Golding’s contrasts his characters right from the beginning of the novel. Using a mixture of descriptions of appearance though to habits, Golding subtly highlights their differences and similarities. The appearance of the characters is used to show their respective differences. ‘Ralph’s golden body’ and athletic build is primarily contrasted to Piggy’s ‘fat’ figure (all quotes from p.5). Piggy is self-conscious of his physique, as demonstrated when, after gazing at Ralph, he ‘laid a hand…down his chest’ (p.5), however Ralph is completely unaware of this self-consciousness, thus highlighting Ralph’s slightly egotistical nature. Additionally, when Jack is later introduced, he is described as ‘ugly without silliness’ and as having ‘frustrated’ eyes which were ‘ready to turn to anger’ (all quotes from p.16). Golding is therefore, comparing Jack, with his aggressive appearance and apparent readiness to jump into confrontation, to the laid-back nature of Ralph and the suggested physical helplessness of Piggy. …show more content…
Ralph tells Piggy that his father is ‘a commander in the Navy’ (p.8) and thus immediately shows his middle-to-upper class upbringing. Piggy’s hesitative response reveals his father’s death, his mother’s disappearance, and hence his living with his aunt and therefore possible lower status. Piggy describes himself as ‘the only boy in…[his] school what had asthma’ (p.3). Piggy’s poor grammar further suggests a difference in social status. Jack is chorister, which immediately suggest a privileged upbringing, in most likely, a private education. This major difference between Ralph and Jack, and Piggy, could also foreshadow a problem in their understanding and empathising with one