Lord of the Flies - character essay plan

‘Choose a novel in which the fate of a main character allows the author to explore his chosen theme.’


1. Introduction
‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding is an example of a novel in which the fate of Ralph allows the author to explore his chosen theme, of civilisation and savagery. By the end of the novel, Ralph is one of the last survivors who hasn’t turned into a killer as part of Jack’s ‘tribe’. In this essay I will show how the author sets the scene and creates a turning point, with the deaths of Simon and Piggy.

2. The climax
At the end of the novel, Ralph is pursued by the boys to the beach, where he meets the perplexed group of soldiers who have just landed. He is asked:
“We saw your smoke. And you don’t know how many of you there are?”
“No, sir”
• dramatic way to end the novel - the soldiers show the contrast between an orderly society and a chaotic one
• smoke symbolises the hunters fire; and the fire Ralph and Piggy tried to keep alive
• pessimistic ending to the novel –Ralph was unable to achieve a fair and peaceful society.
• Ralph had neither the knowledge or experience to do this on his own, and his relationship with Piggy was not close enough for him to be able to use Piggy’s intelligence
• Without civilisation’s rules, savagery triumphs

The choir
Ralph’s fate is foreshadowed by the arrival of the choir in the first chapter of the novel:
‘Within the diamond haze of the beach something dark was fumbling along.’

• Ralph and Piggy called the meeting after blowing in the conch
• interrupts the meeting with his arrival, along with the rest of the choir. This foreshadows the novel’s tragic ending
• suggests that Ralph’s rule on the island will come to an end
• Description of the ‘creature’: continued with the idea of the ‘beast’ later on
• Religious overtones – black cloaks suggest monks
• The boys represent the irrational forces of religion, superstition and violence

The beast / the murder of Simon
Ralph becomes like a hunted animal at the end of the novel, in the same way that Simon becomes a ‘beast’ when he is murdered by the hunters –
‘A thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain.’
• Reminds the reader of the ‘creature’ image which describes the choirboys’ arrival
• Simon is sceptical but finally he is murdered because he is mistaken for the beast
• Simon represents individuality and creativity – this cannot be allowed in Jack and Roger’s violent society, so he is sacrificed
• Suggestion that he is a ‘Christ-like figure’, who is destroyed by a senseless mob
• the island descends into tyranny under the rule of Jack and finally murder, the ‘beast’ shows how the situation deteriorates.


The death of Piggy
Falph’s fate is also determined by the death of Piggy:
‘The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist’
• Piggy’s death – killed by Roger’s stone; foreshadowed by Roger tormenting younger children with stones earlier on
• Gruesome – Piggy’s brains are splattered, suggesting the end of intellect and science
• Destruction of the conch – the end of civilisation
• Roger has become Jack’s right-hand-man in the same way that Piggy was to Ralph – yet Roger is only interested in torture


Conclusion
I would therefore argue that Golding uses symbols to emphasise the failures of Ralph and Piggy’s leadership and the ascendancy of Jack and Roger. The book’s pessimistic tone contains a message that, without competent leadership, society descends into superstition and violence.