English Charlie Battrick 11KS
How does Golding present his characters in the opening chapter?
Ralph is the first character to be introduced; he is introduced as being ‘the boy with fair hair’. Here Golding has played with the idea of Hitlers ideal, fair hair, blue eyes, etc. to show that Ralph has a seemingly perfect physique. His fair hair also shows that Ralph is a seemingly good character, because the idea of his hair being light in color contrasts any boy who has dark hair. This is a very conventional way of representing characters which is used due to the time in which Golding was writing; nowadays writers would try to stray away from this idea. One of the first actions which Ralph performs is to pull up his socks; this symbolizes the idea that he still retains the rules and regulations of being in a school environment. When Piggy places his trust in Ralph, Ralph uses this to gain the respect and friendship of Jack. This suggests, along with him being voted as chief and the way he handles Piggy when he confronts him about his nickname, that he is the politician of the group. Ralph is quite immature in the way he expresses joy, standing on his head, which suggests that he is not the most adequate leader. He is also not as intelligent as Piggy and without Piggys help with the Conch he could have never become Chief.
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This is a good question that is very relevant in term of analysing the text; however the analysis should be linked to other parts of the novel. The focus of the question may be the opening but in order to show understanding of the whole text you must range around the text. 3 Stars