Essay --

1. Lord of the Flies 2. William Golding 3. Drama, disaster, dystopian, etc. 4. The events of the book take place in the 1950’s during a major war most likely taking place around around 1954, the place the book takes place is a deserted island in the tropics where the Boys’ evacuation plane crashes after it was shot down. To understand the significance of the setting you need to know something about the time period it takes place, in the 1950’s long range plane travel was still a new concept, they didn’t have long range tracking systems and the first satellite hadn’t even been launched yet (1957 Sputnik-1), if a crash like that happened nowadays we would be there almost instantly, satellites would be watching and the navy would already have rescue vessels on route. The fact that no one had the technology to determine were the boys were gives them the sense of hopelessness and the feeling of permanence that accompanies their stay on the island that ends up fueling their primal instincts. 5. In the midst of a raging war, a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down over a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch shell on the beach, and Piggy realizes it could be used as a horn to summon the other boys. Once assembled, the boys set about electing a leader and devising a way to be rescued. They choose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appoints another boy, Jack, to be in charge of the boys who will hunt food for the entire group. Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon, set off on an expedition to explore the island. When they return, Ralph declares that they must light a signal fire to attract the attention of passing ships. The boys succeed in igniting some dead wood by focusing ... ...ike an animal. Jack has the other boys ignite the forest in order to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place. Ralph stays in the forest, where he discovers and destroys the sow’s head, but eventually, he is forced out onto the beach, where he knows the other boys will soon arrive to kill him. Ralph collapses in exhaustion, but when he looks up, he sees a British naval officer standing over him. The officer’s ship noticed the fire raging in the jungle. The other boys reach the beach and stop in their tracks at the sight of the officer. Amazed at the spectacle of this group of bloodthirsty, savage children, the officer asks Ralph to explain. Ralph is overwhelmed by the knowledge that he is safe but, thinking about what has happened on the island, he begins to weep. The other boys begin to sob as well. The officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their composure.