Ralph1.He is the epitome of the stereotyped protagonist –tall, fair-skinned, blonde hair, blue-eyed (ironically Aryan featured).
2.He represents the good in mankind
3.He also symbolizes that all men, even the good ones, are flawed – have the ability to be cruel
4.He and Jack are binary oppositions of one another.
5.Elected leader, but not forceful enough to maintain the position.
6.An idealist and a dreamer – it is Piggy who does all of the thinking for him.
7.He is eventually reduced to the status of outcast, who must flee for his life.
8.Just before the end, he becomes almost savage and animalistic in order to try to survive
9.At the end of the novel he is a disillusioned realist, who now sees the world and its inhabitants for what they really are.
Piggy
1.Piggy is the stereotypical ‘victim’ in the novel – overweight, fat, asthmatic and short-sighted. His presence initially makes the other boys either wince or make fun of him.
2.He is represented as being of a lower class than the other boys, and consequently speaks and acts differently.
3.Ironically, although the others treat him with disrespect, he is the boy who speaks the most sense – he is intelligent, thoughtful and able to reason and hypothesise.
4.He is a paternal figure who looks after and supports the little’uns.
5.He becomes a wise counsellor who supports Ralph’s attempts at democratic, parliamentary rule.
6.He increasingly finds himself at odds with Jack, a person who he instinctively fears and loathes.
7.Jack’s subordinate Roger crushes Piggy with the boulder and, with this, we know that hope for civilization is completely lost.
8.Sight is metaphorically and literally associated with Piggy.
Jack
1.He is meant to represent the worst in people.
2.His physical appearance serves as a warning sign – the flame red hair, the pale face that blanches with displeasure.
3.He is used to taking up a leadership position – first leader of the choir, he becomes leader of the hunters.
4.We can see he is power-hungry at the start
5.However, at the start he does seem to try to be friends with Ralph and he does seem to want to follow some rules.
6. He is later responsible for splitting the group – he does this by terrorising them and offering them a tempting life of hunting and plenty of meat.
7.His leadership results in a dictatorship, where he rules ‘his’ tribe with fear.
8.Jack is a spontaneous individual who wants instant gratification for his desires.
9.He doesn’t think through the consequences of his actions (as Ralph does), but puts himself first at all times.
10.He is amoral and only enforces the sense of justice that he feels is right.
Simon
1.He is a dark, mystical who the other boys find ‘odd’.
2.He goes barefoot and is an isolated figure – Golding deliberately makes Simon a Christ-like figure, the analogy is not coincidental.
3.He is helpful and cooperative, and the only boy to help Ralph build the shelters.
4.He is one of the three boys who initially explores the island (with Jack and Ralph – would we overtly notice that he’s there?)
5.He has a marked physical weakness in that he appears to suffer from epilepsy (also associated with prophetic qualities).
6.He has a high level of intuitive intelligence and this allows him to confront the boys’ fears about the ‘beast’
7.An original member of the choir, he is ultimately killed by the choir in a ritual frenzy (murder/ manslaughter?)- this could be symbolic of man’s ability to kill ‘one of his own’, showing the true extent of the cruelty man is capable of.
Roger
1.He is mysterious, secretive, slight and furtive.
2.As Jack’s lieutenant, he comes to think like Jack and does not question the consequences of his actions.
3.His name literally means ‘famous with a spear’ and we often see him with weapons.
4.He is a sadist who delights in inflicting pain – he is unnecessarily cruel in the sow killing incident.
5.He is the logical extension of Jack’s character. He does things that Jack wants to do, but can’t seem to bring himself to.
6.He prepares the stick ‘sharpened at both ends’ to mount Ralph’s head- showing his sadistic nature.
