Characters are easily the most essential part of any novel. As the heart of a story,, characters can be used to represent a number of things. Certain behaviors are often displayed in a piece of literature by it’s author. Some authors will even unintentionally use their characters to represent some of the same things. Two characters can often teach readers the same lesson. In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Francie and Ralph are an example of this. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn takes place in a poverty ridden neighborhood in Brooklyn, where Francie lives with her family. The novel tells the story of Francie’s life and how she overcomes the challenges she faced. Lord of the Flies is a story about …show more content…
The fact that they come from two different worlds does play a huge part in who they are. By nature, Francie is very protective of her family. When it’s finally time for Francie and her brother to start school, they are required to get vaccinations. During this process, the doctor and a nurse are overheard talking by Francie. After hearing the conversation about how dirty and poor she is, Francie speaks up to protect her brother’s feelings. Specifically, Francie says “‘My brother is next. His arm is just as dirty as mine so don’t be surprised’ They stared at this bit of humanity who had just become so strangely articulate” (Smith 147). This quote is also an example of her bravery. Francie is also a very lonely child and most of her lonliness comes from the fact that her mother favors her brother very clearly throughout the book. Even though her mother loved her, it wasn’t genuine. Betty Smith explains that “she loved her little girl because she felt sorry for her. It was pity and oligation towards her that she felt rather than love” (Smith 96). Along with Francie, Ralph also has many traits besides his intelligence. Ralph is a strong leader from very early in the novel. His confidence is one of the things that allows him to have so much power over the other boys. In fact, Ralph is actually the person who suggest having a leader to begin with, “‘Shut up,’ said Ralph …show more content…
Francie transitions from a young, shy girl into a strong woman. Despite coming from a rough background, she is able to achieve her goals, which turns her into a more generous person. While Francie transitions into something positive and gains more traits, Ralph loses some of his own. By the end of the novel, Ralph becomes disorganized and has lost his belief in order because of the actions of those around him. Golding describes Ralph by saying “His hair was full of dirt and tapped like the tendrils of a creeper” (Golding 183). This is an example of his disorganization because of the hesitance he had in the beginning of the novel to free himself like the other boys. While their appearences adapted to the island, Ralph kept his school clothes and his appearence very tidy until the end. Ralph also begins as a very optimistic boy, but the island eventually forces him to give into the savagery even as he fought against it. By the end of the novel, Ralph was acting less like a human and more like an animal. Piggy’s death is ultimately what destroys Ralph’s innocent character, as Golding says “And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 202). Francie transformed into an even better version of herself, but Ralph ulitimately
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.
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.
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, has four very important dynamic characters. A dynamic character is a character that develops and grows during the course of the story. Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon are four dynamic characters in Lord of the Flies that adapt to their new lifestyles in different ways. Jack is a very important dynamic character in Lord of the Flies because he goes through the most changes during the novel. While on the island, Jack has many life experiences that change him forever. Jack never thought he would live his life the way he is living his life in the island. Jack’s authoritative figure, savage-like/instinctual behavior, and violence are three qualities that make Jack a dynamic character.
...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.
His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy (Golding, 290).
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a novel about British schoolboys, who survived on an island after the plane crash. This novel is an allegory: It is a literary work in which each character, event, or object is symbolic outside of the novel. It is allegorical in the level of society in terms of three major symbols. The conch symbolizes civilization, and helps to possess an organized law and order. Next, Jack, as the main antagonist in the novel, represents a savage in the society. Furthermore, the fire signifies the return of civilization and conflicts within the society. Thus, Lord of the Flies is an allegory for society since it represents good governance, humanity’s innate cruelty, and struggles to the return of its civilization.
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
Loss of innocence occurs throughout the novel. Piggy realizes the change between innocence and savagery when he questions, “What are we? Human? Or animal? Or savages?” (Golding 79). Simon soon follows when he states, “What I mean is…...maybe it’s only us” (Golding 89). Both boys realize the true beast is the group and they end up paying for the uncontrolled actions of others with their lives. The drastic change between civilization on the island causes the group to become savage and feed off of violence. When Golding writes, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 202), Ralph shows his understanding that they need adult authority in their lives and Piggy was the one trying to warn him. Ralph starts to think, “The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away” (Golding 91), when the group starts to lose innocence along with civilization. The late realization adds to the theme of civilization vs savagery and drives the plot to loss of
Ralph, the first character introduced to the audience, is probably the most likable character in the entire story. Although he does not ponder such deeply like Piggy, is not as spiritual like Simon, or as energetic as Jack, there is something in him that attracts the audience. Ralph serves as the protagonist of the story. He is described as being a playful, innocent child in the beginning, but towards the end he matures significantly. In the first chapter where he takes his clothes off and goes swimming like any child would do, he seems to be Adam in the Garden of Eden, a child left to play with the nature.
Ralph's actions as a character in the novel assist in reinforcing Golding's point that the prevalent force within man is evil. While Ralph struggles, albeit unsuccessfully, to maintain a civilized society on the island, he repeatedly tries to resist the temptation of evil inside him. As the island descends into chaos under Jack's tyrannical regime, the rest of the boys on the island let their hair become longer, at the same time becoming increasingly vicious. Ralph tries to ignore the temptation of having long hair, trying to push it back to maintain the good he has inside him. Ralph wants to “have a pair of scissors” to cut his hair, but the hair is coaxing him to let evil dominate (109). ...
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
“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.
...ties between the characters in the way that they act. Also there are similar actions shown in both accounts. Jack and Ralph portray different types of people in these books, but likewise had things in common. Jack and Ralph in the Coral Island are displayed as gentlemen throughout the story, but in the Lord of The Flies they are depicted as the exact opposite of gentlemen; instead they are quick descending into unutterable barbarity. By this the human nature changed the boys dramatically. The boys change shows the true character of them when it comes down to survival. Jack and Ralph have differences in both books with the ways the boys’ actions turn on the island; furthermore there are similarities between them.
... people are out in the wild, and also have no civilization or government to keep their evil suppressed. At the very end of the book when the boys are rescued Golding writes, “ His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (202). In this quote Ralph is crying because he has now lost all of his innocence that he once had before he got on that horrible island, due to everything that has happened on the island. He is also crying because he had just lost his friend Piggy because of the savagery acts of the boys and now he realizes how evil everyone is.
Lord of the Flies, which was written by William Golding, and The Coral Islands, which is written by R.M. Ballantyne were two books about British boys who were stuck on an island. Lord of the Flies is an imitation of The Coral Island. In Lord of the Flies the scene is set up with two boys stranded on an island from a plane crash, in which all the adults died. These boys were schoolboys that later found more boys that were stranded on the island by blowing on a conch shell. They all get together and they all decide to make their own society with a chief or leader. In The Coral Island we experience the adventures of three boys, who were the only ones that survived from the shipwreck on a Pacific Island. These two stories show that, like all great power, some wanted it for good and others for evil and authority. In these books there are many meanings that are shown out through the characters actions and their personalities. The characters that depict these meanings the most are Ralph and Jack. They both have many different opinions and beliefs more than they have similarities. The reason these play such an important role in these two books is that it represents the world today and what they were, which is savage. These two books have an important theme that relates to both of these books, which is that society holds everyone together, and without specific conditioned our deals, values and basic concept of right and wrong are eventually lost to poor authority and selfishness.