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Lord Of The Flies Ralph Character Analysis

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Lord Of The Flies Ralph Character Analysis
Throughout the book, examples of Ralph’s common sense characteristic appear. He thinks through decisions logically and completely, keeping the well-being of the entire group in mind. Keeping the fire lit remains a recurring issue on the island. Ralph understands the essential nature of the fire for building signal fires to alerting distant ships that may pass by to their location on the island, a concept not fully appreciated by fellow islanders, specifically Jack and his hunting posse. If other boys embraced the same level of common sense and rational thinking as Ralph, their rescue may have been expedited without reaching the point of the coup d’etat led by Jack against Ralph near the end of the book. Further evidence of Ralph’s common sense …show more content…
Ralph’s leadership ability is revealed from the very first time he encounters Piggy on the island, until the end when he has no one left to lead. One clear example of Ralph’s leadership occurred at the beginning of the novel when elected leader by the group. After being elected, Ralph immediately delegates power as shown in the quote “I’m chief then. The circle of boys broke into applause… The choir belongs to you of course. They could be the army or hunters” (William Golding 23). Another display of Ralph's leadership occurs when Ralph discovers the unlit fire shortly after seeing a ship pass in the distance. Realizing this lapse, Ralph uses his leadership to crack down on some of the lazy hunters and reiterates that the signal fire should be their first priority. In order to maintain order on the island, Ralph use his leadership position and ability to set up a list of rules that the boys on the island should follow, for instance bringing order to meetings by requiring all to remain quiet except for the boy holding the conch. Without the strong leadership skills shown by Ralph, the boys of the island might not have survived. David Bender talks about Ralph's leadership skills when he states “He is everything a leader should be, handsome with fair hair, good build and a natural ability to command” (David Bender 32). This quote furthers my position that Ralph exhibited

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