Lord Of The Flies: Roger's Evolving Characterization

Roger’s Evolving Characterization

In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, William Golding explains how civility can be lost when power is abused. Roger is one of the boys who is stranded on the island, and is isolated from the war raging outside their small world. At the beginning of the book, Roger was presented as a sly, secretive boy who displays cruelty towards the weak and vulnerable boys. While Jack has a thirst for the power to be in charge, Roger desires power because he likes the idea of hurting the boys around him. Once he joins Jack's tribe, he slowly turns into the hangman of the group by torturing Samneric until they join the tribe, preparing a stick to impale Ralph's head on and eventually causing Piggy's death. From being a quiet, furtive boy, Roger evolves to become a brutal murderer

By analyzing Roger’s evolving characterization throughout the novel, Golding conveys the message that human beings must have rules, authority and government in order to maintain a stable environment. As Roger gains the feeling of superiority, he progressively becomes more violent and reveals his dark side. Golding leaves a message for the reader about human nature through Roger, explaining how if one is given power, then they will most likely take advantage of the power that they are given, and abuse it by taking step too far and possibly hurting someone. Throughout the novel, Roger loses his respect for human life and civility. His actions illustrate that without rules, order, government and authority, the boys on the island become disorderly and violent. Even today, the importance of law, order and stability are important to run a well functional governement. Without these factors, government will fall into anarchy and anarchy will lead to the loss of civility and decline of