The characters' psychological analysis.

The personality of the individuals is modified by the physical means and by the culture. In fact, to characterise his characters, Golding talks us about these two aspects. In the work several stereotypes are introduced: the boss who is so thanks to his image; the intelligent one that is rejected; the aggressive person, but also attractive for his vitality; the unconsciousness of the masses…

Piggy. He lived with his aunt because he’s orphan. His illness (asthmatic) has transformed him into a great observer because he has remained seasons in bed. For this, his contact with the adults has been bigger, and they have infused him his concern for the future. Their education has transformed him into a theoretical and of course fearsome reflexive. Piggy represents the adults until Simon appears; he thinks of calling the rest of children with the shell, of building some refuges and so on. However Piggy is excluded, not only for his illness, but for his physical appearance. Piggy is fat, maybe because his asthma prevents him to make as much sports as the rest and he also needs glasses of high graduation. Piggy is aware of his margination and although he has capacity, he knows he will never become a boss. Apart form this fact he is proud of helping Ralph to be so. Ralph appreciates his support. Piggy represents those people that are excluded by their physical conditions but who are intelligent. His wisdom is not recognised, and he is even rejected.

Ralph. He is orphan of mother and he has lived with his father, which was mariner. Until his arrival to the island he felt attracted by the wild life but he ends up feeling repulsion for this. Suddenly he has been included in a wild and disordered life and when the problems arrive this attraction disappears. Ralph is happy because no mature person has survived, and he knows that living with adults means repression for the influence of the culture that their transmit. His biggest desire is to return home and for this reason he worries about maintaining the blaze lit; it is their only opportunity of being rescued. But the rescue seems so distant that the blaze sometimes lacks sense. Ralph represents the common sense of the civilisation of which he proceeds and he wants to return to it. He does not want to live in the island for the rest of his days. He remembers happy moments and he lives with the hope of being rescued, without having to adapt to the wild life.

He is the boss. At the beginning he looks very proud, but later he realises the reality: he doesn't know how to think. However he has Piggy by his side. He ends up recognising his dependence. Ralph’s thought is intuitive and quick, he is less intelligent than Piggy because he has not thought previously and the intelligence is cultivated. Later Ralph learns how to think, and he realises that he represents the principle of reality and the common sense, and that he is necessary to maintain a balance in that wild island, something that Jack does not get due to his impulsive character. For Ralph, Jack’s acts lack of common sense, but Ralph is not perfect, he is the first one to exclude Piggy; he feels fear like the rest.

Ralph is the typical elected boss for his image. He has the shell, he made it sound for the first time. They do not value his possible capacity to lead a group, they simply choose the one that has the shell.

Jack. He has been the typical boss according to the English nested education. The competition induces to the violence, and he is the most violent. His authoritarianism is even more potent when is proclaimed the boss of the gang. Jack is aggressive. He thinks that everything is a constant fight and he does not stop thinking of the Castle they discovered when they were exploring the island. It would be fantastic as a defence from the enemies, although these enemies do not exist. Jack does not like the imperfection, he worries about the present, not the future; for that reason he forgets the rescue soon and he adapts to his convenience.

Once they have to choose between Jack or Ralph, the children leave with the first one because he is more attractive for them. Jack attracts and inspires fear but at the same time imposes his vitality.

This is a character opposed enough to the ideal boss: Ralph. His irresponsibility reaches its maximum point when they are about to kill Ralph. The rest of the components of the group follow him: the hysteria of the masses.

Sam and Eric (Samyeric). They are treated as a person. They are not distinguished neither physically neither psychically; the sentences of one are completed by the other one, they laugh and they sleep at the same time; they are complementary and, at the same time independent. Even the author, at the end of the book only treats them as a character and when naming them: Samyeric. They know what has happened but they don’t make anything, they are passive and they don't make anything to remedy what they know that is not in law.

Simon. He is genetically a weak boy, it is deduced because he suffers several fainting and epileptic attacks, for this reason he is excluded for the leading group. This weakness is also shown in his personality. Simon is shy so he can not express well in front of the others. He is not very sociable. The group does not always understand him and therefore he is rejected. Simon is a philosopher and therefore he is more intuitive and more analytic. But this does not make him indifferent before the facts happening. He knows that the fear is human and that the only thing that we make consciously is to project it to something. For that reason he decides to climb to the mountain and to check that the wild animal exists. His personality does not allow him to communicate the news that would have changed their lives in the island. Simon knows that the anguish is genetic, because his own anguish reflected in “The Lord of the Flies” tells him: “I am the wild animal (…) I am part of you.” In his interior there is a fight between his instinctive part, that advised him to act like the other children and his educated part, his conscience that knows what is well or bad. Simon represents the analytic and rational thought, and he is the bridge between the two worlds represented by Ralph and Jack.