Analysis of characters in “Lord of the Flies”
The main characters so far seem to be Ralph, Jack and Piggy. It is evident that their personalities and character traits will cause problems in the future. They have been on this island for a short period of time and already there have been many arguments and disputes. I believe that ultimately the vast contrast between characters and their beliefs and ideas will lead to severe problems on the island in regards to power and decisions affecting the entire group. Ralph seems to be a very confident and outgoing boy. He is the type of person who likes to take control of a situation. This side of is personality was visibly evident to many of the boys on the island when they voted him “chief” (Golding 19). Jack is the most like Ralph. He displayed his stature as a power figure from the start as the leader of the choir. “Choir! Stand still!”(Golding 16), shows his authoritative manor. He is also head strong and seems to like things to be under his control. This similarity between Ralph and Jack may cause problems in the future if they both fight for power. Piggy is the kind of character who seems to cause problems unintentionally. His lack of confidence as a result of the other boys picking on him seems to be making him very irritable. Piggy is the type of person that doesn’t know how to stand up for himself, he doesn’t know how to defend himself or is to scared to, so he just allows to others to abuse him. “He went very pink, bowed his head and cleaned his glasses again” (Golding 18) demonstrates how piggy is embarrassed very easily and doesn’t know how to defend himself. I believe that a lot of how these characters are developed and their personal tendencies is what will make this novel interesting.
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2 comments:
I think your analysis of the characters of “Lord of the Flies” was very accurate Rebecca. I think you are extremely accurate in relation to the main character Ralph. When you say, “Ralph seems to be a very confident and outgoing boy” you are completely correct. This is right because Ralph takes control of the situation even though he doesn’t know anyone and still seems to make everyone feel comfortable around him and with his decisions as a leader. I have to disagree with your statement “Jack is the most like Ralph”. I don’t believe this is true because Jack and Ralph have two different opinions when it comes to what the boys should be working hardest on in the island. When Ralph is trying to get shelter set up for the children on the island, Jack is out trying to catch a pig for the children to feast on. The boys start to have an argument regarding this situation; Ralph thinks it is more important to build shelter and Jack, on the other hand, thinks it will benefit them more if he was to go out and try and catch a pig. I completely agree with you regarding Piggy. He is a insecure, scared of everyone boy. He lets the other boys boss him around and doesn’t stand up for himself. Do you think he knows how to stand up for himself? Piggy takes about being teased at school, so has be never stood up for himself and told the bullies to back off and leave him alone. I think that Ralph should take Piggy under his wing. Piggy would be a great asset to the leadership team.
The 3 characters you choose to write about are ceratinly the main characters. I would be interested to know your perceptions of some of the more minor characters. When you write a response like this, try picking one focus so that you can show your insights more clearly. It will force you to really explain and prove your insights. You will probably notice that Jack and Ralph will end up being character foils. Piggy seems set apart from the rest already due to his maturity. Some see him as a symbol of the adult world.
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