Question 3

Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?

The main characters affect the plot enormously. In the story of ‘Lord of the Flies,’ Ralph, a protagonist of the story, Jack, an antagonist, Simon, and Piggy are the main characters that influenced the storyline. Each of them has different traits or characteristics. Most important are the characteristics of Ralph and of Jack since they are two major characters and completely oppose to one another. Personally, I prefer Ralph to Jack because Ralph demonstrated pure leadership and was exemplary to the boys, whereas Jack abused his new powers and became nothing but a barbarian who acted savagely, eventually resulting an accidental murder of an innocent kid. Besides his leadership, I was impressed and surprised to be relaxed and calm in a situation in which he was fortunately survived, otherwise dead from the plane crash. In addition, it was during the war, and the boys were being transferred to the safe place separated from their parents; however Ralph did not fail to be a leader among the scared, afraid children. Jack, also, was an experienced leader of a choir thus he also acted as a leader, yet desperation for the authority and power eventually revealed our sinful nature. Therefore, I do not like Jack as much. While Jack revealed our very savage nature, Ralph was a representation of morality. He formed a civilization by listening to the boys and decided what was right and wrong.