Preview

Morality and Ralph

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
414 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Morality and Ralph
1. Dominant impression: Genuine goodness is rare and can even overtake the sense of order or of savagery. Ralph, who represents order, and Jack, who represents barbarism, both try to look for Simon (representing human goodness), but he doesn’t follow either of them, only his own heart. Genre: Fiction
2.Allegory. Ralph is order, shown when he says “I’ll go on with the shelter”. Shelter, to safety, leadership, thinks about others’ as well, not just himself. Jack is savagery, shown when he says “If I could only get a pig!”. He wants to hunt, resorts to his gut instinct, selfishness, bloodlust. Also this is characterization.
3. Graphic/visual details of Simon’s physique sets Simon as a genuine, Christ-like character. “an air of purpose” Christ’s purpose is to save people. “Skinny boy, chin pointed, eyes so bright” all a sense of brilliance and deep understanding of human nature to its core. “Feet bare like Jack’s”, comparison to Jack. Like Jack, Simon relies on his gut instinct. But instead of being bad, it is good. “frowning at the little house” observant. This is also characterization of Simon as someone caring and genuine.
4. Antithesis between Ralph and Jack. “If I could only get a pig!” (Jack) vs “I’ll go on with the shelter” (Ralph) juxtaposed to show contrast between the two as being very different in morality. Jack is savagery, Ralph is order. Jack is instinct, Ralph is reason. Jack is selfish, Ralph is altruistic.
5. “They looked at each other, baffled, in love and hate”. Juxtaposition “love” and “hate”. To emphasize their differences, contrast, antithesis, etc. They also both respect (?) each other for being “leaders” but in a very different way.
6. “shouting, and splashing and laughing” repetition, establishing rhythm in the actions. Set the atmosphere of the actions as being continuous and numerous and fun.
7. “They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate”. Referring to Jack and Ralph, this shows that they are

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, William Golding depicts morals and the boundaries of society in the form of characters. This essay will compare and contrast the differences between four pivotal characters: Ralph, Jack, Simon and Roger. The goodness and order in society is portrayed by Ralph and SImon. The darkness in human nature is explained through Roger and Jack.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite almost all of the characters going through transitions due to the changed circumstances, Golding depicts Jack as the most explicit figure. “Jack and Ralph smiled at each other…The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs”. Initially, when Jack first shows up on the island, we realize that he is a leader of a choir, marching in military style. Although this foreshadows Jack’s totalitarianism and dictatorship, it still shows the typical characteristics of a typical teenage boy, wanting to take on leadership roles and smiling whenever possible. However, as Jack becomes obsessed with hunting pigs and eventually putting on the mask, he turns savage and gruesome beyond return. The fact that he uses a spear to attack Ralph immediately after Piggy’s brutal death shows Jack has completely lost his rationality and sense of human being.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Simon is an overall really kind person who always thinks of others, and it respectable. In part II of the movie, the hunters finally killed the pig, and after a while of not eating, they could finally enjoy a meal. Everyone got to eat besides Piggy, and when Piggy asked for food, Jack sternly told him no. Simon offered his part of the pig to Piggy, and he accepted. Simon shows how sincere he is in part II of the movie. After the assembly about whether or not there is a ghost, Jack went against the rules and split up from Ralph because he was angry that Ralph opposed going after the beast. Ralph wanted to give up on being chief, but Simon decided to stay back with him and encourage Ralph not to give up on being the leader. Simon constantly does what he thinks is best for not just himself, but everyone else…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The second character trait Simon possesses is that he is devotedly faithful. He is an enormous believer of God and loves sharing his faith with other people. This is proven during various conversations with Reverend Russell and his best friend, Joe Wenteworth. When Simon is talking to the reverend, he suggests that God made him the way he is for a reason and says, “I think I'm God's instrument - that he's gonna use me to carry out his plan.” The last occurrence when Simon is faithful happens when is continually encouraging Joe to be joyful. Simon claims, “Your problem is that you have no faith.” Joe responds, “I got faith. I just need proof to back it up.” Joe is more of a pessimist and practical person therefore Simon is there hence he can cause Joe be further positive.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    William Golding’s character of Jack is the antagonist of the novel who is seen to conflict with the novel’s protagonist, Ralph, throughout. He is presented as being a ruthless and violent dictator and Golding presents him in such a way that the reader has no doubt of his evil nature. As the novel progresses, Jack is presented as a power hungry and bloodthirsty savage who is at the centre of the chaos which breaks out on the island.…

    • 3639 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    this pattern and that character is the protagonist Ralph. Rather than become lower in the progression of…

    • 778 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hunting and Ralph

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages

    They picking fruit and play. They were used now to stomach-aches and sort of chronic diarrhoea. They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages

    1. Jack shows that he is controlling and blood thirsty by wanting to be chief and bossing the choir boys around. Jack as a hunter is insecure in his desire to kill shown by the inability to kill a pig.…

    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As previously read the comprehension that the characteristics symbolized or stood for good and evil through the eyes and hearts of children. Jack was a prime example of the savagery and jealousy in everyone whether they desire it or not. Ralph on the contrary was the symbol for hope and the goodness in everyone. While Piggy was representing order and civilization but also mankind’s innocents or purity form the evilness and savageness that lurks. So Golding’s novel allegory to humanity is that human behavior is savage at nature and evil inherently not depending on age, gender, or…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The lack of supervision and parental guidance has allowed Jack to let go of the restriction that society has put on to him. The community that the boys had flimsily created had begun to fall apart. Piggy, one of Ralph’s last followers and his true friend, tells Ralph that he needs to use his initial leadership status to keep the boys together but it ultimately fails. Jack creates his own tribe to hunt and have fun with him. Piggy is eventually killed by one of Jack’s comrades and Ralph is pushed to run away from Jack’s tribe because he had taken everything from Ralph. The remaining boys are eventually rescued by a British naval officer. Jack and Ralph can be considered two sides of one coin because they’ve both had positions of power throughout the novel. However, the major difference that really contrast the two is Jack demanded attention and power and eagerly to the role of leader. Ralph, contrastingly, had power thrust upon him and most of his factoring leadership qualifications were Piggy telling him what things to do or giving him…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The strong-willed, egomaniacal Jack is the novel’s primary representative of the instinct of savagery, violence, and the desire for power; in short, the antithesis of Ralph. From the beginning of the novel, Jack desires power above all other things. He is furious when he loses the election to Ralph and continually pushes the boundaries of his subordinate role in the group. Early on, Jack retains the sense of moral propriety and behaviour that society instilled in him and ironically in school, he was the leader of the choirboys. The first time he encounters a pig, he is unable to kill it. But Jack soon becomes obsessed with hunting and devotes himself to the task and reacts the characteristics of a sadist or sociopath as he enjoys inflicting pain but shows no remorse and by painting his face like a barbarian and giving himself over to bloodlust his actions escalate more into savagery and away from civilisation. By painting their faces the boys are granted liberation into savagery, at the beginning of the novel they are only boys but with painted faces they have found their purpose and become different men driven by hunting “we want meat”. This portrays ape-like characteristics by using the wrong language and using command words to act as a dictator and undermine the other boys. As the novel progresses the more savage Jack becomes, the more he is able to control the rest of the group. “See, they do what I want”. Apart from Ralph, Simon, and Piggy, the group largely follows Jack in casting off moral restraint and embracing violence and savagery. Jack’s love of authority and violence are intimately connected, as both enable him to feel powerful and exalted. By the end of the novel, Jack has learned to use the boys’ fear of the beast as a catalyst to control their behaviour.…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The first part is Jack in society as a whole. Here, this blood thirsty savage is a symbol of all that is chaotic and disorderly. The tall, scrawny, “ugly without silliness” boy is constantly trying to break away from Ralph, who is orderly, and his rules. For example, Jack always breaks the rule of speaking while holding the conch. He interrupts almost everyone, especially Piggy, when they are speaking. The fact that Jack frequently picks on Piggy is a symbol of how brawn and brutality will often overwhelm intellect (Piggy represents the intellectual part of society). Jack even goes as far as to break Piggy’s glasses, another symbol of order and society, which shows how he is going to later destruct and eventually destroy every last part of normal society that remains on the island.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eulogy for Simon Lotf

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Well, what can I say about Simon. Every one of us here, present today in this memorial, are aware of how such a good person he exerted to be in his short life. I looked up to him, he was like a coach to me, I thought that it was almost impossible for such a pure spirit to be present, and it did; and it was my best companion. He taught me many lessons, which I know they will help me throughout life, and since the day we met I could see a future connection between us. He was one of the best buddies I ever had. Simon was a shy, sensitive boy which made him unique. He was always willing to work for the good of his community. Having a spiritual human goodness that was deeply connected with nature made him so lovable. His name, which means "he whom God has heard," signifies the depth of his spirituality and centrality to the novel's Judeo-Christian allegory. Whenever there was a chance to help someone he took an extra step to do so. The one thing I remember the most about him was his skinny, vivid little body with straight, coarse black hair. In the wind his hair shifted back ever so lightly, making it look longer.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fiction Paper Final Draft

    • 810 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The innocence and virtuousness that Simon possesses is shown by his thoughts and actions. It is apparent that Simon is naïve when it comes to violence in the world because he does not even know what rape means when he is told the girl that used to live in their house was raped and killed. When Simon finds the doll that his brother kills, he “turned her face-down with his toe before he shut off the spigot.” Simon does not like violence and he tends to shy away from it. He shows respect for the doll when he turns it over because he is a kind, thoughtful person. He also shows that he follows rules when he “wait[s] exactly twelve minutes” while his brother places the body and hides. Simon is a thoughtful kid that tries to avoid trouble and maintains respectful intentions.…

    • 810 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph Vs Jack Leader

    • 709 Words
    • 1 Page

    Ralph shows his understanding of human nature by the way he handles the boys. Jack…

    • 709 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays