# Type the Characters from "Lord of the Flies"



## Navi (Jul 8, 2012)

As the title says, let us try and figure out the types of each of the characters. Explain your reasoning if you wish to, as well.


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## Polymaniac (Apr 8, 2012)

Hmm – when Gandalf introduced himself to Bilbo at the beginning of _The Hobbit_, I got a strong Ti-Ne vibe from the way he analyzed Bilbo's “Good Morning!” So I'm going to go with INTP for Gandalf, but beyond that, I'm not sure (as I haven't read the _Lord of the Rings _​series) . . .


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## The Nth Doctor (May 18, 2012)

JPS said:


> Hmm – when Gandalf introduced himself to Bilbo at the beginning of _The Hobbit_, I got a strong Ti-Ne vibe from the way he analyzed Bilbo's “Good Morning!” So I'm going to go with INTP for Gandalf, but beyond that, I'm not sure (as I haven't read the _Lord of the Rings _​series) . . .


FYI: The _Lord of the Rings_ books are _The Fellowship of the Ring_, _The Two Towers_, and _The Return of the King_.
_Lord of the Flies _is a book where a bunch of British schoolboys are stranded on an island, chronicling their descent into savagery. I think I thought they were related at some point too.

My thoughts so far are that Jack is maybe a ExTJ, Ralph might use Ti-Fe or Fe-Ti, and Simon is an INFP? It's been a while since I read the book and it was before I started reading about MBTI, so others could guess more than me...


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## Polymaniac (Apr 8, 2012)

The Nth Doctor said:


> FYI: The _Lord of the Rings_ books are _The Fellowship of the Ring_, _The Two Towers_, and _The Return of the King_.
> _Lord of the Flies _is a book where a bunch of British schoolboys are stranded on an island, chronicling their descent into savagery. I think I thought they were related at some point too.
> 
> My thoughts so far are that Jack is maybe a ExTJ, Ralph might use Ti-Fe or Fe-Ti, and Simon is an INFP? It's been a while since I read the book and it was before I started reading about MBTI, so others could guess more than me...


Shit.

I completely misread the title as _Lord of the Rings_. Sorry.


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## Navi (Jul 8, 2012)

The Nth Doctor said:


> FYI: The _Lord of the Rings_ books are _The Fellowship of the Ring_, _The Two Towers_, and _The Return of the King_.
> _Lord of the Flies _is a book where a bunch of British schoolboys are stranded on an island, chronicling their descent into savagery. I think I thought they were related at some point too.
> 
> My thoughts so far are that Jack is maybe a ExTJ, Ralph might use Ti-Fe or Fe-Ti, and Simon is an INFP? It's been a while since I read the book and it was before I started reading about MBTI, so others could guess more than me...


Thank you for this. 


I see Simon as an INFx and Jack as perhaps ExTP. Ralph is a little difficult to pinpoint exactly but I agree with you.


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## Navi (Jul 8, 2012)

JPS said:


> Shit.
> 
> I completely misread the title as _Lord of the Rings_. Sorry.


Haha, that happens to me sometimes as well. Don't worry about it.


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## Navi (Jul 8, 2012)

Navi said:


> Thank you for this.
> 
> 
> I see Simon as an INFx and Jack as perhaps ExTP. Ralph is a little difficult to pinpoint exactly but I agree with you.


Whoops.
Excuse the use of the x's. Absent-minded mistakes and in the wrong places. 
INFJ*
ESTP*


Though, the issue with Simon is that he's rather a strange character to type.


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## gatsby (Sep 6, 2012)

I had/have a love-hate relationship with this book.

I see Jack as an ESTP as well...
Piggy ISTJ
Simon is tricky, but I agree with INFJ
As for Ralph...ISTP, I'd say (maybe F). I'm having trouble with him.
Samneric seem like an SF type, maybe ISFPs?
And Roger's just...wrong.

(not that I have any clue what I'm talking about :tongue

Also, I'd be very curious if anyone would take a guess at The Lord of the Flies himself/herself/itself.


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## The Nth Doctor (May 18, 2012)

gatsby said:


> I had/have a love-hate relationship with this book.
> 
> I see Jack as an ESTP as well...
> Piggy ISTJ
> ...


Isn't that just a manifestation of evil/the devil, or something? It's got to be real within the book, because at least two characters (Simon and Ralph) see the pig's head talking, an sort of oddly specific thing if they're both hallucinations. Or did Ralph just see the dessicated skull looking really creepy? I don't remember, if Ralph didn't see it talk my thoughts on the matter are invalid.

Whatever, I'll try. Obviously an ESFJ, because they're evil.

Ok, real guess. ENTJ, because of the manipulative nature of the thing - things are planned towards an abstract, singular goal, or at least seem to be. If it's just chaotic opportunistic evil, which I'm pretty sure it's not, I'd say ENTP maybe.
Huh, one of those has my opposite functions and one is my shadow functions, the latter seems logical to me but if anyone wants to play psychiatrist go ahead.


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## gatsby (Sep 6, 2012)

The Nth Doctor said:


> Isn't that just a manifestation of evil/the devil, or something? It's got to be real within the book, because at least two characters (Simon and Ralph) see the pig's head talking, an sort of oddly specific thing if they're both hallucinations. Or did Ralph just see the dessicated skull looking really creepy? I don't remember, if Ralph didn't see it talk my thoughts on the matter are invalid.
> 
> Whatever, I'll try. Obviously an ESFJ, because they're evil.
> 
> ...


I don't believe Ralph ever speaks with it, though I could be wrong. From what I remember he tries to break the now-fully-decayed skull because he didn't like its creepy grin. 

The way Golding wrote it seemed oddly human (which was probably his intent) and the thing actually seemed charming (in a 'I'm going to destroy the failure that is humanity, my dear boy,' kind of way) when it spoke to Simon.

I did get N vibes from it and think that ENTJ is definitely possible. I kind of also felt that a part of its hatred seemed very personal, in an F kind of way.


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## apoptosis (Jul 1, 2011)

Jack: ESTP. The type of leader that gets feared by their subordinates.

Roger: ISTP. Doesn't talk much, prefers action. Does things for the heck of it.

Simon: INFP. I think an INFJ would've taken on more of a leadership role.

Ralph: ENTJ. He seems to me like the type of charismatic leader that ENTJ's tend to be. An ENFJ would also be a charismatic leader, but most likely wouldn’t be so inconsiderate to Piggy at the beginning, and would probably have better people skills to avoid the situation at the end of the novel.

Piggy: INTJ. I'm pretty sure about this one. An ENTJ would made friends much more easily, an ISTJ would've fit in with the crowd much more, an INFJ would be much more tactful about how to deal with different types of people, and an INTP wouldn't have as much urge to control things (ie yell at everyone about what they should do when they first arrived at the island).


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## Lord Fudgingsley (Mar 3, 2013)

I thought Roger might be ISFP - I see him as representative of evil desire, which is why he's so sheltered at the beginning. I think he's a completely reckless feeler, over-indulging himself through self-gratification (sounds like a very unhealthy ESFP, meaning that ISFP is barely a stretch).

I thought Ralph was an ESFJ. His Fe seems very strong; he's the one most concerned about the other boys. It's hinted that Ralph wants to be an exemplar of good morality, a pillar to follow and a bringer of order. These traits all suggest ESFJ to me.

Perhaps I need to read the book again.


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## lolcatpe (Jul 1, 2012)

The only ones I remember well enough to guess are Ralph, Piggy, and Jack. My guesses are:

Ralph - ESFP
Jack - ESFJ
Piggy - INTP. I almost went with INTJ, but my memory of him does not match well with this: INTJs are natural leaders, although they usually choose to remain in the background until they see a real need to take over the lead. When they are in leadership roles, they are quite effective, because they are able to objectively see the reality of a situation, and are adaptable enough to change things which aren't working well. They are the supreme strategists - always scanning available ideas and concepts and weighing them against their current strategy, to plan for every conceivable contingency.


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## MrShatter (Sep 28, 2010)

JPS said:


> Shit.
> 
> I completely misread the title as _Lord of the Rings_. Sorry.


Me too  

Samwise is an ISFJ...

I don't think Piggy is a thinker.


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## apoptosis (Jul 1, 2011)

lolcatpe said:


> Piggy - INTP. I almost went with INTJ, but my memory of him does not match well with this: INTJs are natural leaders, although they usually choose to remain in the background until they see a real need to take over the lead. When they are in leadership roles, they are quite effective, because they are able to objectively see the reality of a situation, and are adaptable enough to change things which aren't working well. They are the supreme strategists - always scanning available ideas and concepts and weighing them against their current strategy, to plan for every conceivable contingency.


I think that's the description of an ideal INTJ. I don't think all INTJs in real life are that perfect, especially for someone of Piggy's age. And besides, his main problem wasn't coming up with a plan that works, but rather how to convince others to listen to his plan (ie dealing with people... not exactly an INTJ's forte). What convinces me the most that he's an INTJ rather than an INTP is that he actually _tries_ to be a leader. He tries to get his plans (eg list of names, building shelter) working. When he didn't approve of the way Jack was leading, he argued against him. When he didn't agree with what everyone was doing, he shouted at everyone. I don't think an INTP would've bothered with that. The INTP wouldn't be in a hurry to lead others (but of course can't be easily led either). He might argue a bit, but if things don't seem to work, a really pissed off INTP would most likely walk away.


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## Satan Claus (Aug 6, 2013)

Ralph is an ENFJ. I know he seems like an ENTJ but when in this book did the guy rationalize? Never. He had unrealistic expectations at times. "Oh don't worry my dad will find us and take us off the island. We don't need to do anything." Ask any ENTJ you know...they would not say that. They would get up and take charge right away. Then Piggy shows up, finds the conch, and tells him to blow on it to get everyone else over here to listen to Ralph speak. So he did it and naturally became leader in front of the book. But that was only because he had the conch with him and he was good looking (lol I hope I don't sound like a pedo) of course everyones gonna listen to the good looking popular kid. Plus his main goal, while I guess one of them was to keep everyone in order...it was mainly to get off the island. He just wanted off the island, go home, and that's it. 

Jack - To type Jack correctly, you have to judge him BEFORE he becomes a savage. He's an ESTJ no doubt. I don't know why everyone thinks he's an ESTP. He likes to lead and at first he wants to maintain the social norms. 

Simon - INFJ. I don't really have to explain why he's an INFJ. It's pretty obvious. Plus he has the Jesus imagery in there who just happens to be an INFJ as well! But really, Simon is INFJ because he gains insight from his visions, believes the beast is just something that's inside of them. This screams INFJ. Under the calm exterior of an INFJ, there is that terrible reality of someone who has seen the truth! He's not an INFP because an INFP...well....we all know their heads are too up in the clouds to spot that out.  (lol just kidding. Sorry INFP's, I just love picking on you!)

Piggy - ISTJ "The duty fulfiller" He's the only rational and logical person in the group. Most would agree with this.

Roger - ISTP 

I know that was quite detailed even for an ENTP maybe? But I just read the book and loved it!


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## apoptosis (Jul 1, 2011)

Ralph: Yea I’d agree that ENTJs aren’t generally known for being carefree and playful. But this is a _boy_… he just got on this island with so many cool things he’s never seen before… so I guess it wouldn’t be unreasonable even for an ENTJ? I’m not close to any ENTJs in real life so I can’t be certain about this.

Jack: His leadership position doesn’t really help us distinguish between ESTP and ESTJ, because both types love to lead. Regarding maintaining social norms, I see ESTJs are the ones who always want to keep them, but ESTPs can definitely act according to what is best for them at the time right? I believe (tell me if I’m wrong) that his previous education before getting on the island (in Britain right?) was very strict. There would be harsh punishments for breaking rules, so he’s really good with sticking to rules and keeping the authorities pleased. But, ESTPs are excellent at adapting to the environment, so after getting into a new society where there aren’t authorities around to discipline him, he quickly realizes his freedom. But yea I don’t have an explanation against ESTJ, so that could work too. My gut feeling is ESTP though.

Simon: I can’t remember any off the top of my head right now but I think INFPs often make great philosophers too. So I wouldn't be surprised about an INFP realising something like that (neither with INFJ). But I can’t see an INFJ staying in the background and just watch things get worse and worse and not actively try to solve the problem (they might stay quiet at first but when they feel the need they’ll definitely take on a leadership role).

Piggy: “Rational and logical” are terms most commonly applied to NTs. Not that ISTJs aren’t that way. But the ISTJs usually fit quite well into society, unlike Piggy who was like the weirdo (even Ralph was quite rude to him at first). Also, the ISTJs I know in real life don't normally argue with ESTPs (unless it’s for something that’s really against their values); in fact, they usually get bossed around. Piggy yelled at Jack for pretty much everything he did.


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## Satan Claus (Aug 6, 2013)

apoptosis said:


> Ralph: Yea I’d agree that ENTJs aren’t generally known for being carefree and playful. But this is a _boy_… he just got on this island with so many cool things he’s never seen before… so I guess it wouldn’t be unreasonable even for an ENTJ? I’m not close to any ENTJs in real life so I can’t be certain about this.
> 
> Jack: His leadership position doesn’t really help us distinguish between ESTP and ESTJ, because both types love to lead. Regarding maintaining social norms, I see ESTJs are the ones who always want to keep them, but ESTPs can definitely act according to what is best for them at the time right? I believe (tell me if I’m wrong) that his previous education before getting on the island (in Britain right?) was very strict. There would be harsh punishments for breaking rules, so he’s really good with sticking to rules and keeping the authorities pleased. But, ESTPs are excellent at adapting to the environment, so after getting into a new society where there aren’t authorities around to discipline him, he quickly realizes his freedom. But yea I don’t have an explanation against ESTJ, so that could work too. My gut feeling is ESTP though.
> 
> ...


About piggy...I agree. He may be an INTP you think?


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## apoptosis (Jul 1, 2011)

I don't think INTPs are usually that goal orientated. They also don't normally try to tell people to do things. I feel like an INTP in that situation would just ignore everyone and do their own thing, instead of trying to organize everyone into doing a task that is meant to benefit everyone.


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## Brown93 (Jun 27, 2011)

watching the 1963 version as im typing this..

Piggy - ISTJ (he is definitely a Te user)
Ralph - ESTP or counterphobic ExFJ
Jack - ExTJ
Simon - IxFP
Roger - ISTP


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