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Symbolism essay over the lord of the flies
Symbolism essay over the lord of the flies
Symbolism essay over the lord of the flies
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“No one is born bad” (Sachs, 1). For instance, in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the English boys were not born bad, nor were they bad when their plane crashed and when they were stranded on the island. However, as time went on the boys started committing evil actions. At first, the boys tried to create a civilization like the ones that they came from and elected Ralph as the leader. This method of survival worked for a very short period of time, but it eventually was ruined completely when Jack created his own tribe dedicated to hunting. One group consisted of Ralph, Piggy, Samneric, Simon and some littluns, and the other group was Jack, Roger, Maurice and many more. One day, Jack’s tribe had a feast and Ralph and his tribe joined …show more content…
“Piggy and Ralph under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society” (Golding, 152). Ralph realizes that this group of boys is about to do something that they might regret, but he joins the dance anyways. Ralph does not follow anyone. He joins the dance on his own, out of his own best interest. He knows that it is the wrong thing to do, but he still does it, which means he is mature enough to endure the consequences. As an older member of the tribe Ralph should know to think things like this through. “At the age of 7, a child is considered by the Roman Catholic Church to have reached the ‘age of reason’” (Sachs, 1). Not only has Ralph reached the “age of reason” but the other boys believed he was capable of making well reasoned decisions when they elected him as the leader. If he can be a leader, he should be held accountable for his actions. Ralph did not just let Simon get killed on accident, he knew that it was wrong, but he let it continue. Ralph not only took part in the killing, but also did not stop it when he could have, which makes him a
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
The techniques and symbols used to convey Jack and Ralph’s responses to different situations inform the reader on there different characteristics and personality’s. In William Golding’s novel ‘Lord of The Flies’ we come to a decision that Ralph demonstrates better leadership skills and responses to all situations positively, while Jack response to situations with a negative reaction.
...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.
Ralph was starting to notice all the differences between night and day. He realized his choices don't only have an affect on that moment but affect every moment after it. Ralph was very scared and for a moment he thought Piggy should be chief. “He could go step by step inside that fat head os his only Piggy was no chef. But Piggy for all his ludicrous body had brains.”(78) As Ralph was starting to question if he was fit to be chief he thought of Piggy and how intelligent he is. Although Piggy is intelligent he doesn't have the ‘look’ to be a chief. Today's society has a specific way of thinking we want our leader to look like a leader. With Piggy's intelligent mind he knows how the boys should live but they don't like to think that way and Piggy was not happy about what they were becoming.Piggy decided to tell the boys how he felt and thought about them in a rhetorical way. “‘Which is better to be a pack of painted indians like you are or to be sensible like ralph is?...which is better--to have laws and agree or to hunt and kill?’” (180) Piggy didn't change his mindset from the beginning of the book to the end. He believed that they needed rules and laws. In the beginning he was a timid boy who did not like speaking in front of the boys and only told ralph about his thoughts but towards the end of the book you saw his personality become more open
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated, "I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right, and that is good,” and a character from "Lord of the Flies" applies to this, and his name is Ralph. He symbolizes civilization within William Golding's allegory. First off, he brought up the idea of designated chief to lead the survivors, rather than anarchy. Also, being elected by most of the survivors and they trusted him to help them. Concerning the idea of being rescued, he constantly enforces the idea of the fire. The idea is for someone not on the island see the boat and to leave the island. Due to that, Ralph places a rule of having a fire constantly on. This rule, along with the many others
From a well behaved boy to a crazy island man, Ralph had been it all. In the beginning of William Golding's book Lord of the Flies when the plane crashed, and he was saved by the naval officer Ralph had always been the real leader. When a person changes is there a part of their past that is still left inside of them or is it completely forgotten? For Ralph, while he resented the change inside of him it still slowly took over him. The laid back leader was disappearing and a more serious Ralph was appearing. The boys who would soon become his island family wondered if his change was for better or for worse. There are two choices for Ralph. He could evolve like a tree or a butterfly. For example as a tree changes no matter a tree is in its cycle of growth and it never forgets that it started as a young little sapling. Or on the other hand a butterfly who will completely evolve from a cocoon to a butterfly and forget its past completely.
Ralph and his intellectual but physically unfit assistant, Piggy, have to stand their ground in order to prevent Jack, his “hunters”, and the fear of the mysterious “beast” from collapsing the foundation of society and civilization that the survivors had worked so hard to Even though Ralph does have many characteristics that the survivors respect, he still has the mindset of a twelve-year-old boy. At the beginning of the novel, Ralph seems to not notice that they are in grave danger of being lost from society. He strips off his clothes at the beginning of the chapter, highlighting his inner “animal” and child-like instincts. Like a child, he laughs and mocks Piggy for his name, something a more mature character would not do. Later, when all of the savage-turned boys rip apart Simon because they mistake him for being the beast, Ralph cannot help but join in, revealing his true, immature nature.
My name is Piggy the first day I met Ralph I thought I was going to have a best friend. Come to find out he is the complete opposite of what I expected. The first thing he does is call me Piggy, a name that I got from being teased in school. Then I showed Ralph how to use the sea shell as a conch and he does not even say thank you. When Ralph finally got the hang of the conch he blew it so loud that all the birds flew into the air. Next thing we know tons and tons of children start to come out of the woods. Once we noticed that there were no more children coming, there needed to be order. Since I taught Ralph how to use the conch everyone thought he should be leader which he gladly accepted. After that we met a kid named Jack and his choir boy's. He was very mean to me and picked on me all the time. Jack and I might not become good friends but it looks like Ralph and him get along that's all that matters, that everyone can get along. I have to go now because some children are coming over I will try to write back as soon as I can bye.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel about human nature and the functions of society. One of the main characters in this novel is Ralph, who is chosen to be the leader of a group of boys. He assigns tasks to the boys and tries to keep them accountable for it. However, the boys begin to slack because they can no longer see the point of these tasks and rules. As a result of the constant slacking the boys soon turned into savages. Ralph’s struggle to maintain order amongst the boys shows how without rules it is human nature to descend into savagery due to the avoidance of authority.
The main character is Ralph, a boy of "twelve years and a few months," is the first character the reader meets in the novel (Golding 10). The narrator is direct when describing Ralph's physical characteristics: "You could see now that he might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil," (Golding 10). The narrator's first description of Ralph is his fair hair. Within direct characterization and straightforward statements, the narrator includes indirect comments on Ralph's nature. For example, the narrator implies that Ralph has a kind nature by saying his eyes and mouth bear no evil when talking about Ralph's build. Ralph is implied to be the largest and oldest boy on the island when the narrator notes, "The decrease in size, from Ralph down, was gradual," (Golding 59).
Ralph and simon that the rest of the kids horesplay was a bad idea. In the novel Golding writes, “Shouting that he is the beast, the boys descend upon Simon and start to tear him apart with their bare hands and teeth. Simon tries desperately to explain what has happened and to remind them of who he is, but he trips and plunges over the rocks onto the beach. The boys fall on him and violently kill him” ( ). This just goes to show us that the other boys’ horseplay and beliefs lead to bad things. Ralph did not take part in this act because he knew what was wrong.
However, at the end of the book, he simply stood for a common human being. In the beginning of the story, before a formal introduction, Ralph was described simply as “a fair boy.” This already sets him out in a favorable light. Then it further describes how he is apparently good-looking and has the natural air of leadership. Of course, the conch played a big role when the kids voted him for leader, but his appearance played a large role as well. For the good first part of the book, Ralph has always symbolized leadership. As the story progresses and the kids became more and more distant from the idea of civilization, Ralph became more like a representation of common sense. Golding wrote, “‘I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can’t even build huts-then you go off hunting and let the fire-’ He turned away, silent for a moment. Then his voice came again on a peak of feeling. ‘There was a ship-’” At this part, Ralph criticized Jack for not doing the necessary civilized things in favor of quenching his thirst for a hunt. As more and more of the kids become more and more uncivilized, Ralph became one of the last voices of common sense. When Simon and Piggy died, Ralph was the last one who retained that common sense and yearned for civilization. He had no leadership powers left anymore, and he stood for nothing more than a
It seems as though there is so much more evil than good in the world today. We hear of war and fighting 24/7 but we rarely hear about the good things that happen. Everyone is born with both good and bad within them. We, as humans, must choose which one we want to be. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph is good while Jack is evil. Ralph represents the good side of us while Jack represents the evil side. Although sometimes it is easier to be evil, it pays off to be good. The novel is a perfect example of how all people are born with both sides. At the beginning, the boys choose the good side, with morals and civilization. But as the story moves on, the boys find it more exciting to be on the bad side. It shows that all the boys are torn between good and bad and there is a very thin line that separates both. We realize that people are born inherently good and bad because in life there are always right and wrong choices, children are born good but are easily influenced to do bad, and it is always harder to do what is right than what is wrong.
Ralph first takes on the position as leader at the beginning of the story, when the rest of the boys vote him in as chief. He carries this position until Jack and his fellow hunters break away from the group. Ralph makes it his job to set out the rules to organize a society. Ralph always thinks of what is best for everyone and how they will all benefit from his decisions. Rules and standards are set when Ralph is the chief. He orders the group to build the basic necessities of civilization, shelters, and most importantly to keep the fire going, in hope that they will be rescued and return to humanity. "But I tell you that smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one" (Golding 75). Jack, on the other hand, takes on the idea of every man for himself. He does not care about making homes, only about hunting. When Jack is the leader, evil takes over and all good is destroyed. Under Jack's power both Simon and Piggy are killed.
Describe an important character and explain why they are important. Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Ralph Describe an important character and explain why they are important. An important character in Lord of the Flies by William Golding is Ralph. Ralph is a strong leader in the book who all the boys respect,