Chapter 5 Summary

As Ralph walks along the beach, he thinks about how much of life is an improvisation and about how a considerable part of one’s waking life is spent watching one’s feet. Ralph is frustrated with his hair, which is now long, mangy, and always manages to fall in front of his eyes. He decides to call a meeting to attempt to bring the group back into line. Late in the evening, he blows the conch shell, and the boys gather on the beach.
At the meeting place, Ralph grips the conch shell and the boys for their failure to uphold the group’s rules. They have not done anything required of them they refuse to work at building shelters, they do not gather drinking water, and they do not even use the designated toilet area. Piggy urges Ralph to blow the conch shell and summon the boys back to the group, but Ralph is afraid that the summons will go ignored. As another long day goes by everyone goes to bed but there”s a sound of a littlun crying echoes along the beach.