Lord of the Flies William Golding***Chapter 1The Sound of the Shell
Ralph and Piggy wake up on an Island. The plane they were on, with many other boys, is a wreck next to them. The pilot is nowhere to be found. Piggy is nervous, and worries for their safety. Ralph is pretty happy about the idea of their being no grownups.
"No grownups!" (pg 8)
Piggy finds a conch shell. He knows that they can use it as a trumpet and wants Ralph to blow into it to call more boys to them. Ralph is unsure at first, but eventually agrees.
"We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting." (pg 20)
Boys spill out of the woods and gather on the beach in front of Ralph and Piggy. Some of the youngest boys are 6 and the older ones are 12. Among the boys are Jack and his choir boys. They walk around the sand in formation and stop when Jack snaps. They make fun of Piggy for his appearance and name.
The boys decide to vote for a leader. Ralph wins, but Jack and his choir boys are very unhappy. To make sure that they stay happy, Ralph appoints Jack and his choir boys as hunters. This somewhat satisfies Jack.
Ralph ignores Piggy's pleads to come, and chooses Jack and another choir boy, Simon, to come explore the island. The boys climb through the steep hills of the jungle. As they reach the top, they realize that their fears are true. They are completely stranded, there is no other land in sight.
As the three boys are walking back to the beach, they come across a pig. Jack takes this opportunity to show off his hunting skills. As he takes out his knife, he pauses, and cannot bring himself to kill the pig. The pig gets away. Jack vows that next time he will do it without hesitation.