How Does Golding Present Roger in "Lord of the Flies"?
ROGER
The character of Roger is used by Golding to track the boys’ descent into savagery as the novel progresses.
This can be seen in all chapters of the book. In chapter 1, he is introduced as having an “inner intensity of secrecy”. This is very foreshadowing and hints that although he seems normal now, he could have a very dark soul. However, Roger is the one who suggests that the boys have a vote to decide the chief, “‘Well,’ said Jack, ‘I—’ He hesitated. The dark boy, Roger, stirred at last and spoke up. ‘Let’s have a vote.’” The lexical choice of “dark” suggests Roger’s inherent evil. “Let’s have a vote” sounds more of an order than a suggestion, showing his desire for power so early in the book. Thus juxtaposes with the possibility that this quite also shows that he is not happy for Jack to just take control so easily and wants order.
As the boys are walking along the beach, Roger throws rocks at Henry but misses intentionally. “Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry— threw it to miss... Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life.” This shows that at the start of the novel, Roger still feels the rules of society strongly ordering his life. However, the word “invisible” suggests that the taboo of old life could be easily forgotten or ignored. As well as this, the description of society being his “old life” could show that this time on the island is his “new life”, with new rules ignoring old taboos.
However, this changes when Jack and the boys pretend to kill Robert. “Robert was screaming and struggling ... Behind him was Roger, fighting to get close.” This quote shows how Roger likes the feeling of power over a victim and likes to hunt. Here we see Roger losing his grip on society’s rules and where his natural instinct takes over. This can also be seen in the quote “Sharpen a stick at both ends”. This shows that evil is starting to take over Roger’s mind from all angles, suggesting that there is no escape for him
The character of Roger is used by Golding to track the boys’ descent into savagery as the novel progresses.
This can be seen in all chapters of the book. In chapter 1, he is introduced as having an “inner intensity of secrecy”. This is very foreshadowing and hints that although he seems normal now, he could have a very dark soul. However, Roger is the one who suggests that the boys have a vote to decide the chief, “‘Well,’ said Jack, ‘I—’ He hesitated. The dark boy, Roger, stirred at last and spoke up. ‘Let’s have a vote.’” The lexical choice of “dark” suggests Roger’s inherent evil. “Let’s have a vote” sounds more of an order than a suggestion, showing his desire for power so early in the book. Thus juxtaposes with the possibility that this quite also shows that he is not happy for Jack to just take control so easily and wants order.
As the boys are walking along the beach, Roger throws rocks at Henry but misses intentionally. “Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry— threw it to miss... Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life.” This shows that at the start of the novel, Roger still feels the rules of society strongly ordering his life. However, the word “invisible” suggests that the taboo of old life could be easily forgotten or ignored. As well as this, the description of society being his “old life” could show that this time on the island is his “new life”, with new rules ignoring old taboos.
However, this changes when Jack and the boys pretend to kill Robert. “Robert was screaming and struggling ... Behind him was Roger, fighting to get close.” This quote shows how Roger likes the feeling of power over a victim and likes to hunt. Here we see Roger losing his grip on society’s rules and where his natural instinct takes over. This can also be seen in the quote “Sharpen a stick at both ends”. This shows that evil is starting to take over Roger’s mind from all angles, suggesting that there is no escape for him