I'm sure I could have lots of fun writing GCSE essays about it now (oh the irony - Ralph, determined to keep a fire going so that there is a smoke signal and they can all be saved, despairs because the savages can't be bothered, and just want to hunt and have fun. Then he has his life saved because the savages set the entire island on fire to smoke him out and kill him, and it is the smoke from this fire that attracts attention from a passing boat.)
And which of the children do I identify with most - Simon and Piggy. And what happens to Simon and Piggy - they both get killed. Oh dear.
Neither of them natural leaders or charismatic characters - that tussle is being fought out between Ralph and choir head boy (ha ha) Jack (who turns up at the start with his choristers in procession and starts off referring to them as the trebles and the altos, although that is pretty soon forgotten) - both Simon and Piggy have some endearing qualities:
Simon - loyal (pretty much the only one who sticks around and helps to make the shelters) and brave (is the one who actually goes up the mountain and finds out what the 'beast' actually is). Needs to go off by himself from time to time, either because he is a bit of a loner, or perhaps because he is aware of his illness and doesn't want the other boys to perceive a weakness in him - he clearly has some form of fit delusion (is he epileptic?) - hence the experience of talking to the pig's head - the 'Lord of the Flies'.
Piggy - initially trusting and immediately betrayed (foolishly telling Ralph the nickname he dislikes, and is then saddled with it forever - so much so that I can't even remember if we find out his real name). However, the most intelligent of the boys by far, realising that some form of organisation is needed if they are going to get through their ordeal. His very first suggestion is that they should have a roll call, and know how many they are and who is who. He is assigned the task, but given no opportunity to do it properly. Similarly, he is the one who points out the need for proper shelters. He has the one thing that the community needs, the ability to make fire (the lens in his glasses) and it is taken roughly from him. A terribly poignant moment occurs within the last couple of paragraphs of the book. The navy officer has found Ralph on the beach, and has asked how many boys there are on the island, and Ralph has admitted that they don't know. The officer says, "I should have thought that a pack of British boys would have been able to put up a better show than that".
And finally:
"The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. ... Ralph wept for the end of innocence, for the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."