Lord of the Flies: Favorites

[Scheherazade]

Who is your favorite character in LOTF and why? What is your favorite passage/quote from the book?

[Taliesin]

We have to say that it is Piggy.
We really think that he is such an interesting character. He is very reasonable, but somehow he really doesn't grasp the savage instinct of others. And he is a really fascinating character. His death is really the culmination of the book, the power of the Lord of the Flies is clearly visible now. And he was Ralph's dear friend. He was an advisor and maybe he sometimes was annoyed with him, but he was a friend. He held the shell. He was the last border of civilization and it died with it.
The second "character" whom whe would have chosen, would be the Lord of the Flies. Unfortunately We saw the choice Piggy at the top, since We have always liked Piggy and chose it immediately. The thing that the Lord of the Flies is actually a character didn't come to our minds, but a plus point to you, Sche, for it came to yours. For it is really a very interesting and powerful character. It lays deep inside everyone of them and is a killer. It killed Piggy and Simon and maybe someone else, but it also killed innocence. Remember when Ralph cried at the end of the book because of the lost innocence. The savage grotesque of the bloody head; a sacrifice to evil, being the central symbol of evil.
And our favourite passage is actually when Simon half-hallucinates about the Lord of the Flies. And it seems a very powerful irony to us that he sees most clearest when hallucinating.

[mister_noel_y2k]

"Lord of the Flies", for the less cerebral reason that the image is a incredibly memorable one. A pig's head on a stick, grinning with blood dripping down the stick on the sand, staring and speaking at that boy. Plus the link that it might be the Devil himself speaking is always a fascinating one for me and for others I'm sure. I always enjoy a bit of fantasy/detachment from the realistic (is it?) plot of a book, especially this one. Done brilliantly, hats off to you Mr Golding! :banana:

[mono]

When choosing a favorite character, I often search for the most distinguished character, the most described, and the one that most conforms to actual (and usually exaggerated) human personality, behavior, and interaction with others. With this consideration, I feel stuck between Ralph and Jack.
Ralph plays a very utilitarian, all-giving role that a reader can easily admire. I look up to his skills in resolving problems in the novel, and bordering the near-need to create peace through a democratic-like leadership.
Jack, though one could identify him as the 'villain,' I enjoy reading about for his versatile, and so cynically described behavior. The manner in which Golding writes of this character often scares me, seeing Jack as a future cruel, greedy leader of a country.
I cannot decide which character I can call my absolute favorite, as both Ralph and Jack, as polar opposite characters, make the story, along with Piggy and Sam'n'Eric . . . so, since no one else has chosen him, I will go with the villain, Jack.

[Bongitybongbong]

I voted for Simon because of the irony mentioned before but also because he is a definant reference to Jesus and he was definantly much better, in my opinion, because he knew what the beast was. I was brought in my original feelimgs toward him.


Simon was a metaphor to Jesus when he tries to tell the boys that the beast is within each of them, but Jack and his hunters kill him before he gets a chance to tell them what the beast is. I was really drawn to Simon because of his advanced perception and how later he was sacrificed despite that he knew he would die.

[Scheherazade]

I like Piggy.

He is the most intelligent, reasoanable and knowledgable of them all. Yet, one cannot help feeling sorry for him either because despite his mental capacities, he is never appreciated truly by any of the boys. Even Ralph, who is his closest friend island, cannot help getting annoyed with him at times and teases him. I find it interesting that it is Ralph who has revealed to the others that his nickname is Piggy (betraying his trust and as a result of this, we never get to find out Piggy's real name).

What makes Piggy endearing to me is that he also realises that even though he is more reasonable than the others, he has no chance of being appreciated. I think this is the reason he decides to associate himself with Ralph and act as his advisor. He immediately recognises Ralph's natural qualities and does not hesitate to give him the credit for his own ideas. When they find the conch for the first time, he tells Ralph:

"We could use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us -" He beamed at Ralph. "That was what you meant, didn't you? That's why you got the conch out of the water?"

Ralph never answer Piggy's question but we know that is not the case as Ralph did not what a conch was untill Piggy explained it to him.

Later on, during their first meeting after realising that they are stranded on an island, when all the boys go wild with excitement, it is Piggy who reminds Ralph what to do:
"You're hindering Ralph. You're not letting him to the most important thing."
...
"Nobody knows where we are," said Piggy.
...
Only then Ralph realises what needs to be done and:
"That's what I was going to say," he went on...

His death signals the destruction of civilization in the island and one does not mourn only his death but also the order as we know it.

[Jester]

I don't have a fovorite but I was most disappointed and angry when Simon died, I hated jack from the beginning, he being the villain and also becuase he was a hunter and more importantly because he took the little bit of power given to him when he was in civilization to the extreme. (i think there's a lesson to be learned about giving one child the power over there peers). Roger was vicious, the extreme savage where as piggy was the opposite, the extreme civilized. Rlph annoyed me, i thought he was a little bit dumb being in charge and not really knowing what to do and how to do it... though I think that if thigns were idfferent war would have just started earlier. Simon was the only one who knew what the monster was, knew how to address it and not to fear it. But he is like the little poeple (everyone who knows what to be done but are silenced becuase no one respects them or they came at the wrong time.)

[Scheherazade]

I think Ralph represents a charismatic leader;one people would follow willingly. This quality, however, is not enough;he does not have all the answers, either. What I like about Ralph is that he recognised his shortcomings. He listened to Piggy and at times wished he was there with him to advise him. He also recognised that Simon was different from them.
As for him not knowing what to do and how... I think he is only a 12 year old who is forced to resume an unfair responsibility. I mostly feel sorry for him.

[frozenlight]

i voted for simon. it's obvious from the very beginning that he's special and, although the main characters are obviously ralph, jack and piggy, the passages that refer to simon are of great importance.
first of all, he's the only one who realises what the beastie story is all about ("maybe there is a beast (...) what i mean is... maybe it's only us"). and eventually he's the only one who wants to climb the mountain to see for himself what it's all about (i think we ought to climb the mountain.(...) what else is there to do?"), when the others are too afraid to.
and then of course, there is that haunting scene, the encounter with the lord of the flies himself, which i think is the central image of the book.
what else? i like him cos he's "batty"... he's kind of a loner, he keeps going to that "place he knows" in the jungle... he somehow seems to know that he's not going to make it (remember when he tells ralph "you'll get back to where you came from" - why not "we'll get back" ?). and then there's his death, i just loved that scene, and it's stronger than the one when piggy dies.

my second choice is the lord of the flies, for obvious reasons.

why not the others?
piggy is sensible, very down to earth, the only one who keeps in mind till the end the supreme goal: fire-smoke-rescue that the others "forget". his glasses are a great handicap, but they're the only thing that makes fire (and yet... fact: myopia is corrected using a divergent lens that can't be used to concentrate rays of light :D ) still... he's kind of dull. and i totally hate the fact that he won't admit he and ralph were part of the dance when simon was kiled (remember when it is pointed out that "he saw more clearly if he removed his glasses and shifted the one lens to the other eye"? a change of perspective perhaps?)

ralph is just a boy overwelmed by huge responsabilities and the incapacity to gain total recognition as a leader and to convince the others about the importance of the fire. he is one of the few who realise that they are sinking into savagery, he has some sense (less than piggy though), but this isn't enough to make him a leader.

jack isn't as bad as one may think. he's just very frustrated, he has a pathologic need to be chief and to prove he is strong. (remember the almost ridiculous "the chief has spoken" he forces his hunters to say during their first raid?). his cruelty, savagery, pleasure to kill and even his hate towards ralph and piggy are just consequences of that one main flaw.

the others are not important enough to me.

[Jay]

I can't decide and as I can't vote twice...
Piggy or Simon, for reasons already stated :)

[mono]

Piggy has a character so easy to sympathize and show empathy. Though he does prove a pain in the arse for all of the other characters, he, along with Jack, I think, has the most memorable personality - losing his glasses, having good leadership ideas that inspire Ralph, then getting killed.

[Jay]

And Simon's a bit of a 'mystery', he seems too clever for someone that young.

[xCHARLii3x92x]

Ralphs my favourite because he tries so hard to keep things together and fails.. and his struggle between good and evil is interesting. What i like most about him is that he takes on the role as a cheif but can barely keep himself on track..

Can i just ask why does everyone love Piggy?? Every forum i go in to everyone adores Piggy lol.. hes cool but i just dont get it

[Idril]

It's tough because I really do like Simon, he has a relatively small role but his influence is enormous but when it gets right down to it, I have to pick Ralph. I like Ralph just because inspite of his struggles, inspite of the fact that he doesn't have all the answers and he's overwhelmed and out of his element, he still makes the right choices, he still understands the difference between right and wrong and what's real and what isn't. And he has this quiet strength, Piggy always seemed like he was on the verge of hysterics about this and that, always the doomsayer and I realize that he had a lot to be hysterical about and that he was always right on the money in his doomsaying but there were so many times when I just wanted to slap him across the face and tell him to relax. ;) Ralph was overwhelmed, he wasn't the greatest of leaders but he followed his conscience to the end, in spite of unrelenting odds, inspite of the hysteronics of Piggy and the manipulations of Jack and the betrayals of Samneric, he stayed true to who he was and I guess I always hope that if I were in the same situation, I would have the strength to do the same.

Reading through this I sound really hard on Piggy. It's not that I didn't like him, he was very intelligent and I certainly did feel for him and his 'outsider' role, there were times when I wished very much that Ralph was a little nicer to him, a little more grateful for the help and advice he had to give and his death killed me but man, that kid drove me nuts at times!

[TheFemme]

What makes Piggy endearing to me is that he also realises that even though he is more reasonable than the others, he has no chance of being appreciated.


Well said. I think this is why he's my favorite too. :nod:

[thevintagepiper]

My favorite is Simon, because of his simple, quiet "knowing," and bravery in the face of the savagery around him. Also, he helps reveal the purpose of the story, and even before that he just knows; he knows that the depravity and madness is inside of them all and it always has been.

Pretty much the same reasons stated before.

[Shakira]

I would definately vote for Simon because he is a representative of all those good people who are subjugated & are hurt, by this cruel world, in an attempt to bring about a change & spread some goodwill in it.

[stephanie17]

Hi everybody...
I know, I'm not in the right section but I'm new here and I didn't know where to post it!!!

I have an english homework to do about the first chapters of the book and the 4th one.

So the question is:
Choose one relationship that you find interesting in the first chapters (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and explain how it changes in the 4th chapter???

:idea: I've a lack of inspiration so if someone can help me... it would be great!! :idea:

Thanks a lot in advance to eveybody who will answer that!!!!

[Bakiryu]

When I first read the book (age 8) I guess I just identified with Piggy. I even cried when he died. I never liked the others much anyway and I downright hate Ralph.

[NikolaiI]

I thought it was unrealistic. I don't think the kids would kill each other like that. Civilization corrupts, but a small society like that wouldn't make them evil so quick.

[Psycheinaboat]

I voted for Simon, but my heart was really with the "littluns."

I love it when these older threads are resurrected!

[yewon]

I chose Simon as many of you made the same choice. All the people here made their opinion so logically that I have nothing left to write.
I think Simon represents religion, more particularly Christianity. I haven't seen any other characters in any books describe religious feature so clearly like Simon, so I found him interesting to think about religious things in human society.. I got strong impression of him, thus I chose him.

[M Turner]

An interesting note on LOTF characters from a psychoanalytic point of view. The very basics of psychoanalysis state that there are three main parts of the human psyche: the id, ego, and superego. The id is the component that controls instinctive and primitive behaviors; it is driven by the pleasure principle. The ego is responsible for dealing with reality; making sure that the actions of the id would be acceptable in your environment. It balances the instinctive actions with reason. Finally, the superego is the component that contains senses of morality; right and wrong internalized by past events and society's expectations.

Jack represents the id well as he turns on Ralph and coaxes the larger group of the boys to follow him and indulge in savagery and quick gratification; discarding any sense of right or wrong that was once presented to them by their former societal standards.

Ralph embodies the superego. He refuses to give into the savage ways of Jack and his followers, believing stubbornly that his former societal standards of right and wrong must stand. He says to his remaining small group of followers that they will refuse to tie their hair back as Jack's group has done, because that is not the way they had been raised.

Lastly; Piggy, obviously, represents the ego, as he is constantly playing the voice of reason and rational analysis of the situation, attempting desperately (and futilely) to balance out Jack's savage instincts.

The three components, if balanced, theoretically create the perfect person. But, when they are distraught by great conflict... well, you know what happened.

That being said--Simon was my favorite character. His maturity and wisdom beyond his age was impressive to me, and I felt like he was easy to relate with. My favorite quote (from Ralph, hiding from Jack's cronies): "Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy."

Matt

[River]

Simon. What can I say, he's the 'good guy' if there is one in this novel.

[Merlin22]

This book is amazing. I just finished reading it in English Class. The way Golding writes is astounding, you feel right there with the boys, he makes you feel attached so it's only natural I vote for the one i felt most attached too. Simon. Simon was from the start, the one who seemed, not so much a major character, but an important character to "fill in the gaps", His death, just at the moment of his realization that the beast is not to be feared, and then the decent upon him by those savages that used to be the Choir, literally brought me too tears. I loved him. How humans can be so awful and hurtful is beyond me.

When Jack mentions " We used to have the voice of Angels!" it reminded me of Simon. They all used to be innocent, angelic children; and only Simon remained true and pure, not turning into a hunter. So I vote him. For his Truth and Perception. And his angelic personality.