Lord of the Flies

Outline

Lord of the Flies (1954) tells the story of a group of British schoolboys stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. At first they try to organise themselves with rules and a leader, but fear, rivalry, and the desire for power slowly tear their small society apart. William Golding’s classic novel is a powerful exploration of human nature, order, and the fragile line between civilisation and savagery.

• A group of British schoolboys is stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash, with no adults to guide them.
• The boys first organise themselves with rules and a leader, showing that people instinctively try to build order.
• Fear, rivalry, and the desire for power slowly tear their small society apart.
• Golding presents the line between civilisation and savagery as fragile, something that can break under pressure.
• The novel, published in 1954, is a classic study of human nature, order, and moral choice.

William Golding (1911–1993) was a British novelist, poet, and teacher who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983. Lord of the Flies was his first novel and remains his most famous. His other works include The Inheritors, The Spire, and Rites of Passage, which won the Booker Prize.