most worried about "what grownups would say," he steps in to help Ralph and to try to care forthe littluns. He displays the weaknesses of the caregiver by being exploited by others and even martyred at the end of the book. 

Simon, the Sage, is the only one of the boys to understand the truth of "mankind's essential illness." He seeks out information and knowledge, first in his private hideaway (where he meets the Lord of the Flies) and then when he confronts the "beast from air." Simon also exhibits some of the Caregiver archetype in that he helps feed the littluns and helps Ralph with the shelters and is the first martyr--dying as he tries to bring the other boys the truth about the beast. Although not one of Jung's archetypes, the archetypal Christ-figure also corresponds to Simon in this novel.  

It is easy to see that the littluns as a group represent the Innocent, and Maurice, with his tendency to mimic, represents the Jester. Samneric represent the Partner; they are always in partnership with each other and partner with Ralph until they are kidnapped by Jack. Roger represents the Rebel or the Outlaw and succumbs to his weakness by giving himself over fully to violence and "crime."

This is one way of viewing the characters in Lord of the Flies from an archetypal standpoint.

The four main characters in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, each represent some aspect of mankind. 

Ralph is the first character we meet, and from the beginning it is clear that he is symbolic of man's physical being. He swims, he jumps, he leaps, and, when he realizes there are no adults on the island, he stands on his head--more than once. The boys elect him leader simply because he looks like a leader. Jack wants to kill Ralph in the end because he is the last (physical) barrier to Jack's complete savagery. 

Piggy is the next character we meet, and he is certainly not physically appealing. Piggy is fat, wears thick glasses, and has asthma attacks; he never tans and his hair sticks up in little tufts. The first thing Piggy does is ask questions. He wants to know what happened to the plane after the crash, and he is the one who teaches Ralph the power of the conch (all Ralph wants to do is make funny noises with it, of course). When the boys start to gather, Piggy tries to get everyone's names and wants to be sure someone keeps track of the boys. He is the one who first understands the threat Jack poses, particularly to him and Ralph, and he is the one who wishes there were adults on the island. Piggy symbolizes intellect, and when he dies, all that is left is the body fighting against unchecked human nature.

The first time we meet Simon, we learn that he is a "fainter." He is the one the littluns ask to help them get fruit when they cannot reach it, and he is the quiet voice of inner knowledge. He tells Ralph he thinks Ralph will live to get off the island, and he is the prophetic one who understands that the only beast any of them have to worry about is themselves. Simon represents the spirit or soul of man, and he is the first of the three characters mentioned so far to die. Golding's point, of course, is that the soul is the first thing to die when human nature is left unchecked. The final image we have of the sensitive Simon even indicates a Christ-like figure with nature's halo around his head:

The water rose farther and dressed Simon’s coarse hair with brightness. The line of his cheek silvered and the turn of his shoulder became sculptured marble. The strange attendant creatures, with their fiery eyes and trailing vapors, busied themselves round his head.

The final character is Jack, and he represents the part of us all that we refer to as human nature--the instinctive compulsions (often negative and self-serving) we have which are normally kept in check by the boundaries of law and civilization. He is the first to be referred to as a savage. Jack paints his face for pig-hunting, creating a kind of savage mask:

[T]he mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.

Jack is the cruel, selfish leader who wants things his way. When the only impediment to his complete control of the island is Ralph, Jack orders his savages to kill Ralph. If he had succeeded, Jack would have been able to do anything he wished without any restraint or restriction. 

Golding traces the descent of man without any outward control or authority by using these four characters in this novel. 

In a discussion of William Golding's Lord of the Flies as an allegory, the reader recognizes the major characters as archetypes, or embodiments of a generic personality type which has recognizable and typical behaviors.  Ralph and Jack Merridew are the two characters in Golding's novel who become leaders and who vie for ultimate leadership. 

Ralph 

From the first pages of the narrative, Ralph emerges as the "born leader,"  the stereotypical "golden boy" who is handsome and charismatic.  Repeatedly he is referred to as "the fair boy."  This phrase indicates his light hair, but it is also a 1950s buzzword for "favorite" (e.g.  The boss's fair haired boy=his favorite).  When Piggy asks him his name, he merely replies with his first name:  "Ralph"--an indication of his importance as very famous people such as biblical figures and movie and rock stars are often known just by their first names. Uninhibited as he is aware of his beauty, Ralph quickly strips off his clothes from his "golden body" so he can jump into the water and cool off.  Confident and somewhat arrogant, Ralph laughs at Piggy's nomenclature and mock's Piggy's plea not to call him by this name.  After the swim,he commands Piggy to get his clothes, and laughs with pleasure at the prospect of having "a coral island" on which to dwell.  

When Piggy shows him the conch and explains how to blow into it, Ralph uses the conch to call the others on the island.  The children who respond automatically give him "the same simple obedience that they had given to the men with megaphones," because Ralph is a commanding figure. However, upon the arrival of Jack Merridew, Ralph recognizes his rival; he seeks to override Jack's order to Piggy--"Shut up, Fatty," by telling a small boy named Henry to "Shut up," adding "Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things."

Jack Merridew

A dark party of boys, the choir, emerges from a mirage after Ralph blows the conch.  As they fall into line, a tall boy shouts orders which the choir wearily obeys.  When one boy collapses from the heat and sun, the tall boy dismisses his act as a pretense:  "He's always throwing a faint,...He did in Gib; and Addis; and at matins over the precentor."  As the choir boys snigger, they examine Ralph with interest.  But, Piggy asks no names, for he is intimidated by

the uniformed superiority and the offhand authority in Merridew's voice.  He shrank to the other side of Ralph...

Repeating his last name, Golding has Merridew say, "Then we'll have to look after ourselves," thus attempting to take charge of the situation.  Ralph asserts himself, saying, "We'd better all have names...so, I'm Ralph."  But Merridew vies with him for dominance,

"Kids' names," said Merridew.  "Why should I be Jack?  I'm Merridew."

When Ralph calls for the election of a chief, Merridew--who, interestingly is now referred by Golding only as "Jack," loses his prominence although Piggy

is intimidated by this uniformed superiority and the offhand authority in Merridew's voice.

The two archetypes, Ralph and Jack, thus become the two opposing forces of man's nature in the allegorical novel--the one civilized and the other brutish and savage.