If considered as a psychological and religious allegory,
Golding's novel Lord of the Flies has characters who represent
various qualities found in human
beings.
- Ralph is the
charismatic leader, the physical presence needed to attract followers. He represents
common sense, but at the same time, he also represents the ingenuous type of leader who
is unprepared for those who are devious and
evil - Piggy is the pure
intellectual who assesses problems empirically. For instance, when Ralph asks him if
there can be a beast, Piggy replies that if there were, there would be no
civilizations
“Life […] is scientific, that’s what it is. In a
year or two when the world is over they’ll be traveling to Mars and back. I know there
isn't no beast – not with claws and all that I
mean
- Jack
represents the innate evil and savagery within humans. He rules by intimidation and
power. His even darker side is represented by Roger, whose arm is only restrained by
the taboos of his society when he first wants to throw stones at little Henry on the
seashore.
Roger's arm was conditioned by a civilization
that knewnothing of him and was in
ruins.
- Jack and
especially Roger represent the anarchy that results once
society breaks down. - Simon
is the mystic. Intuitively, he understands before all the others that the beast lies
within the hearts of man. Because he senses rather than rationalizes knowledge, it is
impossible for him to articulate his realization that the evil on the island is
intrinsic to the boys and not a
tangible "beast."
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