Breakdown of social order
 Loss of innocence