Lord of the Flies Plot Analysis

Initial Situation

Plane crashed, no parents.

As Ralph and Piggy find the conch and call a meeting, the initial situation is on its way. Part of the set-up is in discovering the island, part in discovering the other characters: what are their names? Who’s going to be chief? Which one will end up as evil incarnate?

Conflict

Fire! No, shelters! No, pig-hunting! Oh, we set the island on fire. And missed a passing ship.

Sounds like conflict is a-brewing. Ralph wants to make a signal fire, Piggy is all about the shelters, and Jack is looking for blood. That’s the boys vs. boys conflict, but there’s also a people vs. island conflict that comes in with the spreading fire.

Complication

The Beast.

The beast complicates matters considerably. Even if the boys manage to not starve, burn themselves up, or die of exposure, there’s still (in their minds) a good chance they’ll get eaten by the beast. Of course, we know the beast is more than a creature – it’s man’s inherent darkness – which makes things yet more complicated. As the talking pig’s head so eloquently informs us, the beast isn’t something that can be hunted and killed.

Climax

Simon’s death

Anytime, in any novel, when there’s a Bacchic frenzy of tribal dancing, naked painted boys, and hallucinatory murder, it’s the climax. This is the climax of action (murder), the psychological climax (talking, prophetic, and evil severed head), the emotional climax.

Suspense

A big, teetering rock and a chase through the woods.

Ever since Chapter Six when the bastion was discovered, we’ve been waiting for the other rock to drop. The suspense comes in that anticipation, and in the signs Golding gives us along the way, signs like “Roger is going to drop a rock on Piggy” and “Did you know Roger is going to drop a rock on Piggy?” So, in a way, the end of this suspense is like another mini-climax. You could also argue that Piggy’s death by the rock is part of the climax, not the suspense. The absolute and undeniable suspense comes when Ralph runs through the forest. Will Ralph make it out alive? Will the boys ever be saved?

Denouement

Ralph sees the naval officer.

The denouement lasts roughly 5 seconds. In Lord of the Flies, the denouement slides so quickly into the conclusion of the story that it isn’t really possible to separate them. Let’s say the denouement is that moment when we realize Ralph is going to be OK.

Conclusion

No one is going to be OK.

Yes, that was short lived. Ralph seeing an adult is the “phew” moment after the suspense, but as soon as we realize that that adult is a naval officer and remember the world is at war, we’re already into the conclusion.