Sunday, February 15, 2015

In Lord of the Flies, what are the attitudes of Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack and Roger toward the other boys?

Ralph and Jack have conflicting attitudes toward the rest of the boys.  Ralph feels a heavy responsibility to care for the others, which helps him avoid the panic that builds throughout the novel because of the desperate situation in which he finds himself.  Jack, on the other hand, sees the other boys as ones the be mastered and dominated.  This is in large part due to his own insecurities, which were intensified after the initial vote in which Ralph was elected chief instead of him.


Piggy and Simon both take on nurturing roles toward the other boys.  Piggy takes on the mother-role, always staying behind to monitor them and becoming overly-frustrated and agitated when they do not follow his instructions.  Simon also cares for the others, but more on their own terms instead of on his.  Nowhere is this more clearly seen than when Simon gently assists the "littl'uns" in securing fruit from high in the tree where they can not reach.


Roger is the most inherently cruel boy in the novel.  His instinctual cruelty is seen early when he throws rocks at the boy on the beach while hiding in the palms, which foreshadows when he hurls the rock at Piggy while hiding behind his painted face.

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