When Ralph is aware of how serious the situation really is, he puts back on his grey shirt which ‘was strangely pleasing’. This suggests that civilisation has finally kicked in.
After finding the conch ‘Ralph took the shell from Piggy’ showing that Piggy is not strong enough emotionally or physically to blow the conch, and symbolises that Ralph is a born leader.
When Jack arrives there is an immediate tension between him and Ralph, as Ralph thinks of him as ‘one who knew his own mind’ This tension increases incredibly when he wins the vote, and this portrays that the other boys have already grown a likeliness towards him over Jack, because of his warm, pleasant character, ‘a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out’. Yet he saves Jack’s dignity by allowing him to be the head of the choir, which weakens the tension between the two of them for a while, ‘smiled at each other with shy liking’.
Ralph betrays Piggy, by telling the group his nickname, yet he does this without understanding how he has hurt Piggy, which shows that he has never been an outsider, to know how it feels. Yet, he goes between the ‘two courses of apology or further insult’ to prevent looking weak in from of the others, but to show his remorse to Piggy.
Ralph also acts like a pioneer by suggesting drawing a map, and displays his leadership skills by organising a reconnaissance party to scout the island.
When Ralph, Jack and Simon head off to investigate the island and reach the bushes, the difference in characters are portrayed, as each person describes the bushes differently to their accord. Ralph says ‘You couldn’t light them, They just look like candles’ which suggests that he has a practical and literal view on the world.
Piggy is described as a very unattractive character, from the very start of the novel. He is called ‘Piggy’ which has uninviting and ugly connotations of someone who has piggy eyes, is ugly and fat and greedy. Piggy is very fat, has spectacles which are very thick, and has asthma. All of these factors contribute to make him an ‘outsider’ from the other boys and physically unfit to survive, within the group of boys and the island. He also has a cockney accent, which does not improve his image, and his poor grammar suggests that he comes from a different social background from the other boys, ‘I can’t hardly move with all these creeper things’.
‘The naked crooks of his knees were plump’ shows that he is vulnerable, yet he ‘removed the thorns carefully’ which shows that he is well organised and is concerned of his safety.
Yet, he thinks logically, making deductions from what he has observed, ‘When we was coming down I looked through one of them windows. I saw the other part of the plane. There were planes coming out of it.’
Piggy tries to make friends with Ralph but Ralph just smiles at him ‘vaguely’ and escapes at the earliest opportunity. Piggy is also not used to being independent and has all the natural characteristics of a victim, ‘The fat boy hung steadily at his shoulder.’ Piggy is also proud of what other of what others see as weaknesses; ‘I was the only one in our school what has asthma.’
Piggy is logical and intelligent, which is demonstrated by his prudent and rational statements, ‘We ought to have a meeting’, right from the beginning of the novel. He realises the need for a realistic approach to a solution. Yet he makes a foolish mistake by telling Ralph his nickname with trust, which Ralph betrays later in the chapter to the other boys. Showing that Piggy is naive and innocent.
When Piggy says, ‘I can’t swim. I wasn’t allowed. My asthma’, it has a great contrast to Ralph’s statement of, ‘I could swim when I was five. Daddy taught me’. It shows the difference in the boys’ characters of Piggy being restricted and inactive, whereas Ralph is liberated and full of energy.
Piggy also has quite a weak character as he can not stick up fro himself in front of Jack and the others and feels threatened by Jack ‘Piggy spoke timidly’, which probably shows that in the ‘adult world’ he was protected by other, and is not use to dealing with spiteful character like Jack.
Jack is the only one of the boys to be called by his official surname, Merridew, which in a way gives him a sense of authority the other boys do not have, including Ralph. Before Jack enters the scene ‘something dark was fumbling along the beach’ which suggests that a dark, evil creature was approaching. It says that the boys were ‘marching’ which suggests the choir was like an army and that ‘the boy who controlled them’, Jack, was like a general, and liked to be in charge. The description, ‘ His face was crumpled and freckled and ugliness, without silliness’ of Jack, has a great contrast to the description of ‘fair- haired’ Ralph, which almost portrays the characters within, Jack being evil and Ralph being good.
Jack also has great authority over the choir from the beginning of the novel and seems to control them, ‘Choir! Stand still!’
Jack wants to be called Merridew and even admits that he wants to be more like an adult, and more respected. He feels superior to the other boys and seems very arrogant; ‘Kids names, Why should I be Jack? I’m Merridew.’
Jack has no time for weakness and has no pity on the other boys, which is clearly shown by the way he reacts to Simon. It then becomes clear that only the boys who are physically fit will be able to survive on an island, as Simon and Piggy both have physical disadvantages such as Simon’s epileptic fits and Piggy’s asthma, which prevents them from being able to survive the island.
Jack takes an immediate dislike to Piggy and his reaction to him is cruel and dismissive, ‘Shut up Fatty.’
Jacks says ‘I ought to be chief,’ which shows that he is full of himself and confident and his excuse for this is very insignificant, ‘ I can sing C sharp’. Jack has a dictatorship view on the world and immediately beckons to be chief, whereas Ralph has a democratic view and suggests on a vote.
Jack is conscious of the idea that he can show his emotions due to his skin colour which makes it obvious when he blushes through his freckles, which becomes significant in other chapters when he disguises himself, allowing him to hide his emotions.
Throughout the chapter, Jack likes to show how powerful and strong he is, and this carries on throughout the novel. He makes statements to show, through his violent, theatrical actions, ‘Jack snatched from behind him a sizable sheath-knife and clouted it into a trunk.’
Jack undermines democracy and is extremely brutal toward Piggy when he rejects him, ‘We don’t want you.’ Showing, that dictatorship is starting to push through the democracy.
When Jack comes to describe the bushes he slashes at one with his knife, showing that he has a violent character, and is more aggressive than Ralph and Simon.
When he comes to murder the pig he can not bring himself to do it, as he still had a bit of civilisation in him, which fades away completely at the end of the novel.
Simon is a Christ – like figure and keeps peace within the group and is quite spiritual, which is seen from the description of the bushes .He sees things from a realistic view and their true beauty. At the beginning of the chapter, Simon had fits which shows that he is not adapted to the island.
