The Paris AtlasCharting the artists, works, and places worth returning to.

A character in Lord of the Flies

The dead parachutist

The airman is killed in the adult war and lands on the mountain.

The book

Cover of Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the FliesWilliam Golding, 1954

Schoolboys build a society from scratch and discover how quickly rules can give way to fear and violence.

View the book

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

The airman is killed in the adult war and lands on the mountain. Wind inflates his parachute, making his body appear to rise and fall. The boys mistake him for the beast. Simon identifies the truth and frees the lines. The body is blown out to sea during the storm.

If you like Lord of the Flies

Four books that share themes, tone, or setting with this one.

If you like William Golding

Explore authors with a similar voice, perspective, and influence.

  • Illustrated portrait of George Orwell

    George Orwell

    English novelist, essayist and journalist, born Eric Arthur Blair, who wrote Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. He was an imperial policeman in Burma, a plongeur in Paris kitchens off the rue Mouffetard, and a militiaman shot through the neck in Spain before any of it.

    View author
  • Illustrated portrait of Louis-Ferdinand Céline

    Louis-Ferdinand Céline

    The doctor of the Paris slums who wrote the century's blackest, funniest novel — and changed the sound of French prose.

    View author
  • Illustrated portrait of Simone de Beauvoir

    Simone de Beauvoir

    French writer and philosopher whose novels, memoirs, and social analysis examined freedom, gender, responsibility, aging, and the material conditions that shape a life.

    View author
Back to Lord of the Flies