\*\*\* These are all my opinions. Please do not take this too seriously or harass other people. Please do proper research and be kind to people. \*\*\*
William Golding’s masterpiece novel “Lord of the Flies” was published in 1954 and is well-known in literature. Its influence has inspired many dystopian/ science fiction media such as “The Hunger Games” or television shows such as “Survivor”. “Lord of the Flies” follows the story of a group of British Schoolboys who try to build a civilization on a deserted island after they crash land while escaping a war-torn England. Their attempt at civilization fails as they fall into hysteria, fear, and savagery. The main characters Ralph, Simon, Piggy, and Jack are all used in parodies, satires, and other tributes but there is one main character who does not get a lot of mainstream representation or in-depth analysis. Today, I will be analyzing Jack Merridew’s (main antagonist) second-in-command, Roger, and arguing why Roger symbolizes the suffering of high-masking neurodivergent people in flawed societies.
To begin, I will give a refresher on Roger’s character and its change throughout the novel. According to “sparknotes.com”, “Introduced as a quiet and intense older boy, Roger eventually becomes a sadistic and brutal terrorist throughout Lord of the Flies. Midway through the book, Roger’s cruelty begins to surface in an episode where he terrorizes littlun Henry by throwing rocks at him. Still beholden to the rules of society, Roger leaves a safe distance between the rocks and the child, but we see his moral code beginning to crack. As Jack gains power, Roger quickly understands that Jack’s brutality and willingness to commit violence will make him a powerful and effective leader. When he learns that Jack plans to torture Wilfred for no apparent reason, he thinks about “the possibilities of irresponsible authority,” rather than trying to help Wilfred or find out Jack’s motivation. Roger gives in to the “delirious abandonment” of senseless violence when he releases the boulder that kills Piggy. He then descends upon the twins, threatening to torture them. The next day, the twins Samneric tell Ralph, “You don’t know Roger. He’s a terror.” Roger is the only character in the novel to commit a standalone murder. Any other acts of extreme violence occur either by accident or in group settings such as the torture of the sow and the murder of Simon. Roger’s character is a symbol of violence, brutality, and “humanity’s capacity for evil.”(sparknotes.com) He serves as an enforcer to Jack and enjoys being cruel, how can someone like that be suffering?
Let’s start with Roger’s introduction to the story. He arrives with Jack Merridew and all the other choirboys when Ralph blows on the conch shell. After a fair bit of discussion has occurred about what to do, Roger is the first person to suggest holding a vote. Importance of this quote is usually used to emphasize that “This action indicates that Roger himself doesn’t wish to be in charge, but rather wants to be told who to follow, and how.” (sparknotes.com) We immediately see Roger’s need for rules, structure, and order. This is a normal thing to desire in a survival situation but Roger is already being described as, (paraphrasing) intense and quiet and holding himself as if concealing a secretive aspect of his personality. As a quiet boy, Roger would most likely not have spoken up if there was not a need for himself due to his desire to blend into the crowd. I would also like to point out that Roger’s suggestion is the most generic out of everything the boys discuss (loading in the socially acceptable dialogue option) except for Piggy’s input due to the fact Piggy represents intellect, logic, and reasoning. Moreover, it takes Roger some time to respond to the ongoing discussion, unlike Ralph, Jack, and Piggy who seem to almost effortlessly bounce off one another conversationally compared to him. This trend of silent observation continues as “bbc.uk” points out, “Roger remained, watching the littluns. He was not noticeably darker than when he had dropped in, but the shock of black hair, down his nape and low on his forehead, seemed to suit his gloomy face…” in chapter 4 when he kicks over the littluns sandcastle. Also, in the opening chapters, he offers a way to start a fire by “rubbing two sticks together.” Roger is described initially as a background character, someone who does not like to be seen and blends in well. All of the boys on the island start off obeying civility, morality, order, and rules. Where Roger differs from the other boys is Golding’s insistence on his eerie presence. “Roger is black-haired with a fringe that covers his forehead and makes him look sinister.” (bbc.uk) This is a foreshadowing of Roger’s “pure” cruel nature. There is only one problem with this analysis; Roger is a former choirboy. Jack Merridew excels at being head choirboy (and eventual tribal leader on the island) because of his motivation for power and control. Roger excels at being Jack Merridew’s enforcer because of his willingness and ability to follow authority figures. “Pure evil” characters are seen breaking social rules or disregarding people/ laws from very young ages and their incapacity for adjusting behavior when committing “evil acts” (crimes, misbehavior, physical altercations). Roger can function in a well-functioning society as seen by his previous post as choirboy and his initial interactions with the other boys. There is agreement in numerous analyses of “Lord of the Flies” that Roger has been taught to mask his impulses but I will argue that his impulses are not to directly harm others but rather a need to cope with stressful situations due to a potential neurodivergence.
Roger is never explicitly stated to have anything akin to Simon’s epilepsy or Piggy’s asthma. Golding describes all the other boys are small children who become increasingly unhinged, but Roger is described as, “something society could not understand”(from the novel). One could conclude that Roger’s not being understood by society may come from being a sociopath (Roger being a child cannot officially be diagnosed with this, but it’s possible as an adult) or a criminal, or a faceless torturer. The problem with this analysis is that criminals and a lust for power are well understood and documented in society. Jack Merridew is the book’s main villain who showcases why some people spread fear and lust for power and become obsessed with being the best (strongest). Roger mirrors whatever authority is dominant. At first, he is obedient to rules from English society because that is how he has been conditioned to behave. This transfers to following Ralph hence his helpful demeanor, and then transitions once again to Jack where he becomes his most brutal. Roger has a tendency to say or do what the other boys may say they want to do or what they may be collectively thinking such as suggesting the vote or “quieting” Piggy’s arguments or being at the front of the pig hunt or at the front of the mob that kills Simon.
Roger is characterized as almost cartoonishly evil due to the directness of his words and actions (descent into madness and savagery) compared to the other boys on the island. Golding puts the least amount of perspective on Roger and most of that perspective boils down to, “thinking about irresponsible authority” or “time to be the most evil person possible” but the deriving pleasure part is an interesting aspect. This is due to people’s reactions to Roger’s actions. In most stories, the brutal second in command thrives off of loudness, but not Roger. His violent acts seem to disrupt loud commotions especially. In the first gathering with everyone, Roger’s interruption of holding a vote causes the boys to settle down. This trend continues with Roger and another choirboy disrupting the loud playing of the littluns on the beach building their sandcastles. Finally, during the loud confrontation with Piggy and the rest of the tribal boys on Castle Rock (where the stone material is most likely echoing all the noise and the waves are loudly crashing underneath), Roger sends a boulder down to kill Piggy which quiets everyone. Some people with neurodivergence have aversions to unpleasant stimuli such as loud noises. This can make people with neurodivergences feel uncomfortable, irritable, or on edge. Extreme reactions to these can manifest in self or other destructive ways (may be called meltdowns or something else). Of course, this does not excuse criminal or immoral behavior but it could explain part of Roger’s drastic reactions to these events. In addition to loud arguments from the group, the island overall is described as having “Strange things happened at midday. The glittering sea rose up, moved apart in planes of blatant impossibility; the coral reef and the few stunted palms that clung to the more elevated parts would float up into the sky, would quiver, be plucked apart, run like raindrops on a wire or be repeated as in an odd succession of mirrors. Sometimes land loomed where there was no land and flicked out like a bubble as the children watched. Piggy discounted all this learnedly as a “mirage”; and . . . they grew accustomed to these mysteries and ignored them, just as they ignored the miraculous, throbbing stars.” (sparknotes.com) We know that surviving on the island is stressful since Simon, the boy with epilepsy, needs to meditate in the woods alone to avoid seizures and Ralph (quintessential normal blonde protagonist) laments missing clean clothes and cut hair and society. Would it therefore be impossible to assume that Roger is feeling the same stresses or more so? Roger does experience emotions like a person because he breaks down crying the same as the rest of the children at the end of the novel.
If we look at Roger’s character from a neurodivergent lens, his character starts becoming as multi-faceted as the other boys. We discussed aversion to unpleasant sensations, intense characterization in general, and extreme outbursts that become more severe as the novel progresses. Circling back to the previous paragraphs Roger’s need for structure and rules and “uncommunicative/moody” demeanor can be observable traits of neurodivergence. According to “https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html”
some diagnostic criteria are, “Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life).”(an example of a demanding social environment: a mystical island going up in flames and savagery.) Something else to consider is Roger’s lack of social skills (even before becoming a terror). For example, when Jack puts on war paint, Roger says “You don’t half look a mess.” <- Would normally be taken as an insult due to Roger’s “moody” demeanor, but Roger probably meant to say something along the lines of, “You look good.” (Could also be a Europe vs. US linguistic thing.) Roger also does not show much interest in his peers given his limited interactions with Piggy before murdering him in chapter 11, does not speak directly to Simon for most of the book before the mob kills him, has little direct conversation with Ralph but will put his head on a spear sharpened at both ends. Throughout the book, Roger also has a habit of staring at the people whom he hurts like with the sandcastle-destroying session. Golding connotes this as being creepy and abnormal even before extreme violence has occurred, but a more vocal boy like Jack punching Piggy does not have the same connotation despite being a more violent action than destroying sandcastles. Eye contact problems or non-verbal communication deficits are also related to neurodivergence. Furthermore, Roger is the first person to accept life on the island which may be indicative of a rigid thought structure or “black-and white thinking”. I do not have many examples of Roger having a literal thinking process aside from tossing stones at Henry in a circle where the consequences protect Henry from parents and authority figures. Once again, I want to point out that neurodivergence does not mean that people are creepy and evil or crave violence. This essay is to point out that Golding’s attempts to write about the children he worked with may have indirectly led him to write a potentially neurodivergent character. This character just so happens to do violent and immoral things. Please do not harass real people or take any of this out of context.
The message that Golding was trying to send to the adults of English society was to stop putting children through disastrous wars and deconstruction of the cutthroat hierarchies Western civilization embraces. Roger’s afterthought presence in other media that pay homage to, “Lord of the Flies” could be the painful reminder that being “too much to handle” may result in getting the least help. A tragic character in a depressing book, that will never belong to any society no matter how well or directly he follows its rules.
Sources:
https://william-golding.co.uk/william-goldings-legacy-enduring-influence-on-popular-culture
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/character/roger/
https://study.com/learn/lesson/roger-lord-of-the-flies-character-analysis-quotes.html#:\~:text=He%20is%20quiet%20and%20shy,fire%20by%20rubbing%20sticks%20together
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgfcxsg/revision/6
https://histclo.com/act/choir/nat/eng/hist/ce-hist.html
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html
by NiteKatGames2023