Week #32 – Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Last year on Mondays we had fun with books. This year, we'll look at most of the same books but also some new ones, and see if the first line [or first paragraph] met the goal of a first line which is ==> to hook the reader's attention.

Here are some tips on writing a first line

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tips-for-writing-the-opening-line-of-your-novel

Week #32 –   Lord of the Flies by William Golding

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies

First published: September 17, 1954

Here's what the story is about: A British airplane crashes on an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean. The only survivors are preadolescent boys. Ralph is elected their chief and tries to establish a society, but the majority of the boys turn idle. Jack calls an assembly and tries to turn the others against Ralph. He initially receives no support, but eventually forms his own tribe with most of the other boys gradually joining him. The book explores establishing a society, bullying, and savagery.

First line/paragraph:

The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon. Though he had taken off his school sweater and trailed it now from one hand, his grey shirt stuck to him and his hair was plastered to his forehead. All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat. He was clambering heavily among the creepers and broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry; and this cry was echoed by another.

This appears to be third person limited or omniscient voice. The reader is introduced to a schoolboy with fair hair who is apparently wearing regular clothes, not a swimsuit, but he's wet and walking toward a lagoon. It sounds like a shipwreck or maybe a plane crash because of the “long scar smashed into the jungle”. We have apparently the main character, along with the setting. The story starts in media res, and the reader is looking around the beach with the boy. And we are introduced to a mystery: why is the boy at a beach and wet, but wearing regular clothes? I would definitely continue reading.

Does this first line/paragraph hook your attention? If you had never heard of this story, would you buy this book in 2024? Knowing the story, would you change the first line? Tell us in the comments!