This essay will show contrasts between the central character that appear in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and Shakespeares play The Tempest.

by romaineulivecouk (student)

Lord of the Flies & The Tempest contrast By Romaine Ubani

This essay will show contrasts between the central character that appear in the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, and Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest”. The main points that this essay will be covering lie within the characters names, appearance and body language, speech and actions, and also the context of the novel.

In lord of the flies it is evident that Golding uses characters names to express features based around each characters persona. For instance Ralphs name conveys to the reader that his character is born and bred from traditional and upper-class roots. Ralph portrays the actions of a well put together acceptable , polite and well-mannered young man; these characteristics making him a perfect fit for leader once arriving on the abandoned island. Being that his name tells us that he from traditional and upper-class roots, Golding is attempting to demonstrates such values throughout the story as it is shown from early on that Ralph is confident, grammatically spoken and is still able to remain morale in spite of the whole situation. Alternatively Ralph’s peers on the island are not as distinguished as he, and this parallel is present throughout the whole story. In the first chapter of the novel we are introduced to not only Ralph but “Piggy” as well, Golding uses Piggy’s name as a metaphor to deliver that he is fat as he is described early on in the book as “The Fat boy” before his name was even introduced whereas Ralph is pronounced as “The fair boy” with a “golden body”. We are never told Piggy’s real name throughout the whole novel which tells us that “Piggy” was not of much importance to people back where he had come from and was bullied. Its becomes apparent to readers very premature in the book that Piggy is not from a traditional and upper-class rooted background similar to Ralph, as we are told that he has “ass-mar” (asthma), weight issues, used to be tormented by the kids back home and isn’t very confident or well-spoken at all; In fact it is almost as if Golding deliberately used Piggy as Ralphs counterpart in the novel.

Similarly one way that Shakespeare makes his characters interesting to his audience is also through the names he gives them. For example, the name Miranda is significant because it means ‘to be admired’ it therefore indicates to the audience that she will be a beautiful character. Miranda is the daughter of Prospero, Being only 3 years old when her father and she where exiled she has never seen another woman or man (apart from from her father) thus growing up with not any knowledge of any other human beings. Miranda’s character has an innocence bound within her nature, since she can never recall meeting another woman to compare herself to; she is unaware of her exquisiteness giving her an unintended sense of humility towards herself and others. We are first exposed to Miranda's compassion in the first act, where she expresses her concern for the passengers held up in the storm. Prospero, the father of Miranda; is a sorcerer but also the rightful Duke of Milan. Shakespeare used Prospero’s name perfectly to complement the motives that this character should hold throughout the story. Twelve years prior when Prospero and Miranda had been exiled from Milan to the Island where they reside now, it was once Prospero who was the Duke of Milan, a man from royalty; this was until his younger brother Antonio had plotted and schemed against him to steal the throne in an acrimonious act of betrayal. For over the last decade Prospero hasn’t been able to take action against his enemies until the opportunity is brought to him when Antonio and others are passing close by on a ship, close enough for Prospero to use his magic on them to summon a storm upon the vessel and bring whoever on board under his control. Shakespeare used Prospero’s name to show that he is trying to “Prosper” throughout the story; he is trying to make sure that his life is filled with “Prosperity” and that he and his daughter are “Prosperous”.

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One way that Shakespeare creates contrasts between his characters in ‘The Tempest’ is through their dialogue, as he uses this as a distinctive representation of what kind of person they are. Prospero is a prime example for this it is shown all throughout the play, for example in Act 1 Scene 2 during a duologue he and Miranda he uses imperative speech. The scene started with Miranda in a panic after seeing the storm her father had cast on the ship passing by, his imperative reply to this was “Be collected. No more amazement, tell your piteous heart. There's no harm done.”; Prospero being a high status character he speaks in iambic pentameter. Shakespeare’s use of imperative speech in the dialogues between characters like Prospero, Miranda and Caliban places each character in a comparable view to the reader thus allowing me as a reader to see the position of power appointed to each personality throughout the novel. In contrast to these displays of authoritative behaviours from Prospero, Miranda, his daughter uses exclamation marks in her speech, this type of dialogue technique is used when she speaks to show that she is quite a dramatically intense and emotional character. Shakespeare’s use of speech techniques also shows Miranda to be theatrical by her repetition of the word “O!” Caliban being the Neanderthal of the play held a captive slave by Prospero for years, this is also reflected through his dialogue. Likewise to Prospero, Caliban also speaks in an iambic pentameter as all he has learned of the English language and his speech and behaviours when using it has originated from Prospero’s influence on him; this revealing him to be quite intelligent. Caliban also uses imperatives such as when he says “be not afraid, the isle is full of noises.”

In Lord of the Flies being that most of these boys are born and bred from upper class backgrounds, Golding has used aristocratic and distinguished vocabulary in there dialogue; whereas a character such as Piggy lacks this quality in comparison and his dialogue reflects the fact he is not of the same living standard as his fellow peers on the island. Ralph speaks very confident and complete; this is shown very early on in the novel as Ralph is voted “chief” by the other boys on the island, he later asserts his authority in the novel by making bold imperative statements such as “I'm chief”, "because you chose me. And we were going to keep the fire going. Now you run after food.” the fact that he is always knowing what to do express’ that he is a natural born leader. Jack plays the role of Ralph’s antagonist in the novel, this is shown from the very start of the story and from the moment the boys on the island voted Ralph as chief instead of Jack Golding starts to foreshadow the possibilities of further altercations occurring between the two. Being that these boys have come from what seems to be an almost identical upbringing Jack’s speech is similar to Ralphs which is also conveyed with the dialogue. Jack speaks with imperatives in his dialogue also, for example when he says, “Choir! Stand Still!” this implies to the reader that he is insistent and controlling whilst also power hungry. In comparison to these other boys Piggy is not of the same living class, in fact he is of lower class. Where it is in the novel that these boys went to private school, Piggy was of lower class and went to a state school; his differentiation of class shows not through his behaviour but his speech. Piggy is not grammatically precise when he talks at times and this is conveyed as he tells the boys “I was the only boy in our class what had assmar (asthma)”.

Appearance is another noteworthy technique used in both books and plays. In ‘The Tempest’ directors choose the appearance of characters; Caliban is an outstanding example for this as some choose to potray him as ‘Villain’ or ‘Victim’ through his appearance. This is also the case when it comes to Prospero. Directors in the past who have chosen to make Caliban villain-like such as Sam Mende will make him zombie-like, savage or even grotesque. However in the 2009 Royal Shakespeare Company Production they would make him a victim, weak in comparison to other characters such as Prospero, usually portrayed by an old man. Directors use this shift in roles between character personalities to alter the way in which we as readers perceive each individual. Elaboration on this is exampled often by directors that when they choose to make Caliban the villain then Prospero shall be portrayed as the victim in his attempts to protect his only daughter, but if it be that Caliban is the victim, you will see Prospero as the over-powering, manipulative oppressor. Through his use of words Shakespeare shows Miranda to be beautiful by the nicknames she is given such as ‘goddess’ and ‘a thing divine’. This just works as supporting proof as a character such as Caliban is described “Monster” and “Fish” you can see that they are very different and meant to be portrayed in diverse ways.

In ‘Lord of the Flies’, Golding describes ralph as “fair boy” and reveals the fact he is strong and tall by making such remarks as “you can see that he might be a boxer”. Golding goes on to say Ralph has “mildness about his eyes and mouth” which tells us that he is considerate and is care of what he says so that he doesn’t hurt anyone. Ralphs appearance described in the novel hints that he is confident and that he would serve as more than just a satisfactory leader due to his strength. Piggy is simply described as a “Fat Boy” which leads to the expectation that he lacks social skills because of numerous years prior to meeting Ralph of being teased and called “Piggy” and “Fatty” it is easy to see he has low self-confidence making it harder to make friends. This is also highlighted by the fact that all the way up to the killing of Piggy we are never made aware of his true birth name. Jacks spoilt personality shows in his appearance as Golding defines him as “ugly without silliness” and that his eyes are “frustrated… ready to turn in anger.” Further on into the books commencement, Jack’s descent into savagery along with his fellow school boys is put across by the change from his church clothes he had been wearing in the beginning to the painted face he puts on a ‘mask’ that ‘liberates him from self-consciousness.’

‘The Tempest’ was based on colonialism in the British Empire. The British Empire once owned nearly half of the world due to the fact that they sailed out in big ships to foreign islands and enslaved the natives who may be there. ‘The Tempest’ is a metaphorical microcosm for this, Prospero being the British Empire, sailing to a native island and making slaves of Ariel and Caliban who represent the natives of these islands.

The historical context behind ‘Lord of the Flies’ is World War II. The war had affected the way people interpreted the world, especially Golding. World War I was for many years referred to as ‘The War to End all Wars’. World War II just proved this to be wrong thus creating a new sense that people are naturally warlike, power hungry and savage. ‘Lord of the Flies was based on this idea, that even something so innocent such as well brought up British school boys had a deeper evil that lay within them; from thinking throwing stones at each other was a ‘taboo’, to pushing boulders at ‘friends’ and killing them.

In conclusion, both Shakespeare and Golding used inspired and fascinating techniques to show contrast between the main characters in ‘The Tempest’ and ‘Lord of the Flies.’ Golding uses various techniques to express themes of the loss of innocence when there is a break down in democracy, which ultimately leads into savagery. Shakespeare also uses several techniques to explore themes of fantasy, from the fact that Prospero is a sorcerer, Ariel being a ‘Sprite’, Caliban a lesser being and a romance between Miranda and Ferdinand as they fall in love.

By Romaine Ubani