FREE ESSAY ON CHARACTERISTICS FROM LORD OF THE FLIES

CHARACTERISTICS FROM LORD OF THE FLIES

Characters:
Ralph 
The protagonist of Lord of the Flies. He is 12 years old, tall, blond, and attractive.
Ralph is a natural leader and after discovering the conch shell, he is elected as leader
of the boys. Throughout the novel Ralph tries to establish order and focus on rescue. He
decides that a boy can only speak at the meetings if he is holding the conch shell. He
wants to keep the fire on the mountain going so that is a plane passes, the boys can be
saved. He also encourages the boys to build huts. He is very much a true human because
although he tries to maintain order, he is often tempted by the indulgences of the other
boys. He occasionally makes foolish mistakes, such as joining in with the hysteria of the
other boys and killing Simon. When Jack forms a separate, rival group focus in on hunting
and savagery rather than rescue, Ralph fights against the superstition and the terror of
the other boys. When the numbers in his party begin to diminish, Ralph is left to survive
on his own in the forest being chased by the transformed savage boys. 
Jack 
The antagonist of Lord of the Flies. He is tall, redheaded, and emerges as the leader of
the choir boys. When Ralph becomes the initial leader, Jack becomes upset, for he wanted
that position but instead becomes the leader of the hunters. Jack leads the boys from
civilized young men into savages through the novel. He is malicious and animalistic. As
structure breaks down, Jack forms his own separate sect seperating from Ralph and the
rest of the group. Jack is a cruel bully, who is constantly violent and threatens those
below him. Jack is always ready to fight. Jack constantly attempts to weaken others. He
breaks Piggy's glasses and leads the others towards Piggy's murder. He brings the boys
into mass hysteria and eventually hunts Ralph down like an animal. 
Piggy 
Fat, asthmatic boy with glasses, a typical sissy, he is scientific and skeptical. He
quickly befriends Ralph and recognizes that he can express his views through Ralph. Piggy
is an orphan who was brought up by his aunt. He constantly refers to the old way of life.
Piggy builds the sundial. He doesn't believe in the beastie. Because Piggy is an
intellectual who lacks social skills, he is an outsider. The boys ridicule him over and
over again. He can not do anything for himself and constantly tries to get out of work
while relying on Ralph. He is the voices of reason and the link to the adult world. The
taunting by the boys, escalates to beatings and having his glasses stolen. Eventually,
piggy is killed by Roger. 
Simon 
Simon is the Christ like figure of the novel. He was skinny and had black hair. Simon was
a loner who often experienced fainting spells. He would wander into the jungle to think
by himself. Simon sees beyond the surface of things. The other boys were indifferent
towards Simon for he was not extremely social. He helped others with necessary chores,
such as building the huts and taking care of the littleuns. As the novel goes on Simon is
gradually alienated. Simon becomes brave in the face of danger. He is the only character
to confront the beastie and find out the truth. He believes that the beastie is only
controlled in their minds. With Simon's new found knowledge of the truth he goes to
explain his findings to the others. When he does, he is sacrificially killed by the boys.
Simon, the selfless and harmless boy was beaten and stabbed to death by the horde of
boys. 
Roger 
Initially a shy, quiet boy, but his taciturn nature swings in the opposite direction into
a malicious murderer. He takes a liking to throwing rocks and boulders and spears at the
fellow boys. Roger has no regret or sympathy after he commits his violent acts. Roger was
the most savage of the boys. He engages in sadistic torture of the pig, of Piggy and the
littleuns. He supports Jacks leadership in the same way Piggy backs up Ralph.