Female characters in a novel are usually intelligent, caring, and compliment the male, main character by taking care of the more delicate problems a male character wouldn’t be able to handle. Her presence may cause a change in the main character’s behavior and maturity.
A female character in The Lord of the Flies would have altered the outcome of the story in numerous ways and impede the growth of savagery in the island. She would have been able to prevent Jack’s rise to power and Piggy’s death, and her presence would have changed the boy’s behavior on the island.
First of all, a female character would have prevented Jack’s rise to power because she would have taken care of the little ’uns while they began to fear the beast. She would have been able to convince them that there is no beast on the island because boys their age tend to have a higher level of communication and trust with older girls they do with boys, possibly because they represent a mother figure to them. By doing so, she would have prevented Jack from using the boys’ fear for it as a way to gain power over Ralph. Without Jack in power, the boys would have kept some sort of order in the island and the boys would have remained civilized, therefore preventing the killing of Simon and Piggy.
Another way a female character would have altered the events in the novel is by preventing Piggy’s death. She would have seen the value of Piggy’s intelligence and protected him from Jack and the other hunters better than Ralph was able to. To everyone else, Piggy might seem completely useless, but the female character would have probably not settled for that, because she is more caring, and suggested an advisor job. With Piggy as some sort of advisor, he could’ve, with the assistance of the female character, help Ralph come up with ideas on what to do as chief and they would have kept the fire going in order to get rescued properly, instead of burning down the island recklessly. Also, Ralph, Piggy, and she would have been able to get things done because really, the only thing that functioned properly in the island was the signal fire, and Piggy was the one that used the spectacles as a way to ignite it. Science and intelligence was the only way to get things done in the island, and now they would’ve had the female character in addition to Piggy.
The behavior of the boys would’ve changed in many ways with the existence of a female character in the novel because – as thirteen year-olds – her presence would have made them behave more maturely, instead of the reckless savages they became. With the boy’s coming of age, they would’ve been more concerned about their behavior and appeal around girls, so it is possible that that would be the case in the island. Another reason why their behavior would have changed is because she would have been the closest thing to an “adult figure” as possible because girls mature more quickly boys, therefore being closer to being an adult than Ralph or Jack.
One might argue that the boys would have behaved the same as they did, whether there is a female character or not, but as it is seen in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s behavior took a turning point when Stradlader told him he was going on a date with Jane. Holden then, in an attempt to preserve her innocence got in a fight with Stradlader, although Stradlader had already gone out with Jane, and later ran away from Pencey. Even though Holden’s behavior had always been poor, it worsened significantly when Salinger mentioned Jane, Holden’s long-time friend, in the novel. If she had not been part of the novel, Holden would have not left Pencey a week early, he wouldn’t have gone home to see Phoebe, and he wouldn’t have gone to the park with her. His behavior changed with the presence of Jane, without her, the story would’ve ended much differently.
To understand why William Golding did not include a female character in his novel, one must first know the main theme of the novel. The theme of the novel is the contrast between civilization and savagery, and the questioning of an actual, mayor difference between civilization and savagery. With that said, a female character would have conflicted with the message that Golding was portraying, by preventing savagery in the island in multiple ways: not letting Jack rise to power, keep Piggy alive, and change the behavior of the boys. Without savagery in the island, Golding would have not been able to contrast savagery and civilization.
The lack of a female character in the novel is a clear compliment to women because it can be understood that women in the island would have prevented savagery. This can be seen as a way of Golding expressing the importance of women in a society, and the possibility of savagery in a community if there were no women.
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