Ralph Lord Of The Flies Essay

How are the characters of Ralph, Jack and Piggy established in the opening chapters of the novel Lord of the Flies

At the start of the novel we learn that during a nuclear war, there was an atomic explosion. Many boys were evacuated on an aircraft with a detachable passenger tube. They were flying over tropical seas via
Gibraltar and Addis Ababa when the tube was released and crashed-landed in the jungle of an island. The aircraft flew off in flames and overnight the remains of the tube were swept out to sea in a storm. No adults survived, so the remaining boys had to look after themselves. They realised that the plane had been attacked and after all the boys are reunited their individual characters are revealed in depth. Ralph

He tries to keep a democracy, but Jack's aggressive nature does not allow it to last very long. Ralph is probably the most likable person in the book, because of his good nature and his handsome looks, "His size and attractive appearance".
Ralph means "counsel" in the Anglo- Saxon language, and he's the one who calls all the meetings by blowing the conch, and he's chosen as the leader. The conch is seen as a powerful symbol, and he holds it.
Ralph does not specialize in any area of human behaviour, except maybe for having common sense (building shelters, climbing the mountain to see if it is an island) and Jack can be seen as his opposite. At the beginning, clearly Ralph feels that Jack is an ally, a companion; not a rival for leadership, "Ralph found himself alone on a limb with Jack and they grinned at each other ... that strange invisible light of friendship". The chosen leader of the group, Ralph tried to lead the stranded boys into some kind of order. The authority of Jack and the sensibility of Piggy easily sway him. When Ralph first meets Piggy, he sees him as a lower person who should be ridiculed. He starts off by asking for his name and he is told that people used to make fun of

Jack almost represents the evilness of human nature; he lives only to kill and it does not seem to occur to him the possible outcome of being stranded on the island. This reflects why Golding used the name Jack for this character; Jack used force more than logic. "Jack turned fiercely. 'You shut up!'". Jack finds Piggy irritating. He would much rather Piggy was not on the island and is constantly telling him to shut up because he does not care about what
Piggy has to say. He thinks that his time one the island is a time to break against the normal rules that adults impose and to do whatever he wants. He shows this when he decides to turn against Ralph who wants to live a civilised life and to keep things in order. He is pessimistic about their chances of being rescued and does not really want to be rescued because he wants to live on the island away from life and away from adults and away from rules. He is rather bony and has a freckled and crumpled face.

Piggy is the smart and logical one, though not quite as perceptive and biblical as Simon is. "The fat boy hung steadily at his shoulder", before Piggy's name is learnt, he is referred to as being 'the fat boy', suggesting he is fat. The name Piggy connects him to the