Lord of the Flies (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: William Golding
- First Published: 1954
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fable
- Time of Work: The future, during a nuclear war
- Setting: A previously uninhabited tropical island
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Science fiction, Near future and distant future fiction, Robinsonade
- Subjects: Power, personal or social, Politics, Murder or homicide, Superstition, Leadership, Future, Alienation, Emotions, Law or legislation, Violence, War, Islands, Death or dying, Good and evil, Human behavior, Cruelty, Loneliness, Totalitarianism, Boys, Pacific Ocean, Reason or reasoning
- Locales: Islands
Characters Discussed
Ralph, a British schoolboy who is the boys’ chief until Jack weans them away and turns Ralph into their prey. Ralph is the chief spokesman for civilized values in the novel. It is Ralph who finds the conch shell that comes to symbolize order and Ralph who advocates building shelter and keeping a fire going. The son of a naval officer, Ralph is dedicated to duty and the hope of eventual rescue. For Ralph, keeping a fire going is almost an obsession, and it is ironic that the fire set at the end of the novel to drive him out of hiding attracts the ship that...
[The entire page is 799 words long]
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