THE PERFECT UNINHABITED ISLAND

This is an analysis of the setting of Lord of the Flies. Does not contain spoilers.

Where and When?

The setting of Lord of the Flies by William Golding takes place in an uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean with no land to be seen by the characters, not even in the highest place as we can see in “Beyond the hollow was the square top of the mountain and soon they were standing on It.” (p.37) and “…could see a circular horizon of water.” (p. 38) In addition, it is in a World War II (WWII) context, according to Smith the conflict happened during 1939 up to 1945, involving some European countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Poland. This piece “…the northern European tradition of work, play, and food right through the day, made it possible for them to adjust themselves wholly to this new rhythm” (p.82) shows that the kids may come from a European country, so the information coincides.

The characters say they were escaping from something right in the beginning, Piggy said, “We was attacked” (p.08), “When we was coming down I looked through one of them windows. I saw the other part of the plane. There were flames coming out of it” (p.08) and “Didn’t you hear what the pilot said? About the atom bomb? They’re all dead” (p.16). Giving the published date at 1954, post-WWII, and some hints in the speeches, one can deduce the historic period.

Physical Characteristics

Piggy's character from Harry Hook's adaptation

The plot could not happen in a different setting; the isolation in an unknown place justifies actions focusing on survival, such as making shelters, rescue signals, hunts, and the beginning of a new social organization.

During the development of the plot, we can notice some of the specific physical characteristics of the island, as the animals – all pacific –, the fruit, the creepers and plants, and the geographic characteristics, such as the pink granites, the mountain, the reefs, the river with clean water and the stone fortress on the other side of the island. The mountain is a very important element for the kids, because it is where the fire, the rescue signal, is. In addition, it is the perfect place for a signal to be seen faster and further. Moreover, the mountain is a reference point that helps in the localization and the exploration of the island, as Ralph observes the mountain during the exploration: “Somberly he watched the mountain” (p.153).

Island map made by fans

One of the first places introduced to the readers is the lagoon, in which the kids swim, play, and take baths, and where Ralph found the conch in the very beginning. As well, they avoid swim in the ocean because the ground is full of corals as they can see clearer on top of the mountain: “The reef enclosed more than one side of the island, lying perhaps a mile out and parallel to what they now thought of as their beach.” (p.38) And that could hurt if a wave pushes someone into it, so to get fish is also a challenge, this reef narrows the options of food. This could be a reason why Jack wanted meat and went hunting instead of fishing.

Next, the forest was introduced and with it some elements that compose the plot, like the pack of pigs that made pig-runs that made Jack realize he could use it too, avoiding hurting his feet: “the trail joined a pig-run that was wide enough and trodden enough to be a path” (p.68), facilitating the hunts and movement. Also, the stone fortress and the river where they drank water, as we can see: “There was a small pool at the end of the river…” (p.87).

Good or Prison?

Jack's character from Harry Hook's adaptation

Piggy and Ralph see the island as a prison sometimes, but Jack said, “This is our island. It’s a good island” (p.47) reinforcing that this situation could be worse and the island has very good resources for them. The author ignores the difficulties that a wild forest may have, and only focuses on the easy resources; this characteristic is discrepant of a wild island in real life and can be purposeful. Only it is not completely safe; since the beginning, the kids think about a possible beast or predator which would hunt them. Sometimes they related the beast with the sea and with the forest noises. Yet, Ralph says there was no beast in an island of that size, using logical and physical characteristics of the setting to prevent fear in the others: “You couldn’t have a beastie, a snake-thing, on an island this size…” (p.49).

The setting is in every detail during the plot and follows the characters everywhere; even narrowing some choices that they could have done, like fishing, making a raft, or taking the stone fortress as a shelter. Without this setting composition, the plot could be very different.

SMITH, J. G. R. (2021) “World War II”. In: Britannica, online. Available in: https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II Access: Apr 12th, 2021.

GOLDING, W. (1954) “Lord of the Flies”. Global Village Contemporary Classics.