In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, characters are used to symbolize certain characteristics of human nature. The characters in this book are highly symbolic of the powers that drive the human race, including greed, goodness, and intellect. Golding uses these characters, young boys who symbolize the problems of the world at the time of the publication, and the fact that they have been poisoned by society at such a young age to show the corruption that goes on even in young children.

The first influentially symbolic character of The Lord of the Flies is Ralph, the protagonist and first leader in the novel. Ralph is meant to symbolize the rational thought that comes with all mentally adept humans. Ralph's first actions divide the children into groups which are comprised of the hunters and the other children; this shows Ralph's ability to rule the children fairly...