Morally Ambiguous Character In Lord Of The Flies Essay
Morally Ambiguous Character in Lord of the Flies
1. What does the character do, say, or think that can be classified as morally wrong? • As the tribes begin to split, Ralph begins to obsess over ‘popularity’ between him and Jack. He begins to bully Piggy in-order to gain favor from the other boys. Ralph begin to fall into the savage ways as the other boys have, he even went as far as to participate in the murder of Simon.
2. What does the character do, say, or think that can be classified as morally correct? • Ralph can be considered morally correct, due to his desire for democracy and order, which is symbolized by the structure of his ‘tribe’ and the fact that the only people who can talk are those that use the conch. Ralph …show more content…
legitimately cares about his tribe, even the outcast, Piggy, he even respects him. Ralph behaves and acts according to moral guidelines, but this behavior and these guidelines seem learned rather than innate. Ralph seems to have darker instinctual urges beneath: like the other boys, he gets swept up by bloodlust during the hunt and the dance afterward.
3.
How do others perceive the character? • 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.
4. How do the character’s actions affect others? • The boys on the island progress from well-behaved, orderly children longing for rescue to cruel, bloodthirsty hunters who have no desire to return to civilization, they lose the innocence that they had at the beginning of the novel. Ralph is the ‘voice of reason’, he is the character in the novel that brings safety and comfort to the littluns, and he is the only one whom keeps order and justice between the boys.
5. Does the character recognize his or her faults? Does he or she change as a result of her/his realization? • After Ralph participates in the ‘feast’ and the murder of Simon, he finally realizes how wrong jack and his hunters really are. Ralph continues to deny any participation he had in the death of Simon, bringing out a sense of duty in him, he then goes to try and stop Jack and the hunters.
6. What message about morality is conveyed by the development of this
character? • In the story the boys turned savage without the control of adults (or direction from god). It shows that without a higher power for mankind to look to, society will deteriorate into chaos. Without Ralph’s morals he would have eventually turned into a savage, just like the other boys. Mans’ inherent evil, if left to their own devises, will eventually overcome them.
1. What does the character do, say, or think that can be classified as morally wrong? • As the tribes begin to split, Ralph begins to obsess over ‘popularity’ between him and Jack. He begins to bully Piggy in-order to gain favor from the other boys. Ralph begin to fall into the savage ways as the other boys have, he even went as far as to participate in the murder of Simon.
2. What does the character do, say, or think that can be classified as morally correct? • Ralph can be considered morally correct, due to his desire for democracy and order, which is symbolized by the structure of his ‘tribe’ and the fact that the only people who can talk are those that use the conch. Ralph …show more content…
legitimately cares about his tribe, even the outcast, Piggy, he even respects him. Ralph behaves and acts according to moral guidelines, but this behavior and these guidelines seem learned rather than innate. Ralph seems to have darker instinctual urges beneath: like the other boys, he gets swept up by bloodlust during the hunt and the dance afterward.
3.
How do others perceive the character? • 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.
4. How do the character’s actions affect others? • The boys on the island progress from well-behaved, orderly children longing for rescue to cruel, bloodthirsty hunters who have no desire to return to civilization, they lose the innocence that they had at the beginning of the novel. Ralph is the ‘voice of reason’, he is the character in the novel that brings safety and comfort to the littluns, and he is the only one whom keeps order and justice between the boys.
5. Does the character recognize his or her faults? Does he or she change as a result of her/his realization? • After Ralph participates in the ‘feast’ and the murder of Simon, he finally realizes how wrong jack and his hunters really are. Ralph continues to deny any participation he had in the death of Simon, bringing out a sense of duty in him, he then goes to try and stop Jack and the hunters.
6. What message about morality is conveyed by the development of this
character? • In the story the boys turned savage without the control of adults (or direction from god). It shows that without a higher power for mankind to look to, society will deteriorate into chaos. Without Ralph’s morals he would have eventually turned into a savage, just like the other boys. Mans’ inherent evil, if left to their own devises, will eventually overcome them.