Short summary of great novels

Stephen Kumalo, the pastor at the village of Ndotsheni in the Ixopo region of South Africa, receives a letter from the Reverend Theophilus Msimangu that requests that he go to Johannesburg to rescue his sister, Gertrude, who is very ill. In order to undertake the journey, Kumalo must use the money intended to be used to send his son, Absalom, to St. Chad's for his education. Absalom had gone to Johannesburg himself, and has not been heard from since. When a friend of Stephen Kumalo takes him to the train station to Johannesburg, he requests that Kumalo give a letter to the daughter of Sibeko, who now works for the Smith family in Johannesburg.
When Kumalo reaches Johannesburg, he waits in line for a bus and is tricked by a young man whom Kumalo gives money to buy a ticket for him. Kumalo finally arrives at the Mission House, where Msimangu arranges for him to stay in the house of Mrs. Lithebe. Msimangu tells Kumalo that Gertrude's husband has not returned from the mines where he was recruited to work, and now Gertrude has "many husbands" and was sent to jail for making bootlegged liquor and working as a prostitute. Msimangu also tells Kumalo that Kumalo's brother John is no longer a carpenter, and now works as a politician. The two men visit Gertrude in the Claremont district of Johannesburg. Kumalo chastises Gertrude for her behavior and for not considering her young son, and tells her brother that John Kumalo will know where his son, Absalom, lives in Johannesburg. Kumalo takes Gertrude and the young child back to the house of Mrs. Lithebe.
Stephen Kumalo goes to visit his brother John, who tells him that his wife has left him and that he is now living with another woman. John claims that he is more free in Johannesburg, for he is no longer subject to the chief and he has his own business. John tells his brother that his son and Absalom had a room together in Alexandra and they were working at the Doornfontein Textiles Company. At Doornfontein, Kumalo learns that Absalom was staying with a Mrs. Ndlela in Sophiatown. Mrs. Ndlela gives him a forwarding address, care of Mrs. Mkize in Alexandra. She also tells Kumalo that she did not like Absalom's friends.
Because of a bus boycott in Alexandra, Msimangu and Kumalo must walk to Alexandra. They reach the house of Mrs. Mkize, who seems obviously afraid and claim that Absalom has been away from the house for nearly a year. Msimangu tells Kumalo to take a walk to get a drink, and while he is gone interrogates Mrs. Mkize. He tells her that no harm will come to her from whatever he tells her, so she admits that they should talk to the taxi driver Hlabeni. From this taxi driver, they learn that Absalom went to Orlando to live amongst the squatters in Shanty Town. On the way back to the Mission House, Msimangu and Kumalo see a white man driving black passengers, and Kumalo smiles at the white man's sense of social justice, while Msimangu claims that the kindness beats him.
Kumalo goes to Shanty Town with Msimangu, where they meet Mrs. Hlatshwayos, who tells them that Absalom stayed with her until the magistrate sent him to the reformatory. At the reformatory, a white man who works there informs them that Absalom left the reformatory early because of good behavior and that he is now in Pimville, ready to marry a girl whom he got pregnant. At Pimville, they meet the girl, who admits that Absalom went to Springs on Saturday and has not yet returned. Msimangu warns him that he can do nothing about the girl, but Kumalo says that the girl's child will be his grandchild and that he is obligated. Kumalo learns from the white man at the reformatory that Absalom has not been at work this week.
While the white man at the reformatory undertakes a search for Absalom, Kumalo accompanies Msimangu to Ezenzeleni, the place of the blind, where he will hold a service. At dinner, they learn of the murder of Arthur Jarvis, a renowned city engineer who was the President of the African Boys' Club and the son of James Jarvis of Carisbrooke. Arthur Jarvis was renowned for his interest in social problems and for his efforts for the welfare of the non-European sections of the community. It is eventually acknowledged that Absalom Kumalo is suspected of the murder of Arthur Jarvis, and Kumalo wonders how he failed with his son.
Stephen Kumalo tells John about his son's involvement in the murder of Arthur Jarvis, and the two visit the prison together, since John knows that his son was friends with Absalom and thus a possible accomplice. At the prisoner, Kumalo finds his son, and interrogates him about the various facts of the case. Absalom claims that he shot Arthur Jarvis merely because he was frightened, but did not intend to kill him. John Kumalo claims that there is no proof that his son, who was involved in the robbery with Absalom and another friend, Johannes Pafuri, was involved.
The young white man from the reformatory visits Mrs. Lithebe's house in order to talk to Kumalo about a lawyer, because he does not trust John and thinks that he will attempt to place all of the blame on Absalom. He warns Kumalo that no matter what happens his son will be severely punished. The next day, Kumalo visits the pregnant girl in Pimville and tells her what happened to Absalom. He interrogates her, asking whether she really wants to become part of their family and whether she wants another husband. Kumalo eventually becomes convinced that the girl will come with him and live a quiet life in rural Ixopo.
The girl returns with them to the house of Mrs. Lithebe. Unlike Gertrude, the girl enjoys being there, while Gertrude behaves carelessly and dislikes living there. Kumalo visits Absalom in prison again and attempts to arrange a marriage between his son and the girl. He learns that John Kumalo's son (also named John) and the other suspect, Johannes Pafuri, have placed the blame entirely on Absalom. Father Vincent, a white pastor, introduces Kumalo to the lawyer Mr. Carmichael, who will take the case pro deo.
The second section of the novel takes the perspective of James Jarvis, the father of the murdered Arthur Jarvis. James Jarvis learns from the police captain van Jaarsveld that his son has been murdered and that there is a plane waiting at Pietermaritzburg that can take him to Johannesburg. Jarvis tells his wife Margaret as he arranges to make the journey to Johannesburg. When they arrive, Jarvis meets John Harrison, the brother of Mary, the wife of the late Arthur Jarvis. He tells them that Mary and her children have taken the news poorly, and that the police have been combing the plantations on Parkwold Ridge. Jarvis also learns that his son had been writing a paper on "The Truth About Native Crime" and admits to John that he and his son did not agree on the question of native crime. Arthur Jarvis had been learning Afrikaans and considered learning Sesuto, perhaps to help him stand as a Member of Parliament in the next election. Jarvis wonders why this crime happened to his son, of all people, and laments that he never learned more about his son.
During the funeral service at Parkwold Church for Arthur Jarvis, James Jarvis experiences several firsts. The service is the first time that Jarvis attends church with black people, and it is also the first time that he shakes hands with one. Jarvis, wishing to learn more about his son, asks John Harrison to take him to the Boys' Club in Claremont where his son did a great deal of community service work. Jarvis soon learns that Richard Mpiring, the servant at Arthur's house, was able to identify one of the culprits as a former servant. Jarvis reads through his son's manuscript, and is touched by his son's criticisms of South Africa as a nation that claims to be Christian yet practices few of the Christian ideals.
During the trial, the defendants (Absalom Kumalo, John Kumalo and Johannes Pafuri) are each asked their plea. They each plead not guilty, but Absalom does so only because he cannot plead guilty to culpable homicide. Absalom testifies that Johannes hit Mpiring in the back with an iron bar, and that he shot Arthur Jarvis simply because of fear. The prosecutor asks Absalom why he carried a loaded gun when he did not actually intend to use it, but Absalom cannot give a satisfactory answer. After court is adjourned for the day, Stephen Kumalo exits the courtroom with Msimangu, Gertrude and Mrs. Lithebe. He trembles when he sees James Jarvis, wondering how he can look at the man whose son Absalom murdered.
Upon returning to his son's home, Jarvis finds another work, "Private Essays on the Evolution of a South African," in which Arthur wrote that it is difficult to be a South African and that, although his parents gave him a great deal, they sheltered him from the actual South Africa. In this paper, Arthur Jarvis wrote that he dedicates himself to South Africa because he cannot deny the part of himself that is a South African.
James and Margaret Jarvis visit the home of Barbara Smith, one of Margaret's nieces. While they are visiting there, Stephen Kumalo visits with the letter from Sibeko. When Jarvis sees him, Stephen Kumalo trembles and nearly falls ill. Jarvis comforts him, and asks what is wrong. Kumalo admits that there is a heavy thing between then, and finally tells him that it was his son who murdered Arthur Jarvis. Jarvis tells Kumalo that there is no anger in him. Kumalo and Jarvis learn from the Smith daughter that Sibeko's daughter was fired because she started to brew liquor in her room, and that she does not know nor care where the girl is now. When translating Smith's words into Zulu, Jarvis leaves out the part that she does not care where the girl is. When Kumalo leaves respectfully, Jarvis admits to his wife that he is disturbed because of something that came out of the past.
During a meeting in the public square, John Kumalo gives a speech demanding greater reparations for blacks in South Africa, but despite the possibility that he may cause unrest and even riots, John Kumalo restrains himself, for he does not want to be arrested, simply out of the discomfort that it may cause. Jarvis is also at the rally, and listens as John Kumalo speaks.
Mrs. Lithebe and Gertrude argue over Gertrude's behavior, for Mrs. Lithebe believes that Gertrude associates with the wrong type of people and warns her not to hurt her brother any further. Gertrude finally suggests that she wants to become a nun, and although Mrs. Lithebe is happy at the change in Gertrude, she asks her to think of the small boy. Gertrude finally asks the pregnant girl if she would take care of her son if she were to become a nun, and the girl eagerly agrees.
The judge issues a guilty verdict int eh case for Absalom Kumalo, but finds no legitimate evidence that John Kumalo and Johannes Pafuri were present and thus finds them not guilty. The judge finds no mitigating circumstances, and sentences Absalom to death by hanging. When the court is dismissed, the young white man from the reformatory leaves court with Kumalo, thus breaking tradition and exiting along with the black men, an action that is not taken lightly.
Father Vincent performs a wedding ceremony at the prison, marrying Absalom and the pregnant girl. After returning from prison, Kumalo visits his brother's shop and they argue when Stephen suggests that he may have some reason to be bitter toward his brother. Wishing to harm his brother, Stephen suggests that there may be someone in his household who wants to betray him. When John laments having such a friend, Stephen says that Absalom had friends who betrayed him. John throws Stephen out of his shop and shouts at him in the street. Stephen feels ashamed for provoking his brother, for he only wished to tell his brother how power corrupts and that a man who fights for justice must be pure.
Before Jarvis leaves, he gives John Harrison a letter requesting that John continue Arthur's work, and includes a check for ten thousand dollars asking him to start the Arthur Jarvis club. Before Kumalo leaves, Msimangu hosts a party at Mrs. Lithebe's home in which he praises her for her kindness. Before they leave, Msimangu tells Kumalo that he is giving up all his worldly possessions and gives Kumalo money for all of the new duties he has taken up. Before departing for home, Kumalo finds that Gertrude has left, presumably to become a nun.
Stephen Kumalo returns home and tells his wife the verdict and the sentence. He learns that the area where they live has suffered from a drought for a month. Kumalo gives his first sermon since his return, in which beseeches God to give them ran and prays for Africa. Kumalo wonders whether he can remain as pastor considering his family. Kumalo decides that he must speak to the chief and the headmaster of the school about the state of Ndotsheni. When Kumalo speaks to the chief, the chief offers little help. Kumalo suggests that they should try to keep as many people as possible in Ndotsheni. When he returns home, a small white boy visits Kumalo and wishes to learn some words in Zulu. The boy asks for milk, which prompts Kumalo to tell him about the drought and about how small children are dying from it. The boy vows to visit Kumalo again. After dinner, Kumalo's friend asks if a small white boy visited him today, and tells him that he has milk to distribute to the small children. The milk is presumably a gift from the Jarvis estate.
Kumalo receives letters from Johannesburg, including one from Absalom to his wife and parents, one from Msimangu, and one from Mr. Carmichael. Carmichael writes that there will be no mercy for Absalom, and that he will be hanged on the fifteenth of the month. Kumalo's wife suggests that Kumalo distribute milk to the children in order to distract him from the pain. Kumalo sees Jarvis, who meets with the magistrate and the chief. Although Kumalo cannot hear their discussion, they appear to be discussing an important matter and use sticks to discuss their plans. Jarvis remains after the others leave. As a storm approaches, Jarvis and Kumalo remain in the church together. Jarvis learns that there will be no mercy for Absalom.
The small white boy returns to the house to learn Zulu, and meets Gertrude's child and Kumalo's wife. When he leaves, Kumalo goes to the church and meets Napoleon Letsitsi, the new agricultural demonstrator. He says that Jarvis has sent him to teach farming in Ndotsheni, and tells Kumalo that there will be a dam so that the cattle always have water to drink and thus produce milk.
Kumalo's friend tells Kumalo that Mrs. Jarvis is dead, and Kumalo writes a letter of condolence to James Jarvis, despite the worry that she might have died of grief and that a letter might be inappropriate. When the Bishop visits Kumalo, he suggests that Kumalo retire as pastor, but Kumalo says that if he were to retire his post and leave Ndotsheni, he would die. The Bishop says that he must leave because Jarvis lives nearby, but when the Bishop learns that Jarvis is sending milk for the children, he agrees that Kumalo can remain as pastor.
A new sense of excitement overcomes the valley concerning the new developments. On the day that Absalom is to be executed, Kumalo decides to go up on the mountain, as he had done in various other times of crisis in his life. On his journey to the mountain, Kumalo sees Jarvis, who tells him that he is moving to Johannesburg to live with his daughter-in-law and her children. While on the mountain, Kumalo thinks of various reasons to give thanks, such as Msimangu, the young man from the reformatory, Mrs. Lithebe, Father Vincent, his wife and friend. He wonders why Jarvis has been so kind despite their history, but he also thinks of those who are suffeirng and wonders when South Africa will become emancipated from fear and bondage.

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B]The Catcher in the Rye[/B]
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger. First published in the US in 1951, the novel remains controversial to this day for its liberal profanity and portrayal of sexuality and teenage angst; it was the thirteenth most frequently challenged book of the 1990s according to the American Library Association.

The novel has become one of the most famous literary works of the 20th century, and a common part of high school curricula in many English-speaking countries, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Around 250,000 copies are sold each year, with total sales of more than 60 million.

The novel's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon for teenage alienation and fear. Written in the first person, The Catcher in the Rye relates Holden's experiences in New York City in the days following
his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a college preparatory school.

Holden Caulfield is the protagonist and narrator of the story. Holden is a sixteen year old[3] with a bit of grey hair making him look more mature, who has just been expelled (for academic failure) from a school called Pencey Prep. He is intelligent and sensitive, but Holden narrates in a cynical and jaded voice. He finds the hypocrisy and ugliness of the world around him almost unbearable, and through his cynicism he tries to protect himself from the pain and disappointment of the adult world. However, the criticisms that Holden aims at people around him are also aimed at himself. He is uncomfortable with his own weaknesses, and at times displays the exact phoniness, meanness, and superficiality of the people he says he despises. Holden fails to view himself as the child that he is

Hi, dear friends.
The Catcher in the Rye by D.J. Salinger is one of the best novels in American literature, its genre is Bildungsroman (coming of-age novel). Salinger, in this novel, draws a contrast between the childhood and adulthood. Instead of acknowledging that adulthood scares and mystifies him, Holden (the protagonist) invents a fantasy that adulthood is a world of superficiality and hypocrisy (“phoniness”), while childhood is a world of innocence, curiosity, and honesty.
.I do want you to read this novel,I'm sure you will not regret it
While reading the novel, you'll laugh because of the language used by the protagonist, but having finished it, you'll admire the novelist for the great theme he espoused in the novel

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B]The Catcher in the Rye[/B]
By: J.D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye is set around the 1950s and is narrated by a young man named Holden Caulfield. Holden is not specific about his location while he’s telling the story, but he makes it clear that he is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital or sanatorium. The events he narrates take place in the few days between the end of the fall school term and Christmas, when Holden is sixteen years old.
Holden’s story begins on the Saturday following the end of classes at the Pencey prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. Pencey is Holden’s fourth school; he has already failed out of three others. At Pencey, he has failed four out of five of his classes and has received notice that he is being expelled, but he is not scheduled to return home to Manhattan until Wednesday. He visits his elderly history teacher, Spencer, to say goodbye, but when Spencer tries to reprimand him for his poor academic performance, Holden becomes annoyed.
Back in the dormitory, Holden is further irritated by his unhygienic neighbor, Ackley, and by his own roommate, Stradlater. Stradlater spends the evening on a date with Jane Gallagher, a girl whom Holden used to date and whom he still admires. During the course of the evening, Holden grows increasingly nervous about Stradlater’s taking Jane out, and when Stradlater returns, Holden questions him insistently about whether he tried to have --- with her. Stradlater teases Holden, who flies into a rage and attacks Stradlater. Stradlater pins Holden down and bloodies his nose. Holden decides that he’s had enough of Pencey and will go to Manhattan three days early, stay in a hotel, and not tell his parents that he is back.
On the train to New York, Holden meets the mother of one of his fellow Pencey students. Though he thinks this student is a complete “bastard,” he tells the woman made-up stories about how shy her son is and how well respected he is at school. When he arrives at Penn Station, he goes into a phone booth and considers calling several people, but for various reasons he decides against it. He gets in a cab and asks the cab driver where the ducks in Central Park go when the lagoon freezes, but his question annoys the driver. Holden has the cab take him to the Edmont Hotel, where he checks himself in.
From his room at the Edmont, Holden can see into the rooms of some of the guests in the opposite wing. He observes a man putting on silk stockings, high heels, a bra, a corset, and an evening gown. He also sees a man and a woman in another room taking turns spitting mouthfuls of their drinks into each other’s faces and laughing hysterically. He interprets the couple’s behavior as a form of sexual play and is both upset and aroused by it. After smoking a couple of cigarettes, he calls Faith Cavendish, a woman he has never met but whose number he got from an acquaintance at Princeton. Holden thinks he remembers hearing that she used to be a stripper, and he believes he can persuade her to have --- with him. He calls her, and though she is at first annoyed to be called at such a late hour by a complete stranger, she eventually suggests that they meet the next day. Holden doesn’t want to wait that long and winds up hanging up without arranging a meeting.
Holden goes downstairs to the Lavender Room and sits at a table, but the waiter realizes he’s a minor and refuses to serve him. He flirts with three women in their thirties, who seem like they’re from out of town and are mostly interested in catching a glimpse of a celebrity. Nevertheless, Holden dances with them and feels that he is “half in love” with the blonde one after seeing how well she dances. After making some wisecracks about his age, they leave, letting him pay their entire tab.
As Holden goes out to the lobby, he starts to think about Jane Gallagher and, in a flashback, recounts how he got to know her. They met while spending a summer vacation in Maine, played golf and checkers, and held hands at the movies. One afternoon, during a game of checkers, her stepfather came onto the porch where they were playing, and when he left Jane began to cry. Holden had moved to sit beside her and kissed her all over her face, but she wouldn’t let him kiss her on the mouth. That was the closest they came to “necking.”
Holden leaves the Edmont and takes a cab to Ernie’s jazz club in Greenwich Village. Again, he asks the cab driver where the ducks in Central Park go in the winter, and this cabbie is even more irritable than the first one. Holden sits alone at a table in Ernie’s and observes the other patrons with distaste. He runs into Lillian Simmons, one of his older brother’s former girlfriends, who invites him to sit with her and her date. Holden says he has to meet someone, leaves, and walks back to the Edmont.
Maurice, the elevator operator at the Edmont, offers to send a prostitute to Holden’s room for five dollars, and Holden agrees. A young woman, identifying herself as “Sunny,” arrives at his door. She pulls off her dress, but Holden starts to feel “peculiar” and tries to make conversation with her. He claims that he recently underwent a spinal operation and isn’t sufficiently -recovered to have --- with her, but he offers to pay her anyway. She sits on his lap and talks dirty to him, but he insists on paying her five dollars and showing her the door. Sunny returns with Maurice, who demands another five dollars from Holden. When Holden refuses to pay, Maurice punches him in the stomach and leaves him on the floor, while Sunny takes five dollars from his wallet. Holden goes to bed.
He wakes up at ten o’clock on Sunday and calls Sally Hayes, an attractive girl whom he has dated in the past. They arrange to meet for a matinee showing of a Broadway play. He eats breakfast at a sandwich bar, where he converses with two nuns about Romeo and Juliet. He gives the nuns ten dollars. He tries to telephone Jane Gallagher, but her mother answers the phone, and he hangs up. He takes a cab to Central Park to look for his younger sister, Phoebe, but she isn’t there. He helps one of Phoebe’s schoolmates tighten her skate, and the girl tells him that Phoebe might be in the Museum of Natural History. Though he knows that Phoebe’s class wouldn’t be at the museum on a Sunday, he goes there anyway, but when he gets there he decides not to go in and instead takes a cab to the Biltmore Hotel to meet Sally.
Holden and Sally go to the play, and Holden is annoyed that Sally talks with a boy she knows from Andover afterward. At Sally’s suggestion, they go to Radio City to ice skate. They both skate poorly and decide to get a table instead. Holden tries to explain to Sally why he is unhappy at school, and actually urges her to run away with him to Massachusetts or Vermont and live in a cabin. When she refuses, he calls her a “pain in the ass” and laughs at her when she reacts angrily. She refuses to listen to his apologies and leaves.
Holden calls Jane again, but there is no answer. He calls Carl Luce, a young man who had been Holden’s student advisor at the Whooton School and who is now a student at Columbia University. Luce arranges to meet him for a drink after dinner, and Holden goes to a movie at Radio City to kill time. Holden and Luce meet at the Wicker Bar in the Seton Hotel. At Whooton, Luce had spoken frankly with some of the boys about ---, and Holden tries to draw him into a conversation about it once more. Luce grows irritated by Holden’s juvenile remarks about homosexuals and about Luce’s Chinese girlfriend, and he makes an excuse to leave early. Holden continues to drink Scotch and listen to the pianist and singer.
Quite drunk, Holden telephones Sally Hayes and babbles about their Christmas Eve plans. Then he goes to the lagoon in Central Park, where he used to watch the ducks as a child. It takes him a long time to find it, and by the time he does, he is freezing cold. He then decides to sneak into his own apartment building and wake his sister, Phoebe. He is forced to admit to Phoebe that he was kicked out of school, which makes her mad at him. When he tries to explain why he hates school, she accuses him of not liking anything. He tells her his fantasy of being “the catcher in the rye,” a person who catches little children as they are about to fall off of a cliff. Phoebe tells him that he has misremembered the poem that he took the image from: Robert Burns’s poem says “if a body meet a body, coming through the rye,” not “catch a body.”
Holden calls his former English teacher, Mr. Antolini, who tells Holden he can come to his apartment. Mr. Antolini asks Holden about his expulsion and tries to counsel him about his future. Holden can’t hide his sleepiness, and Mr. Antolini puts him to bed on the couch. Holden awakens to find Mr. Antolini stroking his forehead. Thinking that Mr. Antolini is making a homosexual overture, Holden hastily excuses himself and leaves, sleeping for a few hours on a bench at Grand Central Station.
Holden goes to Phoebe’s school and sends her a note saying that he is leaving home for good and that she should meet him at lunchtime at the museum. When Phoebe arrives, she is carrying a suitcase full of clothes, and she asks Holden to take her with him. He refuses angrily, and she cries and then refuses to speak to him. Knowing she will follow him, he walks to the zoo, and then takes her across the park to a carousel. He buys her a ticket and watches her ride it. It starts to rain heavily, but Holden is so happy watching his sister ride the carousel that he is close to tears.
Holden ends his narrative here, telling the reader that he is not going to tell the story of how he went home and got “sick.” He plans to go to a new school in the fall and is cautiously optimistic about his future

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Lord of the Flies

By: William Golding
In the midst of a raging war, a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down over a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch shell on the beach, and Piggy realizes it could be used as a horn to summon the other boys. Once assembled, the boys set about electing a leader and devising a way to be rescued. They choose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appoints another boy, Jack, to be in charge of the boys who will hunt food for the entire group.
Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon, set off on an expedition to explore the island. When they return, Ralph declares that they must light a signal fire to attract the attention of passing ships. The boys succeed in igniting some dead wood by focusing sunlight through the lenses of Piggy’s eyeglasses. However, the boys pay more attention to playing than to monitoring the fire, and the flames quickly engulf the forest. A large swath of dead wood burns out of control, and one of the youngest boys in the group disappears, presumably having burned to death.
At first, the boys enjoy their life without grown-ups and spend much of their time splashing in the water and playing games. Ralph, however, complains that they should be maintaining the signal fire and building huts for shelter. The hunters fail in their attempt to catch a wild pig, but their leader, Jack, becomes increasingly preoccupied with the act of hunting.
When a ship passes by on the horizon one day, Ralph and Piggy notice, to their horror, that the signal fire—which had been the hunters’ responsibility to maintain—has burned out. Furious, Ralph accosts Jack, but the hunter has just returned with his first kill, and all the hunters seem gripped with a strange frenzy, reenacting the chase in a kind of wild dance. Piggy criticizes Jack, who hits Piggy across the face. Ralph blows the conch shell and reprimands the boys in a speech intended to restore order. At the meeting, it quickly becomes clear that some of the boys have started to become afraid. The littlest boys, known as “littluns,” have been troubled by nightmares from the beginning, and more and more boys now believe that there is some sort of beast or monster lurking on the island. The older boys try to convince the others at the meeting to think rationally, asking where such a monster could possibly hide during the daytime. One of the littluns suggests that it hides in the sea—a proposition that terrifies the entire group.
Not long after the meeting, some military planes engage in a battle high above the island. The boys, asleep below, do not notice the flashing lights and explosions in the clouds. A parachutist drifts to earth on the signal fire mountain, dead. Sam and Eric, the twins responsible for watching the fire at night, are asleep and do not see the parachutist land. When the twins wake up, they see the enormous silhouette of his parachute and hear the strange flapping noises it makes. Thinking the island beast is at hand, they rush back to the camp in terror and report that the beast has attacked them.
The boys organize a hunting expedition to search for the monster. Jack and Ralph, who are increasingly at odds, travel up the mountain. They see the silhouette of the parachute from a distance and think that it looks like a huge, deformed ape. The group holds a meeting at which Jack and Ralph tell the others of the sighting. Jack says that Ralph is a coward and that he should be removed from office, but the other boys refuse to vote Ralph out of power. Jack angrily runs away down the beach, calling all the hunters to join him. Ralph rallies the remaining boys to build a new signal fire, this time on the beach rather than on the mountain. They obey, but before they have finished the task, most of them have slipped away to join Jack.
Jack declares himself the leader of the new tribe of hunters and organizes a hunt and a violent, ritual slaughter of a sow to solemnize the occasion. The hunters then decapitate the sow and place its head on a sharpened stake in the jungle as an offering to the beast. Later, encountering the bloody, fly-covered head, Simon has a terrible vision, during which it seems to him that the head is speaking. The voice, which he imagines as belonging to the Lord of the Flies, says that Simon will never escape him, for he exists within all men. Simon faints. When he wakes up, he goes to the mountain, where he sees the dead parachutist. Understanding then that the beast does not exist externally but rather within each individual boy, Simon travels to the beach to tell the others what he has seen. But the others are in the midst of a chaotic revelry—even Ralph and Piggy have joined Jack’s feast—and when they see Simon’s shadowy figure emerge from the jungle, they fall upon him and kill him with their bare hands and teeth.
The following morning, Ralph and Piggy discuss what they have done. Jack’s hunters attack them and their few followers and steal Piggy’s glasses in the process. Ralph’s group travels to Jack’s stronghold in an attempt to make Jack see reason, but Jack orders Sam and Eric tied up and fights with Ralph. In the ensuing battle, one boy, Roger, rolls a boulder down the mountain, killing Piggy and shattering the conch shell. Ralph barely manages to escape a torrent of spears.
Ralph hides for the rest of the night and the following day, while the others hunt him like an animal. Jack has the other boys ignite the forest in order to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place. Ralph stays in the forest, where he discovers and destroys the sow’s head, but eventually, he is forced out onto the beach, where he knows the other boys will soon arrive to kill him. Ralph collapses in exhaustion, but when he looks up, he sees a British naval officer standing over him. The officer’s ship noticed the fire raging in the jungle. The other boys reach the beach and stop in their tracks at the sight of the officer. Amazed at the spectacle of this group of bloodthirsty, savage children, the officer asks Ralph to explain. Ralph is overwhelmed by the knowledge that he is safe but, thinking about what has happened on the island, he begins to weep. The other boys begin to sob as well. The officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their composure.

Heart of Darkness
By: Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness centers around Marlow, an introspective sailor, and his journey up the Congo River to meet Kurtz, reputed to be an idealistic man of great abilities. Marlow takes a job as a riverboat captain with the Company, a Belgian concern organized to trade in the Congo. As he travels to Africa and then up the Congo, Marlow encounters widespread inefficiency and brutality in the Company’s stations. The native inhabitants of the region have been forced into the Company’s service, and they suffer terribly from overwork and ill treatment at the hands of the Company’s agents. The cruelty and squalor of imperial enterprise contrasts sharply with the impassive and majestic jungle that surrounds the white man’s settlements, making them appear to be tiny islands amidst a vast darkness.
Marlow arrives at the Central Station, run by the general manager, an unwholesome, conspiratorial character. He finds that his steamship has been sunk and spends several months waiting for parts to repair it. His interest in Kurtz grows during this period. The manager and his favorite, the brickmaker, seem to fear Kurtz as a threat to their position. Kurtz is rumored to be ill, making the delays in repairing the ship all the more costly. Marlow eventually gets the parts he needs to repair his ship, and he and the manager set out with a few agents (whom Marlow calls pilgrims because of their strange habit of carrying long, wooden staves wherever they go) and a crew of cannibals on a long, difficult voyage up the river. The dense jungle and the oppressive silence make everyone aboard a little jumpy, and the occasional glimpse of a native village or the sound of drums work the pilgrims into a frenzy.
Marlow and his crew come across a hut with stacked firewood, together with a note saying that the wood is for them but that they should approach cautiously. Shortly after the steamer has taken on the firewood, it is surrounded by a dense fog. When the fog clears, the ship is attacked by an unseen band of natives, who fire arrows from the safety of the forest. The African helmsman is killed before Marlow frightens the natives away with the ship’s steam whistle. Not long after, Marlow and his companions arrive at Kurtz’s Inner Station, expecting to find him dead, but a half-crazed Russian trader, who meets them as they come ashore, assures them that everything is fine and informs them that he is the one who left the wood. The Russian claims that Kurtz has enlarged his mind and cannot be subjected to the same moral judgments as normal people. Apparently, Kurtz has established himself as a god with the natives and has gone on brutal raids in the surrounding territory in search of ivory. The collection of severed heads adorning the fence posts around the station attests to his “methods.” The pilgrims bring Kurtz out of the station-house on a stretcher, and a large group of native warriors pours out of the forest and surrounds them. Kurtz speaks to them, and the natives disappear into the woods.
The manager brings Kurtz, who is quite ill, aboard the steamer. A beautiful native woman, apparently Kurtz’s mistress, appears on the shore and stares out at the ship. The Russian implies that she is somehow involved with Kurtz and has caused trouble before through her influence over him. The Russian reveals to Marlow, after swearing him to secrecy, that Kurtz had ordered the attack on the steamer to make them believe he was dead in order that they might turn back and leave him to his plans. The Russian then leaves by canoe, fearing the displeasure of the manager. Kurtz disappears in the night, and Marlow goes out in search of him, finding him crawling on all fours toward the native camp. Marlow stops him and convinces him to return to the ship. They set off down the river the next morning, but Kurtz’s health is failing fast.
Marlow listens to Kurtz talk while he pilots the ship, and Kurtz entrusts Marlow with a packet of personal documents, including an eloquent pamphlet on civilizing the savages which ends with a scrawled message that says, “Exterminate all the brutes!” The steamer breaks down, and they have to stop for repairs. Kurtz dies, uttering his last words—“The horror! The horror!”—in the presence of the confused Marlow. Marlow falls ill soon after and barely survives. Eventually he returns to Europe and goes to see Kurtz’s Intended (his fiancée). She is still in mourning, even though it has been over a year since Kurtz’s death, and she praises him as a paragon of virtue and achievement. She asks what his last words were, but Marlow cannot bring himself to shatter her illusions with the truth. Instead, he tells her that Kurtz’s last word was her name.

The Age of Innocence
By: Edith Whatron
Newland Archer couldn't be more pleased with his recent engagement to the beautiful debutante May Welland. However, his world is thrown upside down by the sensational arrival of May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Recently returned to America after separating from her husband, a philandering Polish count, Countess Olenska shocks the staid New York aristocracy with her revealing clothes, carefree manners, and rumors of adultery. Because the Countess's family, headed by the powerful Mrs. Manson Mingott, have chosen to reintroduce her into good society, Archer and May feel it necessary to befriend her.
As Archer comes to better know the Countess, he begins to appreciate her unconventional views on New York society. Meanwhile, Archer becomes increasingly disillusioned with his new fianceé, May. He begins to see her as the manufactured product of her class: polite, innocent, and utterly devoid of personal opinion and sense of self.
The Countess Olenska soon announces her intention of divorcing her husband. While Archer supports her desire for freedom, he feels compelled to act on behalf of the Mingott family and persuade Ellen to remain married. At a friend's cottage near Hudson, Archer realizes that he is in love with Ellen. He abruptly leaves the next day for Florida, where he is reunited with May and her parents, who are there on vacation. There, he presses May to shorten their engagement. May becomes suspicious and asks him if his hurry to get married is prompted by the fear that he is marrying the wrong person. Archer reassures May that he is in love with her. Back in New York, Archer calls on Ellen, and Archer admits that he is in love with her. Just then, a telegram arrives from May, announcing that her parents have pushed forward the wedding date.
After their wedding and honeymoon in Europe, Archer and May settle down to married life in New York. Over time, Archer's memory of Ellen fades to a wistful image. But on vacation in Newport, he is reunited with her, and Ellen promises not to return to Europe as long as she and Newland do not act upon their love for each other. Back in New York, Archer learns that Count Olenski wants his wife to return to him and that Ellen has refused. After the stroke of her grandmother, Ellen returns to New York to care for her. She and Archer agree to consummate their affair. But suddenly, Ellen announces her intention to return to Europe. May throws a farewell party for Ellen, and after the guests leave, May announces to Archer that she is pregnant and that she told Ellen her news two weeks earlier.

Twenty-five years pass. In that time, the Archers have had three children and May has died from pneumonia. Now Archer's son convinces him to travel to France. There, they arrange to visit the Countess Olenska at her Paris apartment. However, at the last minute Archer sends his son alone to visit her, content instead to live with his memories of the past

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