, Research Paper
Simon – “He was a small, skinny boy, his chin pointed, and his eyes so bright they had deceived Ralph into thinking him delightfully gay and wicked. The coarse mop of black hair was long and swung down, almost concealing a low, broad forehead… [he was] Always darkish in color…” p. 2
Simon is described as a very shy boy who cannot find it bearable to speak in front of the assembly. The boys all think that he?s ?batty? because he likes to be by himself. Simon is the only boy who discovers what the Beast truly is. He learns this when he “talks? with the Lord of the Flies. When he tries to tell the rest of the children he is mistaken as the Beast and beaten to death. Golding made Simon the “Christ” figure in the novel by having Simon belive in no evil and assuring Ralph that he would make it alive.
Jack – “Inside the floating cloak he was thin and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness. Out of this face stared two light blue eyes, frustrated now, and turning, or ready to turn, to anger.” p. 20
Jack is described as some sort of evil thing that is looking for trouble. From the start of the novel he does not like following rules of any kind. He only wants to hunt and have a good time. Golding uses Jack and his tribe as examples of the Beast. In the beginning of the story Jack, still conditioned by the previous society he had been apart of, could not kill the pig that was caught in the brush. As the story goes on, he becomes less and less attached to any form of society. Near the end, he feels no shame about the deaths of Simon and Piggy, or his attempt to kill Ralph.
Ralph – “He was old enough, twelve yares and a few month, to have lost the prominent tummy of childhood and not yet old enough for adolescencence to have made him akward. You could see now that he might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil.” p. 10
Ralph is shown as a strong leader. This is the reason why he is chosen for chief. He makes it his job to lay down rules and try to organize a society. Throughout the novel he is always in conflict with Jack, who wants to be chief himself. Ralph and Piggy agree with each other?s ideas, but Ralph doesn?t realize how important Piggy really is to him until the very end of the novel. Although Ralph never reaches the understanding about the Beast that Simon does, he knows right from wrong. Golding uses Ralph to show order in society.
Piggy – “The naked croks of his knees were plump. He was shorter than the fair boy and very fat.” p. 1 “I was the only boy in our school who had asthma and I’ve been wearing specs since I was three.” p. 9
Piggy is shown as a handicapped person in society. He is much like Ralph in the sense that he knows right from wrong, but he differs from Ralph because he can stay focused on such things as the fire. Always supporting Ralph, he is the most intelligent of the kids. Unfortunately, he is somewhat whiny and is constantly made fun of by the boys for his size, his inability to work, and his specs. Golding uses him to show that often times society singles out a person or group of people to look down upon so that they can feel superior and secure: ?Piggy was once more the center of social derision so that everyone felt cheerful and normal.? In the end of the novel, Jack?s tribe kills Piggy and destroys the conch.