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Lord of the flies characters analysis essay
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Lord of the flies characters analysis essay
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There are many aspects that determine how humans behave around one another. This is shown throughout William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies. This book is about a group of British boys that are stranded on an island without any adults due to a plane crash. At first, all goes well; the boys cooperate in attempting to maintain the fire signal, gather food and making shelters. However, human nature takes over and their democracy that they have created fails. This leads to the majority of the boys becoming complete savages when the evil within them takes over. Different qualities help determine whether a person is a good or a bad leader. Although, Piggy and Jack have some leadership qualities, Ralph is the best leader. Piggy’s leadership in the novel is portrayed as knowledgeable but lacks confidence from time to time. Piggy is shown to be a potential leader because of his wisdom. He portrays knowledge from time to time, for example, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us-” (12). This exhibits his knowledge of the art of survival. Even though in the novel, Piggy is shown as the weak link, his wisdom out powers his flaws. Although Piggy has lots of wisdom which makes him a potential leader, he lacks confidence. “Piggy opened his mouth to speak, caught Jack’s eye and shut it again.” (42) This proves that Piggy lacks confidence because he is afraid to express his thoughts. He would rather not contribute to a conversation than be laughed at his ideas. However Piggy does see the importance of having priorities. Specifically, when he says, “How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper.” (45) The quote proves that Piggy prioritizes the needs of his pee... ... middle of paper ... ...ows his priorities and is committed. Although, Piggy and Jack have some leadership qualities, Ralph is the best leader. This is shown all throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, by Williams Golding. Piggy is portrayed as the wisest of them all and understands priorities; however he lacks confidence from time to time. This makes him a good leader but not the best. Jack on the other hand, is egotistic but has his good qualities as well, such as knowledge and courage. This makes him a potential leader like Piggy, but not the best. Ralph however shows the most positive qualities of being a leader. He is optimistic, committed and knows his priorities, thus making him the best leader on the island. From the day we were born, we were governed by a set of rules that influenced our behaviour. Would the story have been different if civilization was maintained on the island?
confidence. One of the leaders who demonstrates this quality is Jack. When Jack and the choir boys are first introduced at the meeting, “Piggy asked no names. He was intimidated by this uniformed superiority and the offhand authority in Merridew’s voice” (Golding 20-21). Jack shows such confidence from the very beginning of the book that it is obvious in his voice and even his posture. This confidence intimidates Piggy and makes him feel as if he should follow Jack. The
Piggy is known for being the most intellectual and reasonable out of the boys. While the other boys are off fooling around and dreaming about their next adventure, Piggy is using reason to plan an organized method of survival on the island where everyone is satisfied. For example, while the other boys were exploring the island, Simon came up with an idea and said, “‘I’ve been thinking,” he said, “about a clock. We could make a sundial. We could put a stick in the sand, and then—’” (Golding 90). Although the boys can rule using any form of government on the island, Piggy attempts to create a civilized and orderly environment by advising Ralph to implement a democratic state. Despite his weak appearance, Piggy has a very strong moral compass and sense of self assurance, meaning, he’s very confident in the moral choices he makes. Since he bases his actions and way of thinking on reason and justice, he has a tendency to believe everyone should follow and share his methods because “rules are rules.” As seen when electing a leader, Piggy believed that because the conch and name system were his ideas, he should have been voted as leader, resulting in “Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air.” (Golding 29). Due to his strong confidence, Piggy is not afraid to act upon his beliefs and what is right, even if it may not be a popular
Piggy's literal function in this novel is to be the intellectual and logical thinker to counteract the emotional thinking of the other boys. From the beginning, Piggy viewed everything logically. He quickly came to the realization that the boys may be on the island for a long time, when he told Ralph "Nobody don't know we're here. Your dad don't know, nobody don't know" (9), contrary to Ralph's assumption that his father, who happened to be a naval officer, would simply come and rescue them. While Ralph became the natural leader based on his charisma, "what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy" (18/19). However, it is unfortunate that this intelligence eventually led Piggy to his demise. Piggy's direct way of analyzing a situation and voicing his opinion tended to make him quite un...
( Golding, 87) When everyone else was afraid, he just thought that " if there's something wrong, there's someone to put it right". ( Golding 87) This shows that Piggy was levelheaded and he knew that the only thing to fear on the island were themselves. This is like he knew that the cause of breakdown in the society would be from themselves. While piggy and Ralph were able to keep order almost successfully, others would leave because they were in to not having rules and just having fun without actual work and effort being put in to help them along. Ralph says, "Piggy, are you the only one left? No there's Samn'Eric." This is later in the book and it shows how people are able to ignore the rules. Only the moral and honest people stayed with Ralph and Piggy To try and be saved. The rest were bloodthirsty savages and left with Jack to hunt and Kill. Piggy also really respected Ralph. When Ralph was upset with the "accident" that happened with Simon, Piggy knew that even though Ralph was doing wrong things, he would work things out. Piggy helps to show how unnecessary it is to dwell on these matters saying "What good're you doing talking like that". (Golding, 156) Piggy knew no one would listen to himself, so he
Piggy is also very intimidated by boys like Jack and Roger. For example, when Jack tells Piggy to shut up “Piggy [wilts]”and this shows that his confidence always seems to go down whenever boys like Jack are
Leadership is something that stands out in people. In a group, people tend to look to the strongest person to follow. However, the strongest person may not be the best choice to follow. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph and Jack each have leadership qualities. Jack is probably the stronger of the two; however, Ralph is a better leader. He has a better understanding for the boys. He also has more common sense and treats the boys better than Jack.
Piggy is mentally resilient; he has the ability to think things through with the clear mind even during times of crisis. He is the true voice of reason. “‘I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was the shelters down there by the beach…But the first time Ralph says ‘fire’ you goes howling and screaming up this mountain. Like a pack of kids!’” (Golding 45). Piggy has the capability to let his voice of reason run unbridled because he tends to think before he leaps. Because of this, he is able to vocalize his morals proudly and never stray from his own beliefs.
In Lord of the Flies, Golding is able to exemplify intelligence, violence, and leadership, through the behaviors, responses, and actions of Piggy, Jack, and Ralph, respectively. Golding provides insight into the delicate touch-and-go basis of human nature, something that to this day has yet to be fully understood.
In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies Ralph though not the stronger person, demonstrates a better understanding of people than Jack which gives him better leadership qualities. Ralph displays these useful human qualities as a leader by working towards the betterment of the boys' society. He knows the boys need stability and order if they are to survive on the island. He creates rules and a simple form of government to achieve this order. Jack does not treat the boys with dignity as Ralph does. Ralph understands that the boys, particularly Piggy, have to be given respect and must be treated as equals. This makes Ralph a better leader as he is able to acknowledge that he was not superior to any of the other boys. Ralph's wisdom and ability to look to the future also make him a superior leader. Ralph has the sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. He insists on keeping the fire burning as a distress signal. Ralph's leadership provides peace and order to the island while Jack's leadership makes chaos.
There are two types of people in this world, good and evil. Some people think that evil comes to us from the surrounding society, others believe it is inside us and we are born with it. William Golding in the novel Lord of the Flies believes that all people are born with evil inside which needs to be restrained by a civilized society. In the novel, there is a stark contrast between the two societies set up by Ralph and Jack. Ralph is restrained by a civilized society, yet Jack is not restrained so his evil comes out at a faster rate. This shows through the personalities and the roles of each leader, in the different qualities in the second in command, Piggy and Roger. Most of all it is noticeable in Jack’s and Ralph’s values.
In a group, there are always people who prove to have better leadership skills then others. The strongest of these people can often influence the weaker people into following them. However, the strongest person is not necessarily the best leader as it is proven in William Golding's book, The Lord of the Flies. Although Ralph is the weaker person, he is still able to show a better understanding of people than Jack who is stronger. Ralph demonstrates his excellent leadership skills throughout the book by keeping the group in line, treating everyone with respect, and staying focused on getting rescued.
Ralph is ruled by his emotion while Piggy uses cold, hard logic to solve problems. “Ralph, remember what they came for, the fire. My specs!” (Golding 177) This quote show that Piggy must snap Ralph out of his blind rage at Jack raiding their camp, Piggy must show Ralph to not worry about the tribe harassing them, but about him losing his glasses and the ability to light a signal fire to warn adults where they are. This part of the text especially shows that Piggy is ruled by logic while Ralph is ruled by emotions such as rage, and fear. “Ralph was fighting to get nearer, to get a handful of that soft vulnerable flesh.”(Golding 114) This is from the section of the book where Jack is reenacting the first killing of the pig. Maurice is playing the pig and the other boys surround him and start to hit him with spears, and their fists. Even Ralph who is supposed to be their leader joins in and starts to beat Maurice almost to the point of killing him. This shows that Ralph cannot use rational thinking when caught up in his emotions, and in the book Piggy is one of the few boys who doesn’t join in to the horrid display of savagery. This brings another question to mind. Why isn’t Piggy the leader? Is it because he is different from the other boys having asthma and being physically inept? The theory the book points to is that Piggy is a huge know it all, and never believes that anyone can be right over his own opinions, and the boys resent him because of
In Lord of the Flies, each character has their own distinct characteristics, Jack coveted the power Ralph obtained as chief, held back by his asthma Piggy contributed to the group with his intelligence, and while Ralph did not abuse his power, Jack’s influence tarnished his ability to lead. Though all four of the boys personally, Simon shone through as an example of character and staying true to one's beliefs.
He wants everything to stay in order on this island. He is aware that if people start to fight and separate, it will make their chances of getting off of the island even slimmer. When things started to go downhill between the two groups Piggy got very upset at Jack, and he did not like the choices that Jack was making. The reader is able to see this when he says, “You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home…” (Golding 70). Piggy was tired, he was frustrated, and he wanted to go home. He knew that what Jack was doing was not contributing to the boys and their quest to get off of the island. Piggy had finally had enough, and he knew that splitting off into two groups and having two leaders was not going to keep order on the island. It was simply going to cause more chaos than there already was. Piggy was focused on the big picture, which was getting off of the island. He was the one doing the things that were going to allow them to get rescued such as maintain a fire, build shelters, and gather food all as a group to be more efficient. Piggy was not about the amount of pride and popularity that would be gained for doing something incredible, but simply about being as effective as possibly to get back home to his family. As the book goes on Piggy’s motive for order does not change, he still wants to have the most important thing to get off of the island and that is evident when he says,
In the beginning of the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, there is a theme of society in which the boys begin to show order. Problems occur based on the sinful nature of man in desperate conditions. Jack and his hunters greatly illustrate the evil in human nature. Most of the story is made of the battle between good and evil through symbolism. While Ralph represented the good of the boys, Jack symbolized evil. Order is a great part of human behavior since it allows people to act upon rules and values. Ralph and Simon conducted order by guiding the boys. They built shelters and fires in order to stay civilized. As the novel began, they had rules and concerns and acted like civilized people who had some sort of governmental atmosphere. Ralph decided to choose a leader and every once in a while they would call assemblies. Ralph always seemed like the calmer on, but as time progressed he began to show his savage side towards Jacks group. At first, Jack would never think about killing a baby pig, yet later discover he is the first to turn into a savage hunter. Society was taken away from them and therefore they lost their values and innocent thoughts and began killing the other boys. Without knowing what bad was, none of them would feel guilty of what happened on their stay at the island. There is a great struggle between savage and civilization as the two groups of boys argue and try to live on their own until they are rescued.