LORD OF THE FLIES - WILLIAM GOLDING |
character analysis
Ralph - is the novel’s protagonist. He was elected as the leader of the group of boys. Ralph attempts to keep the boys coordinated in order to build and keep a miniature civilization until they get rescued. He represents human civilization. Ralph is a natural born leader, therefore he is very proper and full of polite manners. When Simon says that he doesn’t believe in the beast, Ralph says, “as if agreeing about the weather.”(Chapter 5, Golding) Ralph addresses Simon’s comment as a civilized member of society even in the worst times. Ralph has left behind society and civilization yet he is still a gentleman. Over time, Ralph starts to lose his power and "with a convulsion of the mind, Ralph discovered dirt and decay," (Chapter 5, Golding). Ralph slowly and symbolically is discovering humankind's dark side. At the same time, he has learned that intellect, reason, and sensitivity are what are holding back the evil in humans.
Jack - is the novel’s antagonist. He believes that Ralph is leading the boys in a wrong path of civilization. Having longed for power, rule, and order, Jack spreads away from the group of boys with the hunters and makes his own group and civilization. Jack becomes the leader of the other group and he also becomes increasingly and greatly barbaric, savages, and vicious. Denouncing the rules of order, Jack says, "We don't need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things." (chapter 6, Golding). He dictates to his hunters that they forget the beast and that they stop having nightmares. As Jack strives to establish his leadership, he takes on the title of "chief" and reinforces the illusion of station and power by making all the other children his bearers. Jack represents the savagery that lives in all humans. Piggy says, "It's them that haven't no common sense that make trouble on this island," (chapter 8, Golding). Jack takes an entirely different direction from logic or common sense. Perhaps acting out of some guilt he is unable to acknowledge, Jack becomes paranoid and begins feeding misinformation to his tribe, a typical practice of dictatorships to control the collective thinking by controlling the information that is disseminated. Piggy- is the brains with poor eyesight, a weight problem, and asthma. Piggy's intellect benefits the group only transmitted through Ralph, he acts as Ralph's adviser. He cannot be the leader himself because he lacks leadership qualities and has no similarities with the other boys. Piggy believes that holding the conch gives him the right to be heard. With the conch, everyone gets a fair chance. which is probably why piggy defends it even when he and Ralph are being attacked by Jack's gang, holding it up and demanding, "Which is better—to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?" (chapter 10, Golding). Piggy defends the conch because the weak are over powered by the strong and he feels better having rules because there is a lesser chance of anyone hurting him. Piggy is the scientific one of the group, his glasses represent technology, because they are what start the signal fire. Piggy’s glasses become the most powerful item on the island, yet he still believes the conch holds all the power. When a group of boys from the other camp come and trash Ralph and Piggy's camp site piggy is confused and says “I thought they wanted the conch.”, "They didn’t come for the conch. They came for something else. Ralph – what am I going to do?” (chapter 10, Golding), Piggy didn't realize that his glasses, a part him where so valuable on the island, he believes that the conch obtained the most power. his confusion of priorities proves that he can't think as others think or value what others value, because his approach to life is modeled on the rules of the authoritative adult world. Simon - is an extremely shy, innocent boy. He is very different from the other boys, always going into different directions and spending time alone. He represents a “Godly figure” because he always spreads positivity within the group and is never involved in the violent fights the other boys were involved in. Simon is naturally good hearted and kind. He doesn’t have evil thoughts or commit evil actions, as compared to the other boys such as Ralph and Jack. In chapter 5 the boys discuss the possibility of a beast. In all of the chaos, Simon steps forward and says, “Maybe it’s only us.” This demonstrates Simon’s wisdom because he is the only boy to realize the real beast lies within each one of them. "Maybe," he said hesitantly, "maybe there is a beast." "I don't know," said Simon. His heartbeats were choking him. "But,"Simon grabbed the conch convulsively. "I wanted--to go to a place--a place I know." "What place?" "Just a place I know. A place in the jungle." (chapter 6, Golding) Simon's hesitation here shows his goodness and innocence. His hesitation shows how different he is than the boys. The other boys go on searches for the beastie and are determined to kill the bestie, whereas all Simon wants to do is spend time alone thinking and pondering about life. This shows Simon's originality, independence, and difference. Samneric - They are very close, and often finish each other’s sentences, for example, when they discover the “beast”, they attempt to explain what they saw to Ralph and this is how it comes out. “‘We saw-’ ‘-the beast-’ ‘-plain!’” (chapter 4, Golding). Sam and Eric represent betrayal of one another over fear. Sam and Eric are two shy twins, are always seen together. They always depend on each other for everything and are never able to do anything by themselves. They are known as followers because they usually never did anything on their own and relied on others for help. They are close allied with Ralph and listen to everything he told them to do. Sam and Eric portray reliance and unity because through them we could see how much people really need each other. The other boys on the island see how inseparable they are, therefore, they start calling them “Samneric” Eventually, they turn on each other over fear. No one expects them to abandon each other but it ends up occurring. No matter how close we are with someone, we never know when they could turn their backs on you. Roger - Roger: Roger is the torturous one of the boys. Roger is sadistic. You dont want to be stuck on an island with him. JAck wants power because he enjoys the state of higher power, where as Roger wants to be in power because he likes hunting others. We can see his actions in past events in the novel, like him and Maurice destroying the littleuns sandcastle for no reason. He has a psychotic personality but does not become a psychotic murderer. “Roger edged past the chief, only just avoiding pushing him with his shoulder. The yelling ceased, and Samneric lay looking up in quiet terror. Roger advanced upon them as one wielding a nameless authority. (11.231)” |