OG By @sweepswoop_ On Twitter

my interpretation on roger 🫡

i’ve seen a similar post on here i’ll tag who i was inspired by, but i just wanted to share one of my interpretations about roger and perhaps an explanation as to why he acts why he does, this isn’t canon at all it’s just my interpretation and thoughts and i’m aware the killing of the sow is meant to interpret how boys were taught to treat woman as the female pigs were the only female things on the island.

( tw for SA mention and racism )

alright so we know roger is a part of jacks choir, described as a “quiet furtive boy” (this will be important later), who we don’t see much of until chapter 4 when he’s with maurice and the littluns and towards the end of the book. during the killing of the sow, we all know roger pushes his spear into the pigs ass which the boys all find funny; “a phrase which was received uproariously” but why? 

this book was set in the time when the book was written, around 1940-1950, and as we know roger is in a presumably strict catholic choir with jack and the others. around that time period, the church held a lot of power over people and especially schools. this then meant that vicars, priests and other people of the church were extremely respected people. because of this as im sure we’ve heard in instances before, child sexual abuse was in fact alarmingly common and unreported in the church, especially back then when churches had so much power. i’m sure you can see what i’m trying to imply here but it’s a possibility that jacks choir could’ve been in the same unfortunate situation.

now, when i said roger is described as a “quiet, furtive boy”, this could represent how kids that had succumbed to sexual abuse acts in the church were told to stay silent about what was happening, and/or turn a blind eye when it happened to other people. then with the killing of the sow, what roger did isn’t normal and clearly isn’t something that should be the first thing that comes to mind when you see a female pig. this could mean that an adult had told him that that stuff was okay, thus why he did what he did. sexual abuse victims often also become angry and develop personality disorders because they’re confused and scared and they don’t understand what’s happening to them, this also would further explain roger’s ‘sadistic’ behaviour, and inability to communicate a lot. 

i’d like to add in something about simon too, how he’s in the forest and watches the killing of the sow take place but doesn’t do anything. in my opinion, this heavily represents seeing something take place (sexual abuse in the church) but being taught to stay silent because it’s the ‘right thing to do.’ 

alright this is the second part of my essay which is my other interpretation which in my opinion could lead roger to act the way he does. throughout the book, roger is described as having a dark complexion, but sometimes it’s hard to tell whether golding is talking about dark nature-wise or in skin colour. sometimes throughout the book though you can tell he’s of a dark complexion such as; “the swarthiness of his skin” “a dark face appeared” and the fact he’s so dark he doesn’t tan. taking this into account i personally am very convinced roger isn’t white. in chapter 4 when roger throws stones at henry, it quotes “round the squatting child was the protection of parents and the school and policemen and the law” also in the time period when this was set, it was common for policemen to pick on kids that aren’t white because they hold a prejudice against them, the same of which could’ve happened to roger pre-island. it doesn’t say anything else which could have a meaning to racism anywhere in the book but it’s just an interpretation i thought of, that roger could’ve been subjected to racial profiling before the island thus another reason as to why hes ‘uncommunicative’ and rather aggressive. 

thank you for reading this! again i’d just like to remind that this is just an interpretation, none of this is canon and it was just a thought of mine id like to share! this was inspired by @shaky-b0n3s post 😎😎

ok

brah is not tuff🥀🥀🥀💔

jack merridew the type of guy to purposely step on his friends shoes when walking behind them. NEVER walk in front of this psycho

Simon does not represent God in the way that he is a personification of Jesus. He represents God in the way that utter and genuine kindness can only be found in the figures of a god, as humans don't have those intrinsic abilities.

also this is probably how the whole plot looked like in jack's pov

Jack Merrichristmas

Bible study with pre-island Jack and Roger :0 !!!

Made really quickly at school today! I think I have to really fix how I draw them, they don't look like children.

aaawwww the scrimbo curnkly tootsit

whered his melanin go AND WHYS HE BEEN BUZZED 💔🥀

A long ass rant abt my Roger being autistic headcannon cuz i haven't seen anyone talk about the idea of him being autistic besides 1 person (who i mention and quote on this post) 💔

Remember that not all autistic people act the way he does or show the same symptoms autism is a wide spectrum that can affect all sorts of people and can make people act in many different ways. Some autistic people are loud and outgoing, and some may be quiet and anxious. Please also don't use this to say you might have autism this is just how i see his character and shouldn't be used to diagnose yourself or others i am not a professional and this is just my opinion so take this with a grain of salt!! You also don't have to agree with me. This is just my version of the character!

Roger is described to be more on the quiet side and doesn't really seem to communicate with the other boys much. He is even described to be 'forgettable' in the book for example when him, Jack, and Ralph go to check out the 'beast'/parachuter in chapter 7 'Shadows and tall trees' when it says "Roger spoke; they jumped, for they had forgotten him." And is also described as "uncommunicative by nature" and "impervious" in the same chapter. Throughout the book, he is described as quiet, uncommunative, furtive, and even intimidating. Which yes, not everyone who is that way is autistic it is pretty common for autistic people to come off that way. He comes off as someone who presents more monotone, secretive, and seems to avoid attention as much as possible.

Roger, in my opinion, also seems to not be the best at communicating and understanding social cues. He doesn't engage in the same behavior as the rest of the boys, and through the book, his behavior is displayed differently in a noticeable way if that makes sense. He just doesn't really seem to notice (or at least care) that he acts/comes off differently then they do.

Another thing is that he's said to have an insensitivity to him and has a strong focus on his thoughts and opinions on things, which is another common trait in people with autism

His lack of empathy for others is another thing to note. A lot of people with autism can often be seen as apathetic or rude because they don't fully understand how others feel or how some of their actions could make a person feel. While his lack of empathy could be a sign of some other disorder, i do think it could at least partially be related to this.

Roger's need to control his environment and the way he seems to listen to whoevers 'in charge' of him so easily could also be related to the fact that a lot of autistic people desire a feeling of structure and predictability. He listens to what he's told to do and usually tends to fly under the radar because of it. He's shown to have some sort of need for control but at the same time doesn't seem to have any want or need to actually be cheif in any way because he pefers to have that sense of structure and have intrusions on what to do.

I have only seen 1 person talk about Roger possibly being autistic/nerodivergent on a reddit post from the uer "Nitekatgames2023" that popped up on google when i was trying to find more input on this idea and i find their veiw on Rogers actions possibly not being to outwardly hurt others but rather deal with the stress of possibly being nerodivergent to be really interesting here's a bit of what was said on that post: "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" i think this look on his character is pretty interesting and i like their veiw on this a lot.

Heres some more stuff the person said on the post that i found really interesting that i want to share "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." As well as (sorry this quote from the post is quite long) "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."

That's all i have to say for now about this, i love this headcannon for him so much. If anyone wants to talk about this or of you have any other commentary on Roger's character i am completely open to talking eother in the comments or in dms don't be afraid of annoying me because as you can see i am absolutely obsessed with pucking all the characters actions and behaviors apart 💔💔