Ralph Allegory

Meanwhile, Ralph values the group over himself, and wants everyone to have a say in any decisions made. Jack gets fed up with his lack of power, so he decides to try to become the leader. He asks if anyone wants to come with him, and says, “Hands up?’ said Jack strongly..... ‘How many think –’ His voice trailed off. The hands that held the conch shook. He cleared his throat, and spoke loudly. ‘All right then.’ …. The humiliating tears were running from the corner of each eye. ‘I’m not going to play any longer. Not with you’”(127). Jack acts like a little kid in this scene. This hunger for power demonstrated by Jack has made him corrupt, so much that he will not tolerate being with the others if he can’t be the leader. Jack tries to portray an image of manliness, but it is evident that it is not true when he starts crying. Qualities like this are why Jack is incapable of being the leader. Overall, Ralph is able to handle the power that he is given in a more mature way than Jack.

By the end of the novel Piggy has perished while Ralph survives to be rescued. Even this puts Ralph in a good light because it shows he was smart and resilient enough to survive on an island full of savages. If Piggy-with all his disadvantages- were to survive it would only serve to undermine the effort Ralph put into survive. In Ralph’s civilized society and the insane society of Jack, a weak person like Piggy can't make themselves known without consequences. This is similar to

That's a reef out to sea." These statements show Ralph to have intelligence to make conclusions on his own accord, and we are able to see the character can think for himself. Continuing through the first chapter, after the meeting with the conch, we see Ralph as a natural leader, "there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out…. Ralph raised is hand for silence" throughout the clamour of choosing a leader, we see Ralph is willing for others to get their say, yet he is still able to have control over the situation and manages to leave the group in awe of him. Throughout the first meeting, Ralph is perceived as someone who does good, such as calling all the boys together, yet he is not so out of touch that he can't relate to the normal temptations in life. These qualities Golding describes Ralph to have in this first chapter, and incredibly important for the remainder of the novel.

The power-hungry will often feel the need for absolute control, hardly ever getting what they desire, they will often be portrayed as crazy and vicious. The same can be said for Jack; all he wants is to be the leader and make the decisions, but Ralph is the one in control. Jack’s desire for power is ruining his own image, and the well being of the other boys. Without the supervision of adults his morals and values took a turn for the worst.

Freed from the conditions of a regulated society, Jack gradually became more violent and the rules and proper behaviour by which he was brought up were forgotten. The freedom given to him unveiled his true self under the clothing worn by civilized people to hide his darker characteristics.<br><br>Ralph was introduced as a fair and likeable boy whose self-assured mad him feel secure even on the island without any adults. His interaction with Piggy demonstrated his pleasant nature as he did not call him names with hateful intent as Jack had. His good physique allowed him to be well accepted among his peers, and this gave him enough confidence to speak out readily in public. His handsome features and the conch as a symbol of power and order pointed him out from the crowd of boys and proclaimed him Chief. "There was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerful, there was the conch." (p. 24) From the quick decisions he made as Chief near the beginning of the novel, it could be seen that Ralph was well-organized. But even so, Ralph began repeatedly to long and daydream of his civilized and regular past. Gradually, Ralph became confused and began to lose clarity in his thoughts and speeches. "Ralph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come

Ralph’s character embodies the ego. The ego is the rational aspect of the mind. Ralph’s rationality is exhibited in his role as leader. He focuses on the idea of being rescued and organizes the fires as a mode of getting the attention of a rescue ship. He works on building shelters for the members of the tribe. He attempts to keep meetings organized and establishes the role of the conch to keep order. Ralph makes the decisions for the good of the group. He holds debates and always aims to have the group stick together, despite Jack’s constant attempts to break

Jack demonstrates leadership qualities at the first place when coming up with a plan of being rescued. Nonetheless, as the time passes, he begins to enjoy a sense of power. He becomes forceful, hazardous, and is willing to kill. Jack and Ralph attempt friendship even though they have extremely different personalities. Their original feelings were

He is a natural leader that tries to keep the boys focused on the end goal of rescue. When many of the boys begin to waver in their dedication to this goal, he reprimands them, saying “‘Do all of you see?...We’ve got to make smoke up there – or die.’” (Golding 81). He shows bravery when the boys are hunting the beast. When “Jack went red” (Golding 104) at the suggestion that he should confront the beast in its castle, Ralph says, “I'm chief. I'll go. Don't argue.” (Golding 104). A final example of his heroism is when he stands up for the weaker boys, such as the littluns (the younger boys) and Piggy. When Jack is angered with Ralph for trying to “Keep Piggy out of danger.” (Golding 101), Ralph says, “Have some sense. What can Piggy do with only one eye?” (Golding 101). Ralph is not afraid of becoming unpopular when he is trying to maintain order, but this may be one of his many unheroic flaws. Ralph is seemingly unable to comprehend that he must take into account what others want to do if he wants them to like him. He ignores their pleas for rest when they discover a castle-like structure and scolds them for not helping in the building of their shelters. While he may be right in the fact that they weren’t doing enough to help, he is harming his own image, contributing to the downfall of order. Additionally, Ralph is not immune to the inner evil within them all, as “Piggy and Ralph,

Ralph’s attention was attracted to the “glimmering conch” that “jigged up and down”. The use of imagery shows the importance of rules and regulations as unlike before, Jack didn’t care whether or not he had the conch. Ralph realized that their system was crumbling apart as rules no longer mattered to Jack. The author implies that the conch was representative democracy on the island and soon it no longer had meaning. Jack was “breaking the rules” and according to Ralph, “rules are the only thing we’ve got!” The conch symbolized democracy and authority, which is now being defied by

Ralph often treats Piggy this way because it makes him look superior. However, without the influence of Piggy, Ralph clearly does not have the rationale to keep the group sane and together. Ralph knows that the group has been acting more and more animalistic, and says, "I'm frightened. Of us"-(157). Ralph is scared the group will let their id take over completely after they kill Simon.

Piggy clearly requests Ralph not to reveal his nickname, but Ralph tells the other boys without his consent. Ralph does not stop the injustice shown towards Piggy or the humiliation he suffers. This reveals his ineffectiveness as a leader because he does not make decisions or take actions that are necessary for the wellbeing of everyone. Many more unfair incidents take place later on in the book that may have been avoided if Ralph realized the importance of Piggy earlier in the novel, before everything slipped out of his control. Furthermore, Ralph does not demonstrate concern for everyone’s safety. Piggy attempts to talk sense into the boys and make them realize their mistakes, however Ralph fails to take action when the boy with a mulberry-coloured birthmark disappears. His reply to Piggy’s question is “muttered [...] as if in shame”: “‘Perhaps he went back to the, the-’” (47). Ralph’s lack of empathy and initiative is clearly shown in this passage. By being unable to provide an explanation, Ralph proves that he does not view the disappearance of a young boy as a serious matter. He once again breaks the trust of the boys while they remain unaware of his unfair actions. Although a majority of the island’s inhabitants appear unconcerned, Ralph acts unjustly when he chooses to do the same. He does not take the responsibility to search for the boy with a mulberry-coloured birthmark. Instead, Ralph simply “muttered [...] as if in shame” and tries to

Secondly, Ralph is not only a rational leader but also a moral person, who cleverly keeps the fairness in his group. “Ralph, looking more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. He hovered between the two courses of apology or further insult ‘Better Piggy than Fatty” (25). Ralph is sincere and considerate for other people. He apparently understand their feeling and particularly shows his sympathy for Piggy. Ralph is sensible enough to realize that everyone deserves to be respected. He believes no one should have to put up with being tormented. Ralph gently gains others’ support by treating them equally, showing his compassion and ability to empathize with them. Opposite to Ralph, Jack is immoral, violent and condescending. “He’s going to beat Wilfred” (159). He does not care or understand the natural equality of

To further illustrate, in “Lord of the Flies” the character, Ralph, is a round and dynamic character. Ralph can be classified as this type of character because of the changes he undergoes as the story unfolds. To explain, at the beginning of the story, Ralph is confident and optimistic when himself and multiple boys crash on an island. He takes control and earns the trust if the group. Ralph conducts assemblies and his words are determined and civilized, “All at once he found he could talk fluently and explain what he had to say… ‘we want to be rescued; and of course, we shall be rescued…we must make a fire”’ (Golding 32-38). Ralph’s words and actions show his boldness to take control and his strong belief in being rescued. However, as the story continues, the system and trust Ralph establish begins to diminish, resulting in two separate groups. The one group contains Ralph and very few civilized boys, and the second group is made up Jack and the savages. Although the groups are at peace at first, multiple fights and Piggy’s stolen glasses causes Ralph to partially change. This change is revealed to the readers when Ralph and Piggy go to the saves to retrieve the glasses, “Truculently they squared up to each other but kept just out of fighting distance… ‘Ralph-remember what we came for. The fire. My specs”’ (Golding 177). During this mission, the once civilized Ralph begins to fight with the savages and he acted barbaric himself. Ralph’s and actions and Piggy’s words show the reader how Ralph transformed the course of the book from being civilized and confident with his word; however, Ralph is now becoming a savage and loses his optimistic attitude. Piggy’s words to Ralph, shows how Ralph is forgetting the idea of being civilized because Piggy must constantly remind Ralph of their mission, but Ralph seems to just want to fight. Ralph’s shift in personality shows the reader that he is a dynamic and round character. Therefore, Ralph’s character undergoes development; however, Brutus in “Julius Ceaser” changes in an equivalent way.

For a few days the boys run wild over the island. Ralph steps up and tries to set up things to try and bring civilization back into the group. “If we have a signal going, they’ll come and take us off. And another thing we thought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s where we're meeting. The same up here as down here”(Golding 42). Ralph know that there a lot of chaos going on right now and he needs to make rules faster before it gets out of hand. One of the first one’s was the conch. Ralph made this item important to the whole group, giving it significant value. Where the conch is at, that’s where the meeting will be held because he will blow the shell really loud so everyone can hear it. To add on to this idea, I have another quote that is similar to the lasts idea about the conch. “Whoever holds the conch gets to speak”(Golding ). This shows that Ralph wants others to have their opinion too, but not all at the same time screaming at each other. This alouds everyone to have it say because if you have the conch everyone must listen and wait to say everything until they get the conch. Ralph is trying his best to try and get the boy’s civilized again by setting up rules that everyone must

“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. ”(Golding 225). Ralph shows that he also depended on Piggy for his input and advice, which signifies that he considered him a partner and friend. Ralph went through a loss of innocence as he accepted the change and learned an important lesson. The lesson being that becoming mature is a necessity in order for them to avoid chaos and tragedies.