Preview

Ralph Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
415 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ralph Analysis
Character Analysis Essay
Ralph is the muscular, charismatic protagonist of Lord of the Flies. Elected the leader of the boys at the beginning of the novel, Ralph sis the prime characteristics of order, civilization, and productive leadership in the novel. While most of the other boys originally are anxious with playing, having fun, and eluding work, Ralph starts building huts and conjuring methods to get the most out of their chances of being saved. For this reason, Ralph’s authority and influence over the other boys are locked at the beginning of the novel. However, as the group steadily submits to savage natures over the progression of the novel, Ralph’s position declines rashly while Jack’s upsurges. Eventually, most of the boys excluding Piggy leave Ralph’s assembly for Jack’s, and Ralph is left alone to be hunted by Jack’s tribe. Ralph’s commitment to civilization and goodness is strong, and his main wish is to be saved and returned to the society of adults. In a way, this strength gives Ralph a proper victory at the end of the novel, when he casts the Lord of the Flies to the ground and takes up the stick it is impaled on to defend himself against Jack’s hunters.
In the earlier parts of the novel, Ralph is unable to comprehend how the littluns and biguns would give in to vile natures of inhumanity and savagery. The thought of the hunters singing and dancing is perplexing and obnoxious to him. As the novel progresses, however, Ralph, like Simon, comes to understand that savagery exists within all the boys. Ralph remains determined not to let this savagery -overwhelm him, and only briefly does he consider joining Jack’s tribe in order to save himself. When Ralph hunts a boar for the first time, however, he experiences the exhilaration and thrill of bloodlust and violence. When he attends Jack’s feast, he is swept away by the frenzy, dances on the edge of the group, and participates in the killing of Simon. This firsthand knowledge of the evil that exists

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Suddenly, Ralph looks up to see a naval officer standing over him. The officer tells the boy that his ship has come to the island after seeing the blazing fire in the jungle. Jack’s hunters reach the beach and stop in their tracks upon seeing the officer. The officer matter-of-factly assumes the boys are up to, as he puts it, “fun and games.” When he learns what has happened on the island, the officer is disappointed, how could this group of boys, he asks—and English boys at that—have lost all reverence for the rules of civilization in so short a time? For his part, Ralph is…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, Ralph is portrayed as the protagonist in the story and Jack is the antagonist. Ralph starts out as the “leader” of the group of boys in the beginning of the novel before their civilization begins to collapse. By the end of the story Ralph is nothing more than prey to Jack and his hunters. Jack is the main reason that the boys commit such barbaric actions. By the end, the reader has witnessed the true lengths mans’ instincts could reach and the evil that is hidden in every person.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the first three chapters of Lord of the Flies, the boys gather together, and start to get organized. Ralph and Piggy are the first boys to meet up and by finding a conch shell they are able to use it as a symbol to gather the rest of the boys together. After electing Ralph as the leader, him, Simon, and Jack set off in an attempt to scope out the island and what it has to offer. Jack and his choirboys are elected as the hunters and designated to keep the watch fire on top of the mountain blazing as a symbol. Jack lets a pig escape so he sets off in an attempt to find more food, while Ralph and Simon work on shelters for the group to sleep in. After weeks of living together and competing with each others every move, Jack and Ralph accept that they mutually dislike each other, and although they try to rectify the hostility…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, “Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, he tells the story of a group of boys stranded on an island. During World War II, a plane filled with young boys got shot down which led the young survivals on a deserted island without any adults. The young boys decide to have a leader who can willingly lead the group to survival. Ralph is chosen to be the leader, yet after a series of events maybe Ralph wasn't a good choice after all. I believe Ralph is the reason of the development of their savage society. Ralph takes responsibility for the island’s decline because his poor leadership skills result in nothing getting done and the young boys breaking into groups rather than cooperating like they should have been…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of the many boys stuck on the island in Lord of the Flies, only one was the protagonist of the story. This boy was Ralph. In the first chapter, Ralph was the one who found the conch with Piggy and called an assembly to unite the boys and see who all was on the island. In this assembly, Ralph gets voted leader most likely because he just assumes the responsibility of the leader right off the bat and the fact that he has the conch. Ralph has several main things that are important to him that he tries to get the boys to do including building shelters and keeping the fire going. Jack has very opposing viewpoints to Ralph because Jack just wants to hunt and have fun.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies', a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island alone after a plane crash. They attempt to form a society and elect a 'chief', however this fades and the boys begin to destroy the island and each other. Ralph, the main character and 'chief' of the society the boys initially form, is a character who drastically changes throughout the narrative.…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    -Ralph is a little on the contrary, where as he should be happy, cheerful to be safe he begins to think about all that has happened and how this has changed him. Ralph now understands what was that happened, he realizes that Piggy was amazing and he let the opportunity pass. Indeed he could picture things being different from how they were. Although the boys are now rescued in comparison to other books who’s endings are joyful and celebration type, Lord of the Flies hade more of a reflexive ending in which the main character Ralph, is left thinking. Ralph is now a changed person, he will look at life through a different aspect, and although people might see this a very bad thing for the boys that experienced this might see it as a positive thing. He knows he will never be the…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the very beginning of the book Lord of the Flies Jack wants power and control over the other boys on the island. “I ought to be chief-because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.” (Golding 22) This shows the pride within Jack and how views himself higher than the other boys. Also when Jack lets the fire go out to kill a pig for meat that the group really didn't need and the boys missed a ship because of this. “that was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out! - We needed meat.” (Golding 70) It is at this moment that the reader and the group of boys realize that Jack thinks as an individual and only cares for his wants and not the needs of the group. Unlike Jack who only cares for himself, Ralph does his best to look after and care for the boys of the…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “ Ralph, the representative of civilization and democracy, lives rules, acts peacefully, and follows moral commands and values the good , who dramatically reveals the condition of civilization and democracy in Golding’s time”(Li 119). From the description of Ralph in Lord of the Flies he is automatically recognized as the main character and in like most books the main character is the hero or positive leader in the book “ He is purporting to break the rules and in the newfound freedom, but the irony is that cannot escape has accustomed regime”(Watt 178). This talks about while Ralph walks about the island he tries to be happy about not having any type of structure from an adult but he later finds out that structure is needed in order to keep everything…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Most people experience losing control at one time or another. This often leads them to feel powerless and unsure. In the first nine paragraphs of chapter 7 of Williams Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the protagonist, Ralph relates these feelings to the readers. Jack gaining power and the boys becoming uncivilized creates feelings of helplessness and fear in Ralph.…

    • 334 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lotf Final Essay

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The second Ralph was elected as chief, tension between he and Jack emerged. Ralph temporarily saved himself by giving Jack a prominent role, leader of the hunters. This made Jack seem more important, he was given power by this key role. As Jack’s hunting skills increased he began to slay more pigs and the other members of the tribe looked up to him. He soon became a savage who tortured animals instead of killing them just for survival. The other children were attracted by this, and joined the savage group. Ralph struggled to maintain power because Jack only wanted to have fun and kill, while he wanted to have rules and order so they could be saved.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the first two chapter of Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding illustrates the character Ralph in great detail. Physical attributes of Ralph include blonde hair, mild eyes, tall stature, and an athletic build (1,10, 22). Due to his athletic build and tall stature, Ralph appears to be physically superior to the other boys. Appearance is power, the physical superiority Ralph has over others grants him automatic power; however, because of his mild eyes and fair, blonde hair the other boys are not afraid of him. Ralph’s behavior in the first two chapters displays the powerful and the young, boyish side of his personality. In Chapter One Ralph does headstands, makes fart noises with the conch, and wrestles with other boys (10,27,17). These actions reflect those of a young child without a lot of responsibility, or the actions of a child with a high level of…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They gather and decide that a certain few will go hunt while others build shelter and tend to the fire. Ralph at this point is shown as the leader and guides others into their places. “We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything.” While hunting, it is shown that Ralph could come to kill a small boar. He remained innocent and his morals and innocence still prevented him from doing so. Later on the day, the hunters kill a small pig and bring it back cheerfully and wildly happy. This was the hunter’s first taste of blood which leads to them losing their innocence. "He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling." The boys soon realize hunting is their only way of sufficient way for food. “Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!” While they began dancing, Simon went into the forest and went looking. At first, Simon appreciates the…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When life throws scary and dire situations at you, some believe it is a test to see a person's true colors, and how that person reacts under extreme pressure and conflict. In situations like these, leaders are born. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph becomes a frontrunner as the “chief”, or leader in the story. Ralph struggles to maintain a civil relationship between all the boys, but still remains the more appropriate leader, including his civility, his conflicts, and his purpose.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There’s conflict. Ralph knows that the main reason for the disorder on the island is Jack, representation of evil in the novel. There is a constant conflict between the two boys. Ralph stands for civilized ideals, while Jack leads a tribe of savages and lapses into primitive rituals. In the midst of the savagery, Ralph holds on to rationality and the hope of rescue. There is only one occasion when Ralph lapses into mild savagery; it occurs when he joins the ritual dance at the feast, the same feast where Simon is killed.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics