Type of work: Ideological adventure novel
Setting: A deserted tropical island after a nuclear war
Ralf, a likable, sensible boy of twelve
Jack, a cruel, power-hungry redheaded youth
Simon, a skinny, shy, thoughtful nine-year old
Piggy, Ralph's intelligent friend - a fat boy with thick glasses
Ralph wandered out of the tropical jungle paradise. "We are going to have fun on this island," he grinned. The blond boy turned cartwheels on the sand, while his friend Piggy--pudgy, thicklensed, and asthmatic--looked on. "I can't move with all these creeper things," Piggy stammered, picking thorns from his plump bare legs. A whole load of schoolboys had been jettisoned on the island before their plane crashed. Ralph was confident his father would rescue them; Piggy wasn't so certain......
Rest of summary can be found at this Lord of the Flies page.
Everything about Lord of the Flies is thematic. The story revolves around a question: Is unshackled freedom a good thing? Golding's obvious answer is the need for civilization, its rules, laws, and expectations. (Ironically, the nearly blind Piggy was the one boy who could "see" this most clearly.) Yet, while Ralph personifies law, cooperation and democratic choice, it is Jack's reliance on charisma, brute force and authoritarian rule that wins out on the island.
Rest of commentary can be found at this Lord of the Flies page.