The Lord of the Flies - Character Analyses
Ralph – The Novel’s Protagonist (leading character, often supporter of a cause) 'The boy with fair hair' Ralph attempts to build a miniature civilization on the island until they can be rescued. Ralph represents human beings' civilizing instinct, as opposed to the savage instinct that Jack embodies. Has a natural disposition to do good and care for others. He has a conscience. He shows courage – when they go looking for the beast, he takes the lead. But nor does he pretend that he is not frightened. He has common-sense, and can see what must be done for their survival and rescue. He fights against superstition and terror for the organised progress of their society: "Because the rules are the only thing we've got." Is by no means a perfect character. He is initially mean to Piggy, occasionally performs rash and foolish actions, and he joins in the killing of Simon, so he shares in the universal guilt of man. But he does show a clear-sightedness that none of the others possess. He has the natural qualities of leadership but neither the ruthlessness nor the assertiveness needed to counteract Jack's opposition. His inability to respond to Jack strongly and decisively is the direct cause of the defection of the boys to Jack. Ralph’s commitment to civilization and morality is strong, and this strength gives Ralph a moral victory at the end of the novel, when he casts down the Lord of the Flies and uses the stake to defend himself. As the novel progresses Ralph, like Simon, comes to understand that savagery exists within all the boys. Ralph remains determined not to let this savagery overwhelm him, however, he experiences the exhilaration and thrill of bloodlust and is swept away by the frenzied dancing and assists in killing Simon. This firsthand knowledge of the evil that exists within him, as within all human beings, is tragic for Ralph, and it plunges him into listless despair for a time. But this knowledge also enables him to cast down the Lord of the Flies at the end of the novel. Ralph’s story ends semi-tragically: although he is rescued and returned to civilization, when he sees the naval officer, he weeps with the burden of his new knowledge about the human capacity for evil.
# The crucial moment in the battle between Ralph and Jack comes in Chapter 4. The hunters are in the wrong; they have let the fire go out. But instead of keeping the high ground, Ralph's desire for meat gets in the way. The boys see there is a clear choice between Jack, who offers meat and the security of tribal life, and Ralph, who offers the cold comfort of commonsense, fairness and a vague and distant hope of rescue. Jack Merridew – the novels antagonist (adversary) 'He was tall, thin, and bony, and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness.' The novel's antagonist, Jack is the novel’s primary representative of the instinct of savagery, violence, and the desire for power—in short, the antithesis of Ralph. Early on, Jack retains the sense of moral propriety and behaviour that society instilled in him (initlially he is unable to kill the pig) but soon becomes obsessed with hunting and devotes himself to the task, painting his face like a barbarian and giving himself over to bloodlust. A cruel and ugly bully, he early develops a taste for violence. His leadership resides in his ability to control, threaten and frighten those under him. This is demonstrated at the very start, when he keeps the choir standing in the heat even though the boys are exhausted. He does show bravery and resourcefulness, but these qualities are easily obscured by his wrath, envy, pride, hatred, and lust for blood. Ever since losing the vote for Chief, he constantly works to weaken Ralph's hold on the boys. The readiness with which he throws himself into the existence of a savage suggest how flimsy societies hold on him really was. By the end of the novel, Jack has learned to use the boys’ fear of the beast to control their behaviour—a reminder of how religion and superstition can be manipulated as instruments of power. His victory over Piggy represents the triumph of strength over intellect, as he smashes one of the lenses of Piggy's glasses, and later steals them completely. When Ralph tells the naval officer that he is the 'boss', Jack does not argue. In the face of adult authority, he is a small boy again.
Piggy (Ralph’s Lieutenant) 'He was shorter than the fair boy and very fat… looked up through his thick spectacles.' Unprepossessing, suffers from poor health and short-sightedness, and makes a fuss about both Is less well-educated than the other boys – his poor grammar shows this: "I didn't vote for no ghost He remains an outsider. An orphan brought up under the care of an aunt, he has developed into a sissy. His attempt to model his behaviour on that of teachers and other grown-ups evoke the contempt of the boys.
Piggy (continued) Piggy's inventiveness frequently leads to innovation, such as the makeshift sundial that the boys use to tell time. Piggy represents the scientific, rational side of civilization. Makes the mistake of pressing too hard for acceptance. Ironically, with his build, his nickname Piggy, and his squealing, he resembles the sacrificial pig. When he dies, his arms and legs twitch a bit, 'like a pig's after it has been killed.' His superior intellect is of little use to him in the later stages of the novel.
# In the end, although Ralph recognises him as a 'true wise friend', Piggy remains an outsider because he is short-sighted. There is a beast. There is fear.
Roger (Jack’s Lieutenant) 'a slight furtive boy whom no one knew, who kept to himself with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy'.
Acts silently and brutally, and works from physical strength, not intelligence A sadistic, cruel older boy who brutalizes the littluns and eventually murders Piggy by rolling a boulder onto him. He represents a different kind of destructiveness from that of Jack - where Jack acts in fury, Roger performs his treacheries with a cool detachment. He actually enjoys being called upon to play the role of torturer. It is such perversity that makes him so much more evil.
# In terms of the historical and social allegory, Roger is the professional exterminator of human beings that usually is found in the entourage of a tyrant. On the religious level, Roger represents the complete death of conscience; he is the epitome of evil. Simon (the Christ figure) 'a skinny vivid little boy, with a glance coming up from under a hut of straight hair that hung down, black and coarse.' Golding has described him as "a Christ-figure… a lover of mankind, a visionary." Simon represents a kind of natural goodness, as opposed to the unbridled evil of Jack and the imposed morality of civilization represented by Ralph and Piggy. He stammers and is shy of speaking in public - 'to speak in an assembly was a terrible thing to him' yet he defends Piggy on more than one occasion. He is something of a mystic, stealing off into the depths of the jungle for moments of solitude and meditation. He is the first to realize the problem posed by the beast and the Lord of the Flies—that is, that the monster on the island is not a real, physical beast but rather a savagery that lurks within each human being. The sows head on the stake symbolizes this idea. He seems to have 'second sight' – he knows Ralph will get home safely, just as he knows the real beast is in the hearts of the boys. He discovers, in his conversation with the 'Lord of the Flies', that the capacity for violence is in everyone. His brutal murder at the hands of the other boys indicates the scarcity of good amid an abundance of evil. The description of the dead Simon, invokes religion too, with his hair dressed with brightness, like a halo, and his shoulder becoming 'sculptured marble'.
# It is in terms of the religious meaning of the story that Simon is most important. He confronts the 'Lord of the Flies' (Beelzebub, an Old Testament devil, means just that.)
Sam and Eric A pair of twins closely allied with Ralph. Sam and Eric are always together, and the other boys often treat them as a single entity, calling them “Samneric.” The easily excitable Sam and Eric are part of the group known as the “bigguns.” At the end of the novel, they fall victim to Jack’s manipulation and coercion. They are shy and pleasant, and very civilised. It is the twins who spot the corpse of the airman on the mountain and run in panic to report the beast. They are not especially brave, but they remain faithful to Ralph long after the others. That Jack and Roger are able, at the end, to make them serve as hunters and to betray Ralph is an indication of the power of evil on the island that even they must share in it. They resemble the relatively innocent and humane members of civilised society who are forced to submit to the powers of mechanisation.