Lord of the Flies: Character Analysis of Ralph Essay

Ralph shows a great of courage and determination to be rescued, during his time on the island.Ralph commitment to society and morality is strong, and all he wants to do is leave the island and go home.As a leader,Ralph has to set an example for the boys on the island, and has to face many obstacles alone.This is why Ralph has to show courage and determination. "Ralph went for the end of innocence , the darkness of a mans heart, and the fall through the air of a true,wise friend called Piggy (Golding 225).This quote concludes the novel and shows how Ralph is relieved and accomplishes his goal of being rescued, and how he reflected back on the memories on the island, the memories of his good friend Piggy. Just before Piggy died he makes a valiant

Ralph's civilization guides him to build a fire signal. Ralph tells the boys, "We can help them find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire" (Golding 38). Ralph explains that smoke can signal to passing ships to let them know that they are on the island. Ralph's sense of leadership leads him to go looking for the beast. The narrator explains Ralph's emotions, "His mouth was tight and pale. He put back his hair very slowly... He forced his feet to move until they carried him out on to the neck of land" (Golding 105). Looking for the beast frightens Ralph, but he does it anyway to protect the group. Ralph takes responsibility for his mistakes. Although he physically did not kill Simon, Ralph took responsibility to taking part in his murder. Ralph realizes what he has done and discusses with Piggy, "That was Simon... That was murder" (Golding 156). Ralph realizes that he had just taken part in the killing of his friend. In conclusion, Ralph's self-image of civilization, responsibility, and leadership lead him to built a smoke signal, searched for the beast, and took responsibility for killing his

Ralph's common sense and ability to recognize what is best for the group also shows his excellent leadership skills. His main focus throughout the book is getting rescued and tells the boys to make a fire and to keep it burning to make a signal. However, the boys do not listen and he becomes angry. "The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don't keep the fire going?" (p. 86) Ralph's determination to get rescued is not only for himself, but for everyone else

Although Ralph shows good leadership skills, he also has weaknesses like everyone else. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph portrays the Hero, Scapegoat, and Innocent Youth Archetypes. Ralph demonstrates the Hero Archetype when he becomes chief, when he helps build shelters to sleep in, when he stood up to Jack, when he went to look for the beast, and lastly when he tried to help Piggy get his specs back. Ralph also demonstrates the Scapegoat Archetype when he was attacked, when he was hiding from the savages, when he was seen by a savage and got frightened, and when he realized he lost his innocence. Ralph’s innocent youth is also shown when Ralph squirted water at Piggy, when he imagined the group being rescued, and when he asked a question he already knew the answer to.

One of the main characters in Lord of the Flies, Ralph is one of the oldest bigguns on the island. His good looks and confident demeanor quickly makes him the obvious leader to the boys. Although he lacks Piggy's apparent intelligence, Ralph is relatively logical and responsible, with sound judgment and a firm moral scale. But, like the other boys, he can fall into the same entraping instincts that affect the other boys, as demonstrated by his part Simon's murder.

However, at the last chapter, Ralph begins to kills other boys in Jack's tribe in order to survive. He is slinking through the forest and he begins to think as a wild boar would. At the end, when Ralph is finally discovered by a Navy Officer, he is ashamed for all the civilization he has lost and reverts back to a naïve

Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph tries his best to create a society based on survival. As time progresses, it is clear that Jack's feelings are towards living life and having fun. Jack's society eventually leads to corruption, killing innocent people, while Ralph's prevails as the boys are rescued. Ralph uses a repetition of hope towards being saved while Jack's technique with no thought clearly flounders creating savages out of the once civilized boys.

From the beginning, he did not have confidence that he should be the leader. When elected, he felt sorry for Jack and began to give him roles. For example, Ralph states “The choir belongs to you, of course” (pp. 23). This shows Ralph does not have the confidence to believe he should be in charge of everyone. As the story goes on, this lack of confidence is one of the causes that his tribe to deteriorate.

Ralph shows this through his immediate law and order system he creates on the island. He establishes this system through a single conch shell. During the boys’ meetings, the shell dictates who is able to talk based upon the boy who holds it. In this way, Ralph is also able to invent a very modified down version of Democracy that implements a couple rules for the young boys. Although they exist for only a small fragment of time, the fact that Ralph attempted to help the group is what separates him from Jack as a better leader. Ralph’s wise nature and his ability to see what is best for the group in the long-run also sets him aside from Jack. He is determined to get the boys off the island, meanwhile Jack has his focus

Though it is true that Ralph does not escape the darkness festering inside the boys on the island, his savagery is what ultimately saves his life in the end.

All in all, this is why I think that the theme of "Lord of The Flies," is "Survival of the Fittest." With every person the group having positive and negative traits, it will take time for them to be able to work with each other. Also, each person has their own pros and cons that could impact on the group in a good way, or a bad way. How, that Ralph has organized the group, Ralph can now focus on the important things that are needed in a survival situation such as shelter, fire, water, and food. Ralph has the group in a pretty good position right now. Let's just hope that it can stay that

While attending the feast, all the boys beat another boy, Simon, who was mistaken to be a beast on the island, to death. Ralph realizes he enjoyed killing Simon and battles within himself to discover what drove him to murder. Ralph loses his friends to Jack’s tribe, either by murder or capture and is left alone. He evades Jack and the tribe, until discovered by a naval officer, who was searching for the source of commotion on the island. As the boys are rescued Ralph weeps for the death and lost of innocence that occurred on the island. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph changes as he recognizes the loss of innocence and destruction of law and order on the island. Ralph’s government is dismantled and the rules become obscured as the boys begin to enjoy hunting and murdering. Ralph is unable to draw the boys back together after Jack leaves, in contrast to him rallying the boys together shortly after crashing on the island. These changes contribute to Ralph's symbolic reference as the icon for law and order, leadership, and the temptation of

Ralph is very calm and fair to other, which many misjudge as weak. As the story’s protagonist, he represents the instinct of order and civilization. He was elected the group’s leader by the boys after they crashed on the island. Ralph’s main goal on the island is to get rescued. His father, a commander in the Navy, is who he believes is going to rescued them.

He quickly becomes the group's leader. Golding describes Ralph as tall for his age and handsome, and he presides over the other boys with a natural sense of authority. Although he lacks Piggy's overt intelligence, Ralph is calm and rational, with sound judgment and a strong moral sensibility. Though, he is susceptible to the same instinctive influences that affect the other boys, as demonstrated by his contribution to Simon's death. Nevertheless, Ralph remains the most civilized character throughout the novel.

Ralph is a good leader and shows them that the fire is their first priority. Ralph added “but I tell you that smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one.” Ralph understands that the smoke can help the boys get off the island. Consequently, at the end of chapter nine Ralph is beginning to sink into savagery like the other boys. He participates in the circle of chanting and dancing boys which ends by killing Simon.