Characters in Lord of the
Flies
GCSE REVISION
Ralph
Ralph is a natural leader
He seems sensible but fun
He is the only “good” survivor
Links to the Conch
He is Democratic
Becomes a man
His name is derived from Old English
word for "wolf council"
O “there was a mildness about his
mouth and eyes that proclaimed no
devil."
O “golden hair”
O His emotional stability decreases
until he cries for the first time at the
end of the book.
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Jack
O Leader of the choir
O He is an obvious bully
O Jealous of Ralph and the fact that he was
O
O
O
O
O
chosen to be leader over him
He is hungry for power
Ginger and freckled, not as physically
attractive as Ralph, is this why he covers
his face with paint?
Obsessive, with hunting especially.
Becomes a beast by the end of the book.
Name means ‘lord of the land’ in Old
English or could be derived from the
Hebrew name Jacob which literally means
"one who takes over“
Piggy
O Piggy is destined to die from the start. You could
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
argue this because of the “survival of the
fittest” theory.
He has physical disadvantages because he is
fat, asthmatic and is short sighted. Without his
glasses, everything becomes a blur.
Piggy is the wisest character.
He displays a feminine voice as he looks after
the littleuns’ and seems to be the only one who
cares about them.
He acts much more maturely that the other
boys
He is the second boy that we see die.
He is unwanted
He is an obvious outsider
Ralph only realises what a true friend Piggy was
at the end of the book.
Roger
O Roger emerges gradually in the
O
O
O
O
O
O
book
Is he evil?
he murders Piggy
Name means ‘good with spear’ in
Old English
He is cruel. He deliberately spoils
the littluns' games. Later, he
relishes sharpening a stick at
both ends with which to kill
Ralph.
But…
When throwing stones at the
littleuns’ he deliberately misses,
this shows a good side of Roger.
Simon
O Prophetic and Jesus-like
O He is Different:
O Ralph says "He's queer. He's funny." Piggy says
O
O
O
O
O
"He's cracked".
Hebrew name "Shim'on" means "one who listens
or observes"
Simon is at one with nature
He is scared because he knows what will
happen.
First boy we see die
Simon's close relationship with nature seems to
carry on even after he is dead: " The waves
turned the corpse gently in the water. ... Softly,
surrounded by a fringe of bright inquisitive
creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the
steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body
moved out towards the open sea".