Character Development in Lord of the Flies
The ability to create characters of depth plagues many a contemporary writer. Many of those writers should look to William Golding for expertise on this issue. Golding diverges from the path of contemporary authors and sets an example of how character development should be accomplished in his novel, Lord of the Flies. Golding's Ralph exemplifies this author's superior style of character development in this novel.
At the commencement of the novel, the author introduces Ralph as an innocent boy far from adulthood. Almost immediately, Ralph is described as a "fair boy." This phrase indicates a stereotype of the perfect child--blonde hair and blue eyes with blemish-free skin--which the author manipulated to show innocence. Also, Golding used this to give the reader a feeling of Ralph's position on the scale of maturation. It guides the destination of the novel and how much Ralph needs to grow to attain complete maturity. Ralph's innocence is further implied when he says his daddy is "a commander in the Navy" and that "when he gets leave, he'll come rescue us." Clearly, Ralph's comments call attention to his inability to view matters, especially his current situation, realistically, and to show Ralph's simplistic thinking, as well. Later in the novel, Ralph views Piggy as a fat bore with "ass-mar" and "matter-of-fact ideas." Ralph is still at the point where he believes that he is on a schoolyard playground where teasing and handstands are an acceptable practice. Similarly, Ralph's thoughts are intended to show what a sheltered child he has been all his life. Thus far, Golding developed Ralph so that the reader interprets him as an ideal child without any indication of maturity. The author will build upon this to transform Ralph as a character and as a person.
As the climax approaches, Ralph begins to mature slightly as chaos erupts. After Ralph discovers that a ship passed while the fire was out and Jack is culpable, Ralph confronts him and rather than acquiescing to Ralph, Jack takes out his anger, physically on Piggy, the only person at that time intimidated by Jack. Ralph responds by saying Jack's tantrum is a "dirty trick" and tells them to light the fire. All this infers that Ralph is becoming less gregarious and a bit more serious. He shows maturity when he takes up for the underdog and does not go along with the majority.
Throughout the novel when Ralph notices some of the boys have started to turn into savages, he tries to put an end to it as soon as possible. Ralph wants the young boys to remain as close to their old selves as much as they can, rather than transforming into unrecognizable people. Once the boys have gotten somewhat settled in on the island, they forget to watch after the most important job, as seen in Ralph’s eyes, “We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there might be a ship out there” (Golding 42). The majority of the group has turned to having fun rather than getting rescued. Ralph is one of the only people that has common sense and seems to know their correct priorities. We can see that choosing Ralph to be the leader may lead to benefiting them all. In chapter 11, Jack and his group have bombarded Ralph’s group and stolen Piggy’s glasses, so when Piggy asks what they are going to do, Ralph responds with, “Supposing we go, looking like we used to, washed and hair brushed- after all we aren’t savages really and being rescued isn’t a game--” (Golding 170). Ralph ends up handling this given situation like an adult. He can see quite clearly that the thought of salvation and maturity has no meaning to everyone in Jack's’ group. They have been treating their whole situation like it is just a game, but Ralph knows at this point that rescue is
This is the turning point for Ralph, not only as a person, but as a character in the book. Ralph goes from a somewhat flat character, to a round character, and with this transformation, he completes his dream, a dream which he had with him the whole time. Not only has he come to peace with himself and his accomplishments, he has come to peace with those around him, “Ralph watched the water fight with sadness in his heart, never guessing the scene would one day hearten him, as it did now.” (p296). Some may say that Ralph never achieved his dream. I say that he achieved his dream about half way through the book, he just didn’t realize all he had, and all he could lose until it was almost gone.
...Although, it can be argued that he had no one else to turn to so he went to Piggy, Ralph could have given up at this point. But, instead he finally consulted Piggy for advice, displaying his maturity. In the end of the novel, when Piggy dies, Ralph addresses the loss. When the naval officer arrives, “Ralph wept for… the fall through of the true, wise friend Piggy” (202). Ralph truly matures at the end when he values the intelligence, and good heartedness of his friend Piggy finally looking past his appearance.
Churchill, Winston S., M.P. “Churchill as War Leader: Lessons for the Future.” Address to the International Churchill Society. The Churchill Center. Online. Nov. 7., 2002. www.winstonchurchill.org
Winston Churchill, the son of Lord Randolph Churchill, became an officer in the 4th cavalry in 1894. Between 1895 and 1899 he served in Cuba, India and South Africa as a reporter. Churchill entered politics in 1900 and held many government posts until he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty prior to World War One. Due to logistical and tactical failures during wartime, Churchill was somewhat discredited and lost his naval post. In the inter war period, Churchill remained politically active and made his way up the ranks to become chancellor of the exchequer in Stanley Baldwin’s Conservative government. When World War Two broke out, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain appointed him to his old post as First Lord of the Admiralty. When Chamberlain was forced to resign, Churchill became Prime Minister. He served throughout the war as Britain’s supreme leader until he was defeated in a 1946 general election. Churchill once again became prime minister from 1951 until his resignation in 1955. In 1953, he was knighted and received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Ralph’s power at the beginning is secure but as the group succumbs to their savage instincts, Ralph’s influence declines as Jack’s rises. This is due mainly to the cruelty and violence that goes on in the story. This cruelty reveals that Ralph’s commitment to civilization and being rescued is so strong that he will not allow himself to change his morals and become cruel like the others. The cruelty in this novel also shows that Ralph is a very intelligent character. His intelligence can be proven because there was a point in the novel when he hunts a boar for the first time and he experiences the thrill of bloodlust. He also attends one of Jack’s feast where he is swept away by the frenzy and participates in the killing of Simon. This is a very tragic moment for Ralph because this is when he realizes the evil that lives within himself and every human being. It is the cruel acts that happen in this novel that reveals Ralph’s character of being intelligent and being able to think deeply about human experiences. He even weeps when getting saved because of his knowledge about the human capacity for
Recognizing that most of Europe was socialist, Churchill worked to remove England from the labor party in order to run over the rise of totalitarianism. The socialist government in Germany was under the control of the Nazi party increasing angst with Hitler in control (Johnson 108-112). Through his elections as Prime Minister he was able to mend the damage done by Chamberlain in his attempt to appease Hitler (Johnson 46). Having lived through World War I, Chamberlain was determined to avert another war. His policy of appeasement towards Hitler was co...
The story of Winston Churchill’s upbringing and life through politics and war did not begin as one might expect. More often than not, fictional stories usually portray our main character as a man of little things who climbs the social ladder through their own achievements and intelligence. Instead, Churchill began and ended his extensive life as a privileged being, but it is in the middle where the most interesting facts lay. Winston Churchill is the most influential man in European History. Beginning as a boy who hated school to a man who could sway another with a single speech, his personal change was drastic; but so was the change that he brought to the world and Great Britain.
People are privileged to live in an advanced stage of development known as civilization. In a civilization, one’s life is bound by rules that are meant to tame its savage natures. A humans possesses better qualities because the laws that we must follow instill order and stability within society. This observation, made by William Golding, dictates itself as one of the most important themes of Lord of the Flies. The novel demonstrates the great need for civilization ion in life because without it, people revert back to animalistic natures.
Importance of Leadership Leadership is something that stands out in people. In a group, people tend to look for the strongest person to follow. However, the strongest person may not be the best choice to follow. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph and Jack each have leadership qualities. Jack is probably the stronger of the two; however, Ralph is a better leader.
By examining Churchill’s use of rhetoric we can see what exactly made him such a great leader. His speeches were able to do more damage to the Nazis than any bomb could have done because his language rallied the people together. His use of repetition proved his points and reminded the country of what mattered most. His descriptive words helped build up anger against the Nazi rule and persuade everyone to pull through the tough times. He used pronouns in such a way that it would personalize everything and help unify his country. Through his unique use of words Churchill was able to convince many that if they could just endure that they would at last be victorious (Bungay).
Global warming has become a more prominent issue every decade since the mid 1900s. The increased temperatures are leading to substantial ice loss. This loss in ice is causing severe destruction to polar bear habitats and homes and is leading to their extinction. It also is affecting their food supply. Global warming is making it harder for polar bears to repopulate and is causing a decrease in the overall size of each bear. The chemicals associated with global warming are getting into the food chain and eventually into the polar bears themselves. Global warming is causing the extinction of polar bears in the arctic because it’s destroying their homes, decreasing their food supply, is affecting chemicals in the air and in their food, decreasing the average size of the bears, and contributes to a decrease in reproduction.
“The loss of innocence for which Ralph weeps at the novel's close is not, however, a matter of transformation from childish goodness to adolescent depravity, is not a growing into wickedness. It is rather the coming of an awareness of darkness, of the evil in man's heart that was present in the children all along,” (Boyd). At the end of the novel, Ralph cries for a few reasons. He cries because he has lost his friend Piggy. He also cries because he has lost his innocence. He now realizes that there is evil in every man.
Winston Churchill spoke these words at the House Commons; his way of talking to people was a power which he held. Winston Churchill was born November, 30 1874, in Blenheim Palace. He was born into a wealthy family who treated Winston to a rich lifestyle. In 1893 Churchill entered the Royal Military College as a cadet, from here on he rose to the top ranks commanded with great authority. He began to have political speeches at the age of 23 when he talked to the primrose League. When he was 24 he wrote his first book entitled The Story of the Malakand Field Force. Churchill was elected to the House of Commons at the age of 26, being one of the youngest members. Winston was appointed Prime Minister of England on May 10th 1940. Winston’s 2 books that were published shows people that he is a respectable author who people can believe what he says during his speeches. In this speech Winston was talking to the members of the House of Commons, but this speech was more than trying to persuade elected officials, it was intended to speak to all people fighting against the Nazi Party. The purpose of this speech was to show the members of Commons that we must fight in this war and we must win, for if England shall lose the rest of the world would lose.
In F.Scott Fitzgerald's short story, “Winter Dreams”, he suggests that the American Dream is a desire for glittery objects. In the short story on page 735 it says “Dexter borrowed a thousand dollars on his college degree and his confident mouth, and bought partnership in a laundry.” I believe this quote just proves that he did whatever so he could have the glittering objects himself. He made something small into something enormous and ended up becoming very successful at a young age.