In book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Golding uses different characters to represent different types of people in the real world. One of the two main characters he used this for was Jack and Ralph. When the boys crash landed on the island, they all group together and decide on a leader. Although Jack has the support of the choirboys, Ralph wins by popular vote. Jack is unhappy that he didn't win but Ralph allows Jack to be the leader of the hunters. As the novel continues, Jack and Ralph begin to clash more and more. The power switches towards the end of the book to Jack. Jack leads the boys into a more savagery way and focuses more on hunting than getting rescued. Throughout the book, Jack and Ralph shows similarities and differences. Jack and Ralph demonstrate …show more content…
Ralph’s way of leading the boys represents a more democratic way of leading people. Ralph uses the conch shell to give the group of boys together. The conch shell represents order with the boys and it gives each boy on the island a chance to say their opinion. When Ralph is making rules, he say “And another thing. We can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have to have ‘Hands up’ like at school... Then I’ll give him the conch” (Golding 33). Ralph takes a different way on leading the boys on the island. Jack uses the fact that the boys are scared of the beast to his advantage when he leads. Knowing that the beast is feared, when Jack becomes the new chief he says “And then- about the beast...We are gonna forget about the beast” (Golding 133). Jack shows the boys that he is not scared of the beast which makes the other boys want to follow Jack. Since there is this huge fear of the beast, the other boys on the island are more likely to want a leader who shows no fear of the beast at this point of the novel. In summary, Jack uses fear as a leader and Ralph uses order to control the
How Ralph and Jack Change William Golding wrote the story "Lord of the flies". It is about a large group of schoolboys whose plane has crashed. They get stranded on a desert island. The story is about their survival and how they run their everyday lives. The two main characters Jack and Ralph are both from upper class
"They looked at each other, baffled in love and hate," (Golding 71). In the tale of Lord of the Flies by William Golding, in attempt to escape from their boarding school during WWII, numerous British schoolboys end up stranded on an island after the catastrophe of a plane crash. Before long, innocent kids are dying, society is falling apart, and anarchy reigns. The dominate characters in Lord of the Flies, Jack and Ralph, are two boys of the same age and who battle constantly for power throughout the entire novel. While Ralph possesses some rescue skills, Jack possesses survival skills which ensure him to live a moderate life while stranded on the island. Jack also accomplishes many things while living on the island, such as creating a tribe, whereas Ralph only achieves starting a small fire atop a mountain in attempt to be rescued. Considering these facts, Jack is the better leader in Lord of the Flies.
had let the pig escape in plain sight of Ralph and Simon wants to kill
the two of them. Ralph wins the vote and is given the role of leader
In the midst of World War 2, a group of English schoolboys find themselves stranded on a deserted island after their evacuation plane is shot down. With no adult survivors, the boys try to maintain civility by forming a government and electing a leader while they wait for rescue. Conflict immediately arises as Ralph, our protagonist is pitted against another boy named Jack in a fight for power.
Have you ever read Lord Of The Flies? If not you should because it is a thought provoking and interesting book. In the book Lord Of The Flies by William Golding a group of plane wrecked boys attempt to lead themselves, Ralph being one of the main characters. Throughout the book Ralph attempts to maintain authority and civilization; often ending up facing against Jack, with whom he struggles for power; often struggling over one of the three powerful symbols revealing his inner nature.
If I had a choice between Ralph or Jack I would choice Ralph. I believe that Ralph has better ideas and knows whats needed. He knows whats necessary if a person wants to get off the island. He had the idea of a fire to get attention but Jack thought it was better to go hunting. Hunting is needed but if theres an opportunity for rescue then I think a fire is more important. Also, he supports Piggy. I feel sorry for Piggy because the other boys pick on him. Jack is not a bad leader but I think he doesn't knows what the fundamental needs are. The only reason I would choose Jack as a leader would be because he is better at hunting. This island is dangerous with boars and the “beastie” so choosing a leader is important
William Golding’s Lord of The Flies is an adventurous story about schoolboys stranded on an island without an adult. When they realize they need a leader, they elect one of the boys as chief to be in charge of them as they find a way off the island. Jack and Ralph, two characters described as bigguns, wanted to be leader. They had to consider many things when they vote for a chief. The two boys had different qualities and abilities. Jack and Ralph are both good leaders for different reasons, but Ralph is the best option.
Jack is the character that provides us with one of the main conflicts besides the fact they are stuck on the island. Without him Ralph wouldn’t have anybody to compete against for the right of leader in their group. On top of that, if he weren’t on the island then the story would just go on and on with Ralph talking about how the group stranded were just trying to keep alive on the island and probably some stuff on the Lord of the Flies attacking the children until they were eventually rescued. The author would have still made that pretty interesting like when Ralph encounters the pig skull on Page 185, but it wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as reading about how everything starts to fall apart and paths diverge while still having the Lord of the Flies there. What makes Jack unique from the others who rebelled, is that he could do it on his own. He would be able to survive out in the jungle for a good amount of days, but if he were to gain the control he wanted then he would need to have others who would help him reach that power. What that does is add a main rival for Ralph in the story and can make them both get really fired up and strive to get stronger. “Jack wrenched free and swung at Ralph with his spear. By common consent they were both using their spears as sabers now.”(Page 177) Shows that they aren’t afraid to get at each other. Overall, he demonstrates the insanity side very clearly in the book with his ‘tribe’ and how they act towards the other survivors. “The liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.”(Page 172) Illustrates they are truly seen as the savages of the
Ralph shows that he has a better understanding of the boys than Jack. He knows that the boys need some sort of order on the island in order for them to survive. He starts a simple form of government and sets a few rules for them. Even though they don’t last very long, the fact that he tried to help the group is what makes him a better leader. Ralph’s wisdom and ability to look toward the future also has an advantage over Jack. He has a sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. When the fire goes out, Ralph gets upset because the chance to be rescued was gone as well. Ralph enforces his role of leadership as he gives the boys a sense of stability of an authority figure. He keeps the boys in pretty good order at the meeting by making a rule that they can only speak if they have the conch. Ralph knows that the littleuns are afraid and they need shelter to feel more secure. They work together for a while, but as the time goes on the smaller boys want to go play. They slowly lose all their help until Simon and Ralph are the only ones left to work on them. Ralph knows that this is a necessity and keeps bringing it up at the meetings. Jack, on the other hand, is doing nothing but causing chaos.
Under Jack's rule, the boys become uncivilized savages. They have no discipline. Ralph, however, keeps the boys under order through the meetings which he holds. At these meetings a sense of order is instilled because the boys have to wait until they hold the conch to speak. When Ralph says, "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (Golding 36) he enforces his role of leader by making rules and gives the boys the stability of an authority figure, mainly himself. By doing this he wins the boys respect and confidence in his leadership abilities. Ralph uses his authority to try to improve the boys' society. By building shelters he demonstrates his knowledge of the boys' needs. When he says to Jack, "They talk and scream. The littluns.
William Golding’s interpretation of the characters in the novel Lord of the Flies, shows power in each of them. Each of the main boys approach the use of power in different ways, it tells a lot about the character and clarifies the characters traits. Ralph is the first lost boy we meet, and is chief. Also, he has the conch, the conch symbolizes power and order. Ralph gets a head start in the island in leadership. While most of the other boys are having fun, and avoiding work, Ralph sets about building huts and thinking of ways to maximize their chances of being rescued. Instead of getting caught up in the hunting bloodlust, he proposes something practical and sensible- to start a fire. “Something deep in Ralph spoke for him. ‘I'm chief. I'll go. Don't argue.”(114) Ralph is not the one agreeing to go look for the beast; it is the chief inside of him. He is a good example of how power can actually make you better. For this reason, Ralph’s power throughout the story has been for greater good. Another character that shows power is Jack, Jack’s use of power the complete opposite of Ralphs. From the beginning of the novel, Jack wants control. He wants to be leader but loses against Ralph. Jack becomes the leader of the hunters and says that hunting is the most important thing to do, not the signal fire. When the ...
With no adult supervision on the island, someone needed to be appointed to lead the group. This is where trouble started. In the novel, Golding had Ralph elected chief because he is holding the conch, which symbolizes power and authority. Adults are the ones that usually hold the authority, and that is what the children needed. When Ralph was holding the shell it got the boy’s attention because it was very shiny. Jack wanted to be leader, but he was not chosen. He is very arrogant and did not care about anyone but himself. Jack was mortified when he was not elected to be in charge. Ralph does realize that he needs some control, so he gives Jack control of the choir boys.
Ralph and Jack are both powerful and meaningful characters in William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies. Ralph is an excellent leader; responsible, and stands for all that is good. Jack is a destructive hunter, selfish, and represents evil. These two main characters can be compared by the actions they take as leaders, their personalities, and what they symbolize in the story.
Ralph was chosen leader on the island because of his appearance, but most of the boys soon found out that he actually was a good leader. Ralph made decisions by including everyone in the group meetings because he wanted to hear their opinions and inform them about what was happening on the island. Ralph proved his bravery by leading - when no one else wanted to - the exploration into untraveled territory which they later became known as Castle Rock. Ralph’s weakness was that he allowed things get out of hand; for instance, Samneric went hunting with Jack, leaving their post of tending to the signal fire. Without anyone tending to the fire, no smoke was produced to draw the attention of the ship that sailed by the island. When Jack found out what had happened he could not stop talking about his hunt and did not seem to care that they could have got off the island. Being leader, Ralph should have given consequences and been stricter with rules towards Jack, showing his authority over him. Even at the beginning Ralph let Jack have control and did not stand up to him: