Preview

Lord Of The Flies Ralph Character Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
715 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lord Of The Flies Ralph Character Analysis
Throughout the book, examples of Ralph’s common sense characteristic appear. He thinks through decisions logically and completely, keeping the well-being of the entire group in mind. Keeping the fire lit remains a recurring issue on the island. Ralph understands the essential nature of the fire for building signal fires to alerting distant ships that may pass by to their location on the island, a concept not fully appreciated by fellow islanders, specifically Jack and his hunting posse. If other boys embraced the same level of common sense and rational thinking as Ralph, their rescue may have been expedited without reaching the point of the coup d’etat led by Jack against Ralph near the end of the book. Further evidence of Ralph’s common sense …show more content…
Ralph’s leadership ability is revealed from the very first time he encounters Piggy on the island, until the end when he has no one left to lead. One clear example of Ralph’s leadership occurred at the beginning of the novel when elected leader by the group. After being elected, Ralph immediately delegates power as shown in the quote “I’m chief then. The circle of boys broke into applause… The choir belongs to you of course. They could be the army or hunters” (William Golding 23). Another display of Ralph's leadership occurs when Ralph discovers the unlit fire shortly after seeing a ship pass in the distance. Realizing this lapse, Ralph uses his leadership to crack down on some of the lazy hunters and reiterates that the signal fire should be their first priority. In order to maintain order on the island, Ralph use his leadership position and ability to set up a list of rules that the boys on the island should follow, for instance bringing order to meetings by requiring all to remain quiet except for the boy holding the conch. Without the strong leadership skills shown by Ralph, the boys of the island might not have survived. David Bender talks about Ralph's leadership skills when he states “He is everything a leader should be, handsome with fair hair, good build and a natural ability to command” (David Bender 32). This quote furthers my position that Ralph exhibited

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ralph believes that the signal fire should keep going and that they will get rescued, adapts to being called leader, and ignores most of things that other people say about him because he does not care which effects the novel positively. Ralph’s leadership starts of with the belief, “If this isn’t an island we might get rescued” (Golding 30). This quote seems important because what…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ralph believes he will get rescued, manages to keep it intact, and engages in a heavy argument with Jack and Jack’s group which effects the novel negatively. Ralph’s confidence of being rescued helps him with keeping the fire going. Ralph establishes his dominance to the other kids. Ralph and Jack gets into an argument and goes into battle with their…

    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Several examples of Ralph’s deteriorating leadership position include, “I say! You voted me for chief. Didn’t you hear the conch?” (Golding) As said from Ralph, this explains how he is barely respected as a leader anymore, only to the Littleuns, Piggy, and Samneric. He is trying to hold on to his position, but he has dropped in favor for many of the older bigguns follow Jack now, no longer Ralph. Ralph has lost most of the useful boys on the island as he is not an effective leader. He cannot create a reason for them to stay together, as Jack did with the beast, nor draw fear from them, which Jack has Roger do, in Jack’s tribe.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, “Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, he tells the story of a group of boys stranded on an island. During World War II, a plane filled with young boys got shot down which led the young survivals on a deserted island without any adults. The young boys decide to have a leader who can willingly lead the group to survival. Ralph is chosen to be the leader, yet after a series of events maybe Ralph wasn't a good choice after all. I believe Ralph is the reason of the development of their savage society. Ralph takes responsibility for the island’s decline because his poor leadership skills result in nothing getting done and the young boys breaking into groups rather than cooperating like they should have been…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of the many boys stuck on the island in Lord of the Flies, only one was the protagonist of the story. This boy was Ralph. In the first chapter, Ralph was the one who found the conch with Piggy and called an assembly to unite the boys and see who all was on the island. In this assembly, Ralph gets voted leader most likely because he just assumes the responsibility of the leader right off the bat and the fact that he has the conch. Ralph has several main things that are important to him that he tries to get the boys to do including building shelters and keeping the fire going. Jack has very opposing viewpoints to Ralph because Jack just wants to hunt and have fun.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When a group of British school boys land on a deserted island someone has to step up and lead. A leader should have many noble traits. In the book Ralph is elected leader, in the beginning he was not much of a standout but later in the book we found Ralph has great leadership skills: he tries to keep the peace, was stern when he needed to be, and held everyone accountable for their work.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ralph reacts with an unexpected level-headedness when a boar comes charging down the path: ?Ralph found he was able to measure the distance coldly and take aim. With the boar only five yards away, he flung the foolish wooden stick that he carried, saw it hit the great snout and hang there for a moment? (123). This event suggests that Ralph may possess hunting skills that rival Jack?s, as such, it seems that Jack will attempt to show up Ralph in some other way.…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Golding emphasizes the conflict between two opposite impulses that are inside every one of us: whether to follow the rules and be in order, or to go into violence and turn into savages. Golding expresses this by using the protagonist and antagonist of the story, Ralph and Jack.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph is the elected leader of the group. He continues throughout the whole book to try to keep the order in the book. He first understands that he needs to set up a structure of rules to allow for the group of boys to remain civilized. The first great leadership skill that Ralph has is that he compromises. Ralph is a compromiser. The smartest compromises makes is that he instead of having Jack be upset about not being elected leader he makes Jack be the leader of the hunters. This would allow Jack and Ralph to have a good relationship until the middle of the book where having Jack be the head hunter would cause a split in the…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the novel Ralph is leader for half the time because jack soon takes over. Ralph is the better leader but he fails to perform for the group all he does is talk while Jack is out their hunting for meat. “What would a beast eat?”/”Pig.”/”We eat pig.”/”Piggy”pg.83 “I gave you food, “said Jack, and my hunters will protect you from the beast. After a successful hunt Jack finally makes his move to usurp Ralph’s leadership. Jack uses the threat of the beast as a means to manipulate the others into giving him power. Jack ends up feeding the whole group with one kill. This symbolizes leadership. He boys shortly turn to Jacks side although he is a savage. After this occurs Ralph only leads a small group containing Simon and Piggy. He lost all his power because he did not give the boys what they wanted. By Ralph being the best leader he can be he cannot win them over. Ralph tries to give himself some power by saying they need to build shelters but Jack quickly starts a chant and gets his tribe rowdy. Ralph has been the leader from the beginning but was unable to keep it. He was the most effective leader by trying to get them rescued but Jack gave them what they wanted which was…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    • All the other boys perceive Ralph as being a true leader; he has great power and influence over the other boys. From the beginning of the novel, it is proven that Ralph has a sense of leadership about him; he is the one who brings all the boys together.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For example, Ralph values rescue over the hunting and killing of pigs. As Jack talks about hunting on the island, Ralph comments, “the best thing we can do is get ourselves rescued” (Golding 54). Ralph knows that even if they don’t die off quickly on the island, they’ll become savages first: “[w]e’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued” (99). He may not understand it completely, but he still senses the slow decay of innocence and knows that the boys need to return back to the adult world before it’s too late. If the boys stay on the island, whatever happens will be worse than even death, and consequently, Ralph puts rescue above meat. He is not swayed by the excitement of being wild, and is constantly reminding the boys that their main goal is to get off the island. His ability to prioritize also motivates him to keep the smoke signal going. After all, “how can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going?” (86). Another example of Ralph’s aptitude for sorting through his needs and wants is shown in his concern over the other boys’ health. While they’re still stuck on the island with no sign of rescue, Ralph wants to ensure everyone’s safety. He works on the shelters diligently, even as the other boys “work for five minutes then wander off or go hunting” (51). Ralph does this because he is not only worried about the rain, but the littluns as well: “they dream. You can hear ‘em...They talk and scream” (53). His concern for the other boys’ safety keeps him from being distracted by the simple pleasures of bathing and hunting. As the chief, Ralph reminds the boys that they’re not invincible and there are many things to be considered when stranded on an island. On the other hand, some will argue that Jack is a better leader because he is naturally authoritative and easily controls the boys. However, the only thing Jack cares about is hunting. He doesn’t give the well-being of…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, William Golding depicts morals and the boundaries of society in the form of characters. This essay will compare and contrast the differences between four pivotal characters: Ralph, Jack, Simon and Roger. The goodness and order in society is portrayed by Ralph and SImon. The darkness in human nature is explained through Roger and Jack.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When life throws scary and dire situations at you, some believe it is a test to see a person's true colors, and how that person reacts under extreme pressure and conflict. In situations like these, leaders are born. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph becomes a frontrunner as the “chief”, or leader in the story. Ralph struggles to maintain a civil relationship between all the boys, but still remains the more appropriate leader, including his civility, his conflicts, and his purpose.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ralph's Savagery

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ralph has undergone the devolution from civilization into savagery. In the beginning of Ralph's stay on the island, he is portrayed as a calm, innocent boy, “ a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil” (10). Also, Ralph shows that he cares about everyone on the island not just himself. Ralph’s want's to get everyone off the island by using fire, “There’s another thing.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics