My favorite character in The Lord of the Flies is Ralph because he is the character who shows the most growth as a result of his experiences on the island.  He starts out as the unquestioned leader on the island because of his charisma.  He is a civilizing element.  Although at first he cannot understand the savagery that begins to come out in the other boys, when he takes part on the periphery of the dancing frenzy that results in the death of Simon, he can see the dark side in his own nature.  Unlike Piggy, who tries to deny its existence, Ralph seems to come to the decision that it is important to overcome the savage within himself even if it means his own death.  His tears upon being rescued are not only tears of relief and tears of sorrow at Simon and Piggy's senseless deaths. I think they are also tears of sorrow at his own lost innocence.  He realizes that even though they are rescued, he will never be the same boy who was stranded.

My least favorite character was Roger.  He fell into savagery the most quickly and sadistically enjoyed teasing the younger boys.  I don't think he would have been at all likeable even in a civilized situation. 

What character do you especially like or hate in Lord of the Flies and why?

I love Simon--and every passage in the novel in which he is present.  He's a very small, quiet, and pensive character who, by comparison, doesn't have very many lines of dialogue.  He is, however, the only child on the island who isn't consumed by the idea of a "beastie."  In fact, Simon, after his encounter with the Lord of the Flies, is able to recognize that the beast isn't a monster inhabiting the island--it's the evil part that's present in all humans.

Golding takes great care in constructing Simon's character, and many critics liken him to a religious prophet or even to Christ himself--saying that Simon's encounter with the Lord of the Flies is remniscent of Jesus's encounter with Satan in the desert.  Simon dies trying to save the others from the idea of a "beastie," thus sacrificing himself for the good of others.  In one of the most beautiful passages of narration in the novel, Golding describes Simon's dead body, on the beach, just before it is washed away:

Somewhere over the darkened curve of the world the sun and moon were pulling, and the film of water on the earth planet was held, bulging slightly on one side while the solid core turned.  The great wave of the tide moved farther along the island and the water lifted.  Softly, surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea.

What character do you especially like or hate in Lord of the Flies and why?

Most of the characters in Lord of the Flies are not particularly likable, including the main character, Ralph. I have always sympathized most with Piggy. He is by far the most intelligent of the boys and one of the most sensitive. He recognizes immediately that the boys' new island paradise will not be all fun and games. Most of his ideas are good ones, but, sadly, everyone judges him by his physical appearance instead. Two of the novels' primary symbols--the conch and the glasses--are attributed to Piggy. Though he is often treated badly by Ralph, Piggy remains loyal to him.