However, Golding portrays the character of Ralph as being understanding, he knows that he has a duty to the group and so whether he believes in the beast or not doesn’t matter as he needs to get the idea of the beast out of the other boys’ mind. We can see this from where it says “We’ve got to talk about this fear and decide there’s nothing in it.” Ralph wants to face this fear that the boys have within them and get rid of it in order to get the priority of being rescued back to the top. In this way he also regains control. Golding is showing Ralphs maturity as he even though he is “frightened” himself, he moves past the fear in an attempt to create unity within the group which will help their chances of being rescued.
William Golding presents the character of Simon as one that lacks confidence. We can see this from where it says, “but to speak in assembly was a terrible thing to him,” this shows that Simon is a character that likes to take a back seat and observe situations, he does not like to be the centre of attention. This makes him very different from the character of Jack who craves attention.
When Simon finally plucks up the courage to speak he says ‘maybe it’s only us,’ from here Golding conveys that Simon is a character who has a deep insight. He tries to express that the idea of a beast is only fear that is alive within everyone, he compares fear to excrement, it is a part of nature and it needs to be dealt with. However, the other characters laugh at him and so Golding shows that the character of Simon has a deeper understanding compared to the others.
Furthermore, Golding also presents Simons inability to express himself, where it says “Simon became inarticulate…” this means that he although he understands things deeper he cannot convey his thoughts to others accurately, so this results in the other boys not taking him seriously.
Golding portrays Jack as being a character that thrives off power; he is a dictator and exercises his power over those weaker than him. We can see this from where Jack says to Piggy “who cares what you think- Fatty!” This shows that Jack is a self centred character who does not consider others feelings. Furthermore, it also shows that Jack likes to be obeyed and doesn’t like it when others speak up for themselves; he automatically shuns them off in a nasty way. He hates Piggy because of his logical reasoning and criticism of Jack.
In addition to this, Golding shows the negative development in the character of Jack where it says “Bollocks to the rules!” This shows that Jacks demons have completely taken over him and he has a lack of respect for rules, he often tends to break them unlike the character of Ralph who appreciates them as he knows that they keep order and civilisation.
Furthermore, Golding shows Jacks love for violence where it says “ If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down!” this shows that Jack is always looking for an opportunity to hunt as it gives him a sense of power and authority, he believes in using force to gain and maintain powers and by hunting he achieves this.
Overall, Golding shows the difference in the characters of Ralph, Simon and Jack through the conflict of the nature of the beast. He presents them all with very different personalities, Ralph is rational, Simon is a character with a deep insight and Jack is over powering.
