A Separate Peace: Character Analysis

When the reader identifies with the characters in Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace, the reader can feel significant because the actions of the characters match the ones that the reader would hope to do. These books satisfy our “deepest need--the need of feeling our life to be, in itself, significant” (Warren). When the reader identifies with the characters it makes them feel significant. When the characters act as how the reader would want to, it makes the readers feel significant, and if the characters have the same qualities that the reader wants, it makes them feel significant too.
In Lord of the Flies Jack resorts to his primitive animal self while Ralph stays civilized. Jack begins morphing into an animal after he kills a pig, and his laughter becomes bloodthirsty snarling (Golding). This …show more content…
The reader identifies with Ralph because he turns toward empathy and goodness over violence, so this affirms the good moral values of the reader, making the reader feel significant. The reader also identifies with Piggy when he does his best to maintain order and peace. By identifying with Piggy, the reader feels significant because they know they are making a difference. Similarly, the reader also identifies with Simon. Simon is morally good, and he rejects the dark savagery that lurks within all the boys (Golding). The reader wishes to have these qualities, so by identifying with Simon they have these, thus making the reader feel significant. Even though Jack has resorted to his primal self in the book, some readers can identify with him too. Jack has control and power over most of the other boys on the island, and if the reader were to identify with him, it would make the reader feel significant because having power and control over people makes them feel good and important. If you have power and control over other people “[gives] us a sense of heightened energy, of life” (Warren