In the novel, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, a group of schoolboys is stranded on an isolated island. With no adults around, the boys are left to look after and govern themselves. In order to survive and to ensure that they can be saved, the boys vote and select their “chief”, Ralph. Ralph is described as having “the directness of genuine leadership” and symbolizes order and civilization. Throughout the novel, Ralph goes through the twelve stages of the hero’s journey. Like any story, each character starts with their ordinary life before being called to their adventure, in this case, being elected as the leader. The next steps of the hero’s journey involved meeting his mentors and going on his first adventure. Ralph does face …show more content…
The murder of Simon makes Ralph realize that what they did was wrong. The death of Simon was symbolic. Not only does it show parallels between a christ-like figure, for example, Jesus and that they both died knowing the truth, but it shows that there is no more goodness and that everyone has turned to savagery. The goal of civilization and order reaches a low point when Piggy’s glasses are stolen, another symbol of civilization. Ralph and what’s left of his group decide to take the conch to Jack’s group to remind them the most important thing is to create the fire to be rescued; this slowly leads to redemption for Ralph. This is similar to the character, Thomas, in The Maze Runner where they both betrayed, not only their friends, but themselves as well. Ralph betrays his beliefs in order and civilization when he joins Jack and Thomas betrays both his friends and himself when he realized he was actually helping the opponent. They both redeem themselves by being fully committed to what they believe in: for Ralph, not giving up on civilization and order and for Thomas, to forget the past and focus on defeating the
The Lord of the Flies is a gruesome story about young boys stranded on an island, who underwent a transformation from polite British choir boys to savage hooligans. One of the main difficulties the boys face during their adventures upon the island, is their method of government, they either follow the path of Ralph, the democratic leader whose main focus is to escape the despairing island; or Jack a power-hungry monarchical leader who won't ever take no for an answer. The two boys are constantly bickering and arguing over who deserves the leader-position. We all understand Ralph wants to be leader so that he can ensure that the boys will return back home, but in Jack's case, it is a constant mystery to us about why he wants power over the other children. But we do get much small hints from the author, William Golding, that Jack's biggest fear among the other children on the island is public humiliation. This becomes more and more evident the farther on into the book, and his fear seems to be what persuades him to reach for a powerful position.
In the book The Lord Of The Flies , the characters all have a need for approval, recognition. Alot comes into play when it comes to seeking approval or at least know that they have somewhat of a big role on the island. Ralph is someone who naturally has leadership qualities but doesn’t expect respect, and recognition. Ralph was the one who always had the conch and called assembly's and set rules. In part of the book Ralph gets fed up with all the littluns not listening to the rules so he calls an assembly, and starts talking about the rules after he finishes his speech ¨the circle of boys broke into applause¨( Golding 23).After the boys broke into applause Ralph felt a breeze of pride he also felt importance because “ we all have what we may call the desire for reputation or prestige, recognition,attention, importance or attention”( Maslow 6).
him constantly and the other boys make fun of him. Jack and his followers spend
The novel, Lord of the Flies, is a compelling story displaying the metamorphosis of an individual when faced with external and internal conflicts. Ralph is the first character to be introduced in the book. He is the most likeable as he is charming, athletic, and displays strong leadership qualities. However, as the novel progresses, Ralph loses his sense of civilization and undergoes a change in character discovering the evil man is capable of. Ralph’s metamorphosis is captivating and displays the inevitable loss of innocence.
When Ralph sees the naval officer that appears on the island to save them, he realizes that he will return to civilization. The shock causes him to reflect on what has happened. The rescue does not produce joy; instead he feels despair at what he has been through. He is awakened to the reality that he will never be the same. He has lost his innocence and learned about the evil that lurks within himself and all men through his experiences on the island. Ralph’s revelation to his loss of innocence and societal order among the boys is exemplified through the collapse of the attempted Democratic government, the killing of the pig, and the death of Piggy and Simon.
There are many possible interpretations of the word 'hero': sometimes it simply means the main character of a story, sometimes it denotes a person with a strong character who acts decisively, and sometimes it can mean the person we most admire in a story or who is the greatest force for good. Golding's Lord of the Flies has no clear hero but there are three major characters that could be seen as the heroes of the book.
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
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.
In a group, there are always people who prove to have better leadership skills then others. The strongest of these people can often influence the weaker people into following them. However, the strongest person is not necessarily the best leader as it is proven in William Golding's book, The Lord of the Flies. Although Ralph is the weaker person, he is still able to show a better understanding of people than Jack who is stronger. Ralph demonstrates his excellent leadership skills throughout the book by keeping the group in line, treating everyone with respect, and staying focused on getting rescued.
Ralph is the protagonist of The Lord of The Flies. He was elected leader at the beginning of the novel and is the main representation of order and civilization on the island. At the very beginning, when Ralph finds the conch shell he lifts it up and says “'Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things' (pg.228). To Ralph, a chief is someone who is elected leader and makes important decisions for a group, as he thinks, "if you [are] a chief, you [have] to think, you [have] to be wise... you [have] to grab at a decision" (pg. 10). Being a chief to Ralph means leading people. It does not mean triumph, power, and arrogance; it's about making sure that all the needs of the group as
Both Ralph and Simon did not think the ideas of Jack and the rest of the children were very good because their ideas involved bad choices and horseplay. In the novel, Golding writes, “Piggy urges Ralph to blow the conch shell and summon the boys back
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.
In William Golding’s novel, the Lord of the Flies, even though Ralph became chief of the stranded boys, Jack eventually rose to power through scare tactics, confidence, determination, and control. When Jack demonstrated his leadership skills, it was evident that he was superior to Ralph and would use his sense of Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest) and his oratory skills to surpass and isolate Ralph completely. Regardless of Ralph’s strengths, such as his conch, democratic maneuvers, firm motives, and kind demeanor, Jack’s mere presence ousted Ralph’s chances of taking effective leadership. By using propaganda against Ralph, gaining support from his partisan tribe members, and overpowering Ralph through his persuasive techniques and appearance, Jack clearly demonstrated how his leadership of the island was inevitable.
In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies Ralph though not the stronger person, demonstrates a better understanding of people than Jack which gives him better leadership qualities. Ralph displays these useful human qualities as a leader by working towards the betterment of the boys' society. He knows the boys need stability and order if they are to survive on the island. He creates rules and a simple form of government to achieve this order. Jack does not treat the boys with dignity as Ralph does. Ralph understands that the boys, particularly Piggy, have to be given respect and must be treated as equals. This makes Ralph a better leader as he is able to acknowledge that he was not superior to any of the other boys. Ralph's wisdom and ability to look to the future also make him a superior leader. Ralph has the sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. He insists on keeping the fire burning as a distress signal. Ralph's leadership provides peace and order to the island while Jack's leadership makes chaos.
One of Ralph’s best character traits is his leadership. Good leadership is an important part of keeping a civilization in order. Ralph demonstrates his strong leadership early on in the novel. He knows if the island does not have rules and order it will be completely ch...