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Lord of the Flies REVIEW
Jack Merridewis Ralph's antagonist in the novel. When he is first seen on the island, he is leading a group of choirboys, who are dressed in strange uniform and march military style. It is a foreshadowing of Ralphs' authoritarian and dictatorial leadership at the end of the novel. During the novel, Jack is in constant conflict with Ralph, for he feels he should be the leader. • Jack is a boy of action and fiery temperament in the novel. He incites his boys to hunt, instigates the wild dances, drives them to savagery, organizes the insurrection against the current leader, plans the raid on Ralph's camp, and serves as a demanding, dictatorial ruler. As a reflection of his total being, it is appropriate that his hair is red. It would seem he appears almost devil-like, especially when he hides behind the mask of war paint. He represents the base and bestial nature of human beings.
Simon is the quiet, shy boy in the group. Being a visionary, he often goes into the forest by himself to contemplate nature and life. As a result of his different behavior, he is isolated from the others. But because he is a loner, he finds the truth. He realizes that the "Lord of the Flies" is the real beast (the evil in us all) while the beast on the mountain is nothing to fear, just death itself. In the novel, Simon becomes a Christ figure who tries to bring truth (salvation) to the boys; but they refuse to hear him and kill him instead.
Ralph:Ralph is the protagonist of the novel who at first is overjoyed to be on a tropical island free from adult restraints. By nature, he is an innocent, mild- tempered boy who accepts leadership when it is thrust on him. He serves as a democratic leader who tries to keep the boys together on the island and uses a conch shell to mildly show his authority. He thinks of building shelters to protect them and a signal fire for their rescue. He befriends Piggy, the fat boy that receives taunts and teases from the other boy, and learns to rely on Piggy's intellectual reasoning • Ralph has courage when the occasion demands it, but he really longs for the secure world of grown-ups, especially when order starts breaking down on the island. He dreams about a rescue and insists the signal fire burn at all times so that they can be seen. Ralph knows that the main reason for the disorder on the island is Jack, the antagonist and representation of evil in the novel. In the midst of the savagery, Ralph holds on to rationality and the hope of rescue. There is only one occasion when Ralph lapses into mild savagery; it occurs when he joins the ritual dance at the feast, the same feast where Simon is killed. The guilt that Ralph experiences as an outcome of his being a part of Simon's death is unbearable. It forces him to totally accept the fallen nature of all mankind. Armed with the truth, like Simon before him, he becomes the hunted animal, full of desperation and despair. Only civilization, that appears in the form of the naval officer, can save Ralph from the savagery that surrounds him.
Piggy is the fat boy who is the brunt of all the jokes and teasing in the novel. He is physically weak and constantly complains about his asthma. He is also myopic and almost blind without his glasses. But Piggy is also rational and has an understanding about life. He constantly warns the boys about their behavior and foolish ways. He also becomes Ralph's best friend and serves as a sounding board and advisor to him. • Piggy is also the fire-starter in the novel since his glasses are used to light all the flames. When Piggy's glasses are broken, it symbolically points to the breaking up of civilized society. When his glasses are stolen by the savages, he becomes completely blind and helpless. He cannot even see to dodge the large boulder that kills him. When he is killed, he is clutching the conch, a symbol of order and authority; appropriately, the conch is crushed with him.
SYMBOLS • Conch = civilized authority, power and democracy in their new world. The boys pass the conch around when they want to speak. • Glasses = ability to see clearly, to perceive what is best, knowledge/intelligence. The glasses are used to start the fire, but when they are destroyed it shows the boys’ descent into savagery. • Fire = civilization, warmth, hope, community and security • Beast = the devil, the evil residing within everyone, the dark side of humans,
SYMBOLS • Ralph = democracy and order • Simon = pure goodness, “Christ figure” • Roger = evil, Satan • Jack = savagery, anarchy • Piggy=intelligence, civilization • The island = a microcosm, mini-version, of the world
THEMES • The most obvious of the themes is man's need for civilization. Contrary to the belief that man is innocent and society evil, the story shows that laws and rules, policemen and schools are necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in line. When these institutions and concepts slip away or are ignored, human beings revert to a more primitive part of their nature.
THEMES • LOSS OF INNOCENCE • Golding implies that the loss of innocence has little to do with age but is related to a person's understanding of human nature. It can happen at any age or not at all. Painful though it may be, this loss of innocence by coming to terms with reality is necessary if humanity is to survive.
THEMES • THE LOSS OF IDENTITY • When civilization slips away and man reverts to his more primitive nature, his identity disintegrates. The boys use masks to cover their identity, and this allows them to kill and later to murder. The loss of a personal name personifies the loss of selfhood and identity.
THEMES • POWER • Different types of power, with their uses and abuses, are central to the story. Each kind of power is used by one of the characters. Democratic power is shown when choices and decisions are shared among many. Authoritarian power allows one person to rule by threatening and terrifying others. Spiritual power recognizes internal and external realities and attempts to integrate them. Brute force, the most primitive use of power, is indiscriminate.
IRONY • The survivors of the plane crash are boys evacuated from a battle zone in a world war; however, the society they form eventually breaks down, and the children go to war with one another. • Piggy's eyesight is weak, but his insight is strong. • The British naval officer who arrives to rescue the boys at the end of the novel appears to represent civilization and sanity, but he, and the society he represents, are actually a mirror image, on a larger scale, of the boys and their corrupt island society. • When Jack sets a fire to roust Ralph from the forest, he unintentionally saves the lives of all the remaining boys. It was this fire that attracted the attention of the British ship.
