How does Golding use dialogue in creating characterisation in Lord of the Flies?ie, Piggy- we know he comes from a low family background because...

Throughout Golding's Lord of the
Flies, we can get a better understanding of the characters by the way they
interact with each other.  These interactions are often conveyed through dialogue.  In
the opening chapter, we see Piggy and Ralph talking.  Piggy is the one who openly
admires Ralph.  He keeps asking Ralph to "Wait a minute!" But Ralph responds to Piggy
with indifference.  Ralph is not interested in talking to Piggy; he is interested in
having fun on the island:  "No grownups!" When Piggy asks for Ralph's name, Ralph does
not ask for Piggy's name in return.  Through this initial dialogue, we learn that Piggy
is intelligent, but not popular.  Ralph, however, is athletic, enthusiastic, and
somewhat immature.  As the novel progresses, we see that Ralph changes in his opinion of
Piggy.

Perhaps a more subtle use of dialogue is exemplified
in the first expedition of the island.  Ralph, Jack, and Simon go on this expedition.
 Simon notices the candlebuds.

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Like candles. Candle bushes. Candle
buds.

Ralph, the pragmatic
one, has no use for them:

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You couldn't light them. They just look like
candles.

But Jack is even
more disdainful of them:

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Green candles.  We can't eat them. Come
on.

Here we learn quite a bit
about each character.  Simon appreciates nature for its own sake.  He likes the smell of
the candlebuds.  Ralph, though, is concerned with what can be used.  If the candlebuds
cannot be used, he is not interested.  Jack, though, is more interested in immediate
gratification, sensual pleasures.  He is not interested in the candlebuds if he cannot
eat them.  This response foreshadows Jack's later zeal for hunting
pigs.