Simon can easily be noticed as being the kindest of the characters. He has a sense of community and neighborly love that all of the other characters lack. "...the littluns who had run after him caught up with him...Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands." (p. 56) Simon would not even let Jack, one of he most influential characters, stif

The pebbles, stones and boulders represent power. "Ralph heard the great rock before he saw it... Then the monstrous red thing bounded across the neck and he flung himself flat while the tribe shrieked." (180-181) They were able to hut with them and they were able to kill people with them. "The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge if the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws." (153)

The conch is a very important symbol throughout the whole novel as it always stands for authority and stability together with the platform on which they hold their meetings. "Then, with the martyred expression of a parent who has to keep up with the senseless ebullience of the children, he [Piggy] picked up the conch, turned toward the forest, and began to pick his way over the tumbled scar." (38) It is also a symbol of political influence that is granted everybody that holds it. It changes meaning throughout the novel, however, as it is always in the limelight as an important means of political influence. In moral terms it is neither positive nor negative as it may be used both for the good and the bad all depending on who controls it. It represents neither good nor evil simply power and influence. The whole novel revolves around this central symbol, as the intensive power struggle is also a struggle for control of the conch. Jack has a very ambiguous relationship to the conch, because on one hand he revolts against it, and on the other hand he always struggles to take it over, particularly when he has formed his own gang. The fact that it is exploded into tiny pieces at the very moment when Piggy is killed, underscores its importance as a symbol of stability and authority. Both concepts are shattered because of the brutal killing of Piggy. "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." (181)

Ralph is very scared and hurt while he is being hunted. "Ralph lay in covert, wondering about his wounds. The bruised flesh was inches in diameter over his right ribs, with a swollen and bloody scar where the scar had hit him. His hair was full of dirt and tapped like the tendrils of a creeper. All over he was scratched and bruised from his flight through the forest. By the time his breathing was normal again, he had worked out that bathing these injuries would have to wait. How could you listen for naked feet if you were splashing in the water? How could you be safe by the little stream or on the open beach?" (183) Ralph is confused, paranoid and doubtful at the same time.

Piggy represents the law and order of the adult world. He symbolizes intelligence and deeper thought and meaning. "But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains." (85) Throughout the novel, Piggy attempts to condition the island society to mirror the society they all lived in England. Piggy's continual references to his aunt demonstrate this philosophy. He tries to pull Ralph towards the reason-oriented side of human natu

Some common words found in the essay are:
Simon Piggy, Lord Flies, England Piggy's, Castle Rock, Naval Officer, Jesus Piggy, Simon Jack, Piggy Simon, Jack Ralph, lord flies, Cry Hunters, throughout novel, island boys, control boys, glancing blow chin, exploded thousand, thousand white, 130 glasses, white fragments, knee conch exploded, knee conch, struck piggy glancing, conch exploded, blow chin knee, chin knee conch,
Approximate Word count = 2144
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)