Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis

“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart…” pg.123
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding depicts morals and the boundaries of society in the form of characters. This essay will compare and contrast the differences between four pivotal characters: Ralph, Jack, Simon and Roger. The goodness and order in society is portrayed by Ralph and SImon. The darkness in human nature is explained through Roger and Jack. “A stone. No. A Shell.”
Throughout Lord of the Flies, a major epicenter of conflict is the conch shell. Piggy - who represents innovation and intelligence among the boys - and Ralph discover the shell. Ralph obtains the power over all the boys and puts all energy towards building shelters and attempting to contact adult civilization. Ralph’s leadership is based upon the morals imposed by society in the modern world, which is far different than the island; no society, no morals. “Jack began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling.” pg.200
The opposing end of the spectrum from Ralph is Jack. From the moment Jack is introduced in the novel, it is clear that he is made to be in competition with Ralph. Jack is ran by his insecurity. His hunger for power is fed by jealousy. To compare Ralph and Jack is to compare apples and oranges, essentially.
Ralph’s honest treatment of the “littluns” verses Jack’s growing rage and violent mistreatment of the younger kids is just a single example. “The picture of a human at once heroic and sick.” pg.97
Simon is a character that is off the spectrum all together. In the novel, Simon is a representation of purity, the “natural” goodness that presents the inherence of morality. When the boys are frenzied and crazed from their war dance, they don’t appear to be aware that Simon is simply Simon and not “the beast” that Jack uses to manipulate the other boys. The murder of Simon demonstrates that the last of the pure goodness on the island had finally been killed off, leaving only the brutal savagery of Jack’s tribe and the dwindling hope of Ralph’s tribe. “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.” pg.142
The last and, in my opinion, most terrible of all of the characters is Roger. It is shown early in the novel that he is mildly sadistic when he is found on the beach throwing stones at some of the small children. His cruelty and brutalization of his peers is what pushes Roger to be almost further down on the bloodlust spectrum, further than Jack. Jack wants power to control, Roger wants power to hurt anyone he sees fit. In the novel, Piggy is murdered by Roger. “The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.”pg.72
In summary, Lord of the Flies demonstrates how fear and corruption are the basic seeds of human primality.
Ralph and Simon were a perfect example of innocence lost and the morals that tend to protect and even advance society as a whole. The savage boys, Jack and Roger, are the idea of objectivity and personal gratification that use methods such as fear and violence to control those around them. Human nature gravitates towards primal instincts when removed from the morals imposed by modern society. Only when modern society suddenly appears in the form of the Naval Officer does Ralph understand that he will never be able to revert back to how he was the day he set foot on the
island.