Every day in life, we are challenged by the different problems that occur to us. Depending on the problem, there could be more than one answer or alternative to the situation. However, sometimes the situation could become such a threat that there are not many choices to pick from. In the novel The Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys are deserted on an inhabited island after the plane crashed. Ralph, the chosen chief leads the pack until he is overthrown and turned against by Jack’s tribe. Furthermore, he is abandoned by everyone else, exposing himself to the threatening environment while having to escape from Jack. Ironically, the boys are saved because of the ominous environment they’ve caused.
In the novel, each character depicts a symbolic of the various feature of humankind. Ralph, the main protagonist who is athletic and charismatic becomes the elected leader of the boys on the island. Unlike Jack who portrays the savagery within human beings, Ralph represents the civilization that struggles to
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By the end of the novel, everyone had gone savage, no longer were they civil or tamed. Jack aimed to kill, not survive or to be rescued. Ralph’s experience proved how much he has grown since they were on this island. He has become more independent and capable of surviving alone. The irony is that the fire they lit was out of control, it was suppose to kill them and destroy the island, but it ends up saving them. It impacted the work as a whole because it displays the theme of the novel, the loss of innocence. However, it is not something that is done to the children, it is resulted naturally from their increasing openness to the innate evil and savagery that has always existed within them. The threat Ralph was encountered with was created by mankind, not by the nature of the island. The evilness within the boys caused them side with Jack, consequently causing them to turn against Ralph and kill
Ralph represents order and discipline, while Jack represents an unhealthy drive for power and savagery. In the beginning of the novel, Ralph is voted the leader of the group and attempts to make life on the island disciplined and civilized, like their life in England. However, throughout the novel Jack rivals Ralph’s leadership role, attempting to overthrow him. As the boys’ savage impulses increase, more of them begin to side with Jack instead of going with Ralph. As Ralph loses his hold over the boys, almost all of them begin to act violently and barbaric. An example of this is when the children of the island murder Simon for no justifiable reason. Even Piggy and Ralph partake in the murder, showing that the violent human impulse is in
At the time, Ralph heavily influences the boys and their actions for he resembles “the men with the megaphones” (18). He attempts to create order among the boys with rules, but most of the boys would rather play than follow the rules—for there are no adults to enforce them. With the role of leadership thrust upon him, Ralph has no choice but to stop playing games. His goals are to protect the boys and increase their chances of being rescued; however, the responsibility on Ralph’s shoulders soon begins to weigh him down. As “Ralph [watches the boys], envious and resentful” (75), the obligation to care for everyone on the island is a heavy burden to bear. His role as leader has forced Ralph to forget the joys of being an innocent kid and given him the encumbrance of responsibility, which causes the start of his maturation.
Ralph is the main protagonist in the story and he is the leader of the children on the island. Since Ralph was voted leader, he has the characteristics of leadership and he brings civilization and order to the story. Unlike the other boys, Jack and Simon, Ralph’s main focus is to get off the island instead of having fun. For example, Ralph tried constructing huts with Simon; meanwhile, the boys are playing and running off having fun. In the beginning of the story, Ralph’s power with the children was secure; however, towards the end, that power is being transferred to Jack. Ralph represents the
Ralph starts out making the island seem fun, that this is a grand adventure they’re on. But he also believes that they need rules and order, so they don’t become savages and forget who they are. This is why he uses the conch to create order and a system of rules. Ralph becomes leader and starts giving people jobs and making a fire become the most important thing. He wants to be rescued and is trying to get them off the island as fast as possible. “While we’re waiting we can have a good time on this island… It’s like a book.” Ralph is trying to make light of a bad situation and making the island seem like a utopia that the boys can explore. In life people do this all the time, they sugar coat the truth to make it seem like it’s better that it is or fun when in
Ralph was a character based on civilization and morals but, because the boys were losing their morals, they were losing their interest in Ralph. The boys started to relate to the savagery of Jack, than the morals of Ralph. If Ralph would of switched from his morals to savagery he would of kept his power but, because he never got over this obstacle, he lost his power, which was everything he had. This put Jack ahead of Ralph in power causing the boys to be lost in savagery and unable to be
Ralph's character is progressively broken down throughout the novel, only to be rebuilt stronger, and more knowledgeable in the end. If it wasn't for Ralph being hunted by Jack's tribe, the island would never be engulfed in flames; the boys would never be rescued. Thus, he also serves as the key character to the resolution of the novel. The events of the story prove that in a typical society, evil may gain control on occasion, but ultimatelyeverything will be balanced
Ralph made sure all the older kids on the island had a key job role to ensure safety and survival by setting things straight. Ralph orders the hunters to keep the fire going because it produced smoke which could signal the ships nearby securing their rescue. Ralph spotted ships and knew there shouldn’t be any fooling around because it is up to them if the fire stays lit or not. He, himself, was focused on providing everyone with shelter and was determined to do it by himself if he had to, whether the hunters did their job or not. Unlike Ralph, who is doing his job, the Jack’s choir ignores the fire and goes out hunting. When the fire goes out, the hunters aren’t really upset with the fire going out while Ralph saw that the situation could’ve been their rescue saying, “There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out” (70)! If he had the same attitude as the other boys nothing would likely get done and he would remain the same as before and not care about the aftermath, but he continues to act mature and not this incident stop him from trying to seek rescue. This shows his change because of how he sees the priority of being rescued and keeping the fire lit expressing his maturity and showing his understanding of life not just about having fun like most adults
Through Ralph being the leader on the island, it shows him as a morally ambiguous character struggling with man’s innate evil. Ralph is clearly struggling to maintain calm when he says, “‘I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can’t even build huts--then you go off hunting and let out the fire--’” (Golding 70-71). Ralph talks about him being chief in the past tense as if he no longer is because from the ways the boys are acting, he does not feel that he is being respected. Ralph is annoyed that instead of building shelter the boys play in the water and that instead of manning the fire, the only chance for the boys to be noticed, they decide hunting is more important than being rescued. Ralph means well by these orders, he wants to see that every boy on the island survives. At the same time he is struggling to be calm and he is not doing a good job at it. Also as the leader Ralph is not the one
The author of the “Lord of the Flies”, Mr.William Golding, created a really extreme situation that those children can’t even have the basic living safeguard on the isolated island. Among those poor isolated children the main character Ralph is a great leader that is loved by the boys throughout the whole novel. Through the quote “Ralph flopped down in the sand. in the book author say, ‘we’ll have to make a new list of who’s to look after the fire.’ ”(Pg144) After they have a fight with Jack, Ralph rationally and clearly
One of the strongest forms of adversity came in the form of a strong and outspoken boy Jack; Jack often overwhelms and disregards things that Ralph, the chief of the boys on the island, has said to be done. Ralph, we can see, struggles to hold his control over the group of boys when Jack refuses to believe the importance of these jobs. Ralph’s biggest struggle against adversity against Jack happens during a time of
Both Jack and Ralph were struggling for power. At first, Jack and Ralph had similar goals for what they should do on the island. They quickly retreated when Jack became obsessed with hunting for pigs on the island. Ralph thought that they should keep the signal fire going at all times. Jack started to see that he did not want to leave the island he like that there were no rules. Ralph on the other hand felt that they could not be here forever. Ralph wanted to be rescued from the island. They're very different opinion forces Jack to leave Ralph's group and start his own. Jack toke most of the other boys with him leaving Ralph with very few people. From all of this Ralph started to realize that leading a group of people was not easy. There would always be people like Jack that would disagree. Jack left feeling insulted from Ralph insulting his hunting he felt that Ralph had undermined him as a result Jack turned mean and
Ralph The elected leader of the boys and the main protagonist. He is neither the smartest nor the strongest but has a kind of quiet charisma and good looks. He tries to keep the boys focused on domestic order and the rules of civilization but loses his authority and almost his life to Jack's seizure of power.
He is the one that tries to keep the boys civilized by leading them and assigning them tasks that contribute to the commonwealth. When the boys start to resort to savagery, Ralph tries to keep them in line but unfortunately Ralph soon falls victim to savagery as well. In terms of the allegory, Ralph represents an individual in society. More specifically, he represents individuals trying to lead their lives with conflict constantly exerting a force in their lives. In the novel, Ralph is affected the most by the dystopian society they live in because he almost loses his life due to the savagery that was prompted by the dystopian qualities of the society on the island.
The book’s plot is centered around the relationship between Ralph, who symbolizes civilization, and Jack, who represents primitivity. While Ralph wishes
Emotions create chaos throughout the island. As the boys see that there is no real repercussions for their actions, it opens a gateway for the boys to disobey Ralph. Because of this, Ralph gives the other boys more freedom to try to stay in control. He does this by allowing the “hunters” to go and hunt and things of this