From its beginning Lord of the Flies establishes itself as a story packed with allegorical meaning. The novel is a meditation on the nature of human political society, dealing with such concerns as the development of political systems and the clash in human nature between instinctual and learned behavior. In this manner, Golding establishes the deserted island as a clash between two different conceptions of pre-civilized humanity. In some respects, the island presents a Hobbesian situation in which the young schoolboys are thrown into a literal state of nature. At the beginning of the novel they have no society, no rules, and no concerns beyond personal survival. The narrative thrust of the novel is how the boys develop their own miniature society and the difficulties that inevitably arise.
Golding establishes immediately the contrast between the savage and the civilized that exists in this new environment for the boys. Freed from adult authority and the mores of society, Ralph plays in the beach naked, a practice commonly associated with Uncivilised' cultures. Yet if this is an Uncivilised' practice, it is also a reference to the second conception of pre-civilized life, that of an Eden; Ralph does not panic over the children's abandonment on the island, but rather approaches it as a paradise in which he can play happily. This raises the important question about what influence will cause his Eden to collapse.
The first sign of disturbance within the seemingly tranquil island is the appearance of Jack and his choir. Golding portrays Jack and his compatriots as militaristic and aggressive, with Jack's bold manner and the choir marching in step with one another. They are the first concrete entrances of civilization onto the island and a decidedly negative one. Jack seems a physical manifestation of evil: with his dark cloak and wild red hair, he gives a slightly Satanic impression. Jack is a decided military authoritarian. He orders his choir as if they were troops, allowing room for neither discussion nor dissent. Significantly, the role that he first chooses for his choir is as hunters; he selects that task which is most violent and, in this society, most related to military values. However, as his inability to kill the pig demonstrates, Jack is not yet accustomed to violence. Golding indicates that Jack must prepare himself to commit a violent act, for he still constrained by societal rules that oppose this behavior; his authoritarian attitude has given him a predisposition to violence, but he must shed the lessons of society before he can kill.
In both temperament and physical appearance, Ralph is the antithesis of Jack. Golding idealizes Ralph from the beginning, lavishing praise on his physical beauty. In the island sun he immediately achieves a golden hue, a physical manifestation of his inward qualities. Ralph is no great intellect and even behaves somewhat childish in his first encounter with Piggy, but otherwise he has a gravity and maturity beyond his years. He is a natural leader, a quality that the other boys recognize when they vote him leader. The vote for chief establishes a conflict between the different values espoused by Jack and Ralph. Jack assumes that he should assume the role automatically, while Ralph actually achieves it reluctantly by vote. Ralph therefore comes to represent a democratic ethos.
Piggy, in contrast, is the intellectual of the group. Although he is physically inept, clumsy and asthmatic, he has a quick wit and the best grasp of their situation. It is his knowledge of the conch shell that allows Ralph to summon the rest of the boys together and he who shows the most concern for some sort of rational order. He has a particular interest in names; immediately asking Ralph for his and wishing that Ralph would reciprocate, as well as viewing that as the greatest concern when the boys assemble. The idea of naming is one of the first indications of an ordered society. For Piggy, there is a meaning in names, both as a communication tool and as a representation of one's person, as shown by his hatred of his own nickname.
The other major facet introduced indicating civilization is the establishment of property and the connotations of ownership. Ralph gains status from his possession of the conch shell, which gives him the authority to speak when the boys come together. Also, when he surveys the island from the summit of the mountain he states that it "belongs" to them.
Character List
Ralph: The leader of the story, Ralph is one of the oldest boys on the island and becomes the boys' leader. Golding describes Ralph as tall for his age and handsome, and he seems to preside over the other boys by a natural sense of authority. Although he lacks Piggy's overt intellect, Ralph is calm and rational, with sound judgment and a strong moral sensibility. He is susceptible to the same instinctual influences that affect the other boys, as demonstrated, as Ralph's role in Simon's death, but Ralph remains the one character who remains civilized through the entire novel. With his attention to justice and equality, Ralph represents the liberal democratic tradition as chief.
Piggy: Although pudgy, brusque and averse to physical labor because he suffers from asthma, Piggy, a nickname that he dislikes intensely, is the intellectual on the island. Piggy is an outsider among the other boys, accepted only grudgingly because his glasses are the key to starting fires. However, his clear thinking and ideas soon endear him to Ralph, who comes to admire and respect him for his clear focus on the main objective of securing their rescue from the island. Piggy has a clear concern for remaining civilized and consistently reprimands the other boys for behaving as savages. Roger murders Piggy by dropping a rock on him.
Jack Merridew: The leader of a choir of boys, Jack exemplifies is military mindset with clear authoritarian implications. Even in his sinister appearance, Jack represents a traditional villainy. He is cruel and sadistic, preoccupied with hunting and killing pigs, but his sadism extends as the book progresses to include cruelty toward the other boys. Jack feigns an interest in the rules of order established on the island, but enjoys them only if they imply a possibility for inflicting punishment. Instead, he comes to represent anarchy; overthrowing Ralph's ordered rule for an anarchic state based on pure fulfillment of self-interest.
Simon: The most obviously introspective character in the novel, Simon has a deep affinity with nature and often walks alone in the jungle. While Piggy represents the intellectual and Ralph the moral aspects of humanity, Simon represents the spiritual side of human nature. Like Piggy, he is an outcast, for the other boys think of him as odd and perhaps insane. It is Simon who finds the beast and realizes that it is only a dead pilot, but when he attempts to tell the other boys they think that he is the beast himself and murder him in panic.
