Published on July 13, 2021

Lord of the flies chapter 1 summary in 450 words

Summary

On a beach, a fair-haired boy descends several rocks toward a lagoon. He meets another boy at the lagoon who is fat, intelligent, and wears thick glasses. The fat one introduces himself as Piggy, while the fair-haired one introduces himself as Ralph. We hear through their talk that a transport jet carrying a group of English boys was shot down over the ocean during a war. On a lonely island, it slammed into a thick bush. The surviving boys were dispersed by the wreck and were unable to locate the pilot.

Ralph and Piggy look around the beach, unsure what happened to the other plane passengers. They come to a giant, cream-colored conch shell, which Piggy recognizes as a homemade trumpet. He persuades Ralph to search for the other lads by blowing through the shell. The boys begin to straggle onto the beach after being summoned by the shell's blast. The oldest is roughly twelve, while the youngest is around six. A boys' choir, clad in black robes and conducted by an older kid named Jack, is among the group. They march in two parallel lines to the beach, and Jack commands them to stand at attention. The boys make fun of Piggy's features and moniker.

The boys decide to choose a leader. The choirboys support Jack, but the rest of the boys support Ralph. Ralph receives the majority of the votes, even though Jack is interested in the position. To appease Jack, Ralph enlists the choir to act as hunters for the band of lads, with Jack, their leader. Ralph, conscious of the necessity to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings, select Jack and a choir member named Simon to explore the island, rejecting Piggy's whiny wishes to be chosen. The three explorers depart from their rendezvous point and go across the island.

The lads are ecstatic at the idea of exploring the island, and they are building a bond as they play together in the jungle. They eventually make it to the end of the forest, where huge, jagged rocks jut out into steep mountains. One of the steep slopes is climbed by the guys. They can see that they are on an island with no traces of civilization from the top. The vista is breathtaking, and Ralph believes they've found their piece of land.

They come across a wild pig entangled in a tangle of vines as they return to the shore. Jack, the newly designated hunter, takes his knife and approaches the animal to kill it, but he hesitates, unwilling to act. The pig breaks free and flees, and Jack swears that he will not hesitate the next time he kills. The three boys journey through the deep bush for a long time before arriving near a group of boys waiting for them on the beach.