Ralph In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies: Character Analysis

Lord of the Flies is a timeless classic in which we see what happens when we remove government and civility from our society. Following a group of boys after a plane crash, we get a glimpse into the world of savagery, where everyone is fighting a losing battle against their humanity. The personalities of the children play a role in their decisions and how they interact with others. Following the main characters of the book, we can take a closer look on how they react to the world around them. Ralph, who is the protagonist in Lord of the Flies, comes off as rude and inconsiderate in the beginning of the book. In “The Sound of the Shell”, Piggy tells Ralph a secret and Ralph tells the rest of the boys. “‘I don’t care what they call me,’ he said confidentially, ‘so long as they don’t call me what they used to call me back at school.’ Ralph was faintly interested. ‘What was that?’ The fat boy glanced over his shoulder, then leaned towards Ralph. He whispered. ‘They use to call me ‘Piggy’....As long as you don’t tell the others”(11). “You’re talking too much,’ said Jack Merridew. ‘Shut up, Fatty.’ Laughter arose. ‘He’s not Fatty,’ cried Ralph, ‘his name is Piggy!”(21). Ralph’s actions in this

In “Gift for the Darkness”, Simon finds himself alone with the Lord of the Flies and the pig head starts to speak to him. “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody or laughter. ‘You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?’”(143). Simon realizes that the beast isn’t an actual animal, it is the boys. The beast lives inside them, and it comes out as the boys go deeper and deeper into their savage roots. Since Simon is a young boy, it’s very uncommon for a child his age to realize something so