In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, what are the boys' different reactions to their circumstances?

The boys quickly form groups on the island, largely based on their reactions to their circumstances.  Ralph and Piggy are the first to meet up, and their basic reaction is to try to form a civilized society in a manner that adults would approve of.  They feel the need to gather the boys together, set up a governmental system, make rules, and keep rescue at the top of their goals at all times.  In Chapter 5, Ralph tells the others, “‘[W]e...ought to die before we let the fire go out.’”  When struggling against Jack’s constant questioning of the rules, Ralph says, “‘Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!’” The rules are what protect them and the littluns from Jack’s group, but Ralph and Piggy simply don’t know how to convince the others to follow them.

The littluns are mostly six year olds, who don’t seem to have much reaction at first (likely because they are in a prolonged state of shock), and can be referred to as the lost ones.  They don’t really have a place in this society, neither disrupting nor contributing.  They spend their days playing lackadaisically on the beach, relying on the kinder older kids like Simon to help them get fruit.  But in Chapter 5, when the littluns Phil and Percival try to speak up about their fears at the meeting, all the terror of their situation comes spilling out in howling tears.  They feel lost, helpless, and terribly alone.  The older boys haven’t even counted how many there are or learned their names.

Jack and his hunters seem to be the only ones emotionally unaffected by their dire circumstances (although deep down, it becomes apparent that each is struggling with his own inner demons).  They excitedly make their situation into a game of hunting and bullying for power.  This group could care less about keeping a signal fire going, except when they want fire to cook a pig. Jack lures boys over to his tribe, saying “‘Who wants to join my tribe and have fun?’” He then keeps them distracted from their true nightmares by keeping them busy with hunting, chanting and giving sacrifices for the beast, and making war on Ralph’s group.  Most of the boys in this tribe are willing to go along with Jack and Roger’s savage behavior because at least they don’t have to face the reality that they will probably die here before they get rescued.

Simon, however, has a very different reaction to their circumstances than all the others.  A shy, insightful, quiet boy, he quickly tunes in to the real evil on the island--the fear and hatred inside the other boys.  Whenever there is an assembly, he stays on the edges and rarely speaks, unless he feels it is critical, such as his sad attempt to tell them all that the beast is really them. “Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness.”  Mostly he escapes into his thicket in the jungle, which is where he witnesses Jack’s tribe savagely murder the mother pig and stick her head on a spike for the beast.  Simon seems to have powers of prophesy, knowing that he will not make it off the island alive, but Ralph will.  Ultimately, he sacrifices himself in an attempt to tell them the truth about the “beast” on the mountaintop.  Although many critics refer to Simon as a Christ-like figure, in the end he is unable to save them all from their own flawed reactions to their terrible circumstances.