Structure

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies begins in medias res, with the main character Ralph walking towards the sea from the site of a plane crash: “The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon.” (p. 1)

The narrative is told in chronological order and is divided into twelve chapters with titles that summarize the chapter’s events. For example, the chapter in which Simon is killed by the other boys is titled “A View to a Death”. 

Golding makes extensive use of foreshadowing in the novel. For example, in chapter four, Roger throws stones at one of the other boys, although he deliberately aims to miss (p. 64). This is because he is “conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins” (p. 65). His actions foreshadow his later cruelty; by the end of the novel, Roger...