Preview

Ralph's Fight For Power In Lord Of The Flies

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
815 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ralph's Fight For Power In Lord Of The Flies
Written in 1954 “Lord of the Flies”, shows the fight for power that emerges when a group of school boys become stranded on an island; and how the fight for power will ultimately become their downfall. With all the chaos that emerges Ralph represents the order and, leadership of civilization. He is constantly trying to get the boys to work together to survive on the island; all while fighting with the savage beast inside him.

Ralph is a “fair boy” and the perfect description of a British schoolboy. He is attractive and has a body that in a few years “might make him a boxer”. Ralph is a natural leader, as he discovered the conch which brought all the boys together, because of this he was elected as the chief. He showed that he was wise above
…show more content…
For Ralph, he believes this island is a “good island” as he tells the boys as well as himself this multiple times in the first six chapters. The reader is able to infer that Ralph is not scared of the island as he believes it is good and that they have everything that they need to survive. Moreover, at the end of chapter six, Ralph leads the way as the boys hike up the mountain looking for the beast. Demonstrating that he does not believe in the beast and he has trust that the island will protect him. As well, Ralph has a good relationship with his father, as he tells the other boys how he is sure that his dad knows where they are. He has faith that somehow; even if it seems impossible, his dad will get to him. Furthermore, it was his dad that taught him how to swim which is an important part of Ralph’s life on the island and, will always be something small to remind Ralph of his father even when things get hard. Finally, the last things the reader learns about Ralph is how is frustrated with the boys (especially Jack) for only being focused on hunting instead of helping Simon and him with the more basic survival needs. He feels over-worked and is upset with how everyone else gets to relax and play all day yet, he has to work. Leading to one of the biggest causes of the fights and frustration on the island and ultimately what will be their

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ralph believes that the signal fire should keep going and that they will get rescued, adapts to being called leader, and ignores most of things that other people say about him because he does not care which effects the novel positively. Ralph’s leadership starts of with the belief, “If this isn’t an island we might get rescued” (Golding 30). This quote seems important because what…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ralph believes he will get rescued, manages to keep it intact, and engages in a heavy argument with Jack and Jack’s group which effects the novel negatively. Ralph’s confidence of being rescued helps him with keeping the fire going. Ralph establishes his dominance to the other kids. Ralph and Jack gets into an argument and goes into battle with their…

    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph was one of the schoolboys who became chief of the civilization by vote because he possessed a conch and the kids saw it as a symbol of order and power. He represented leadership and demonstrated common sense. He was the one who thought of the meeting place, the signal fire, and shelters. But the main antagonist, Jack, leader of the choirboys, disapproved of the votes and thought he should be chief because he craved control and wanted to lead both his choir and the group.…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the book, Lord of the Flies by: William Golding Ralph shows the most leadership throughout the novel. Ralph is the leader because he is direct and knows his priorities. He knows what is best for the group. Ralph always makes the best decisions and plans throughout the book. That is why he is the leader in this novel.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory 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

    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…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When a group of British school boys land on a deserted island someone has to step up and lead. A leader should have many noble traits. In the book Ralph is elected leader, in the beginning he was not much of a standout but later in the book we found Ralph has great leadership skills: he tries to keep the peace, was stern when he needed to be, and held everyone accountable for their work.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Golding emphasizes the conflict between two opposite impulses that are inside every one of us: whether to follow the rules and be in order, or to go into violence and turn into savages. Golding expresses this by using the protagonist and antagonist of the story, Ralph and Jack.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph is the elected leader of the group. He continues throughout the whole book to try to keep the order in the book. He first understands that he needs to set up a structure of rules to allow for the group of boys to remain civilized. The first great leadership skill that Ralph has is that he compromises. Ralph is a compromiser. The smartest compromises makes is that he instead of having Jack be upset about not being elected leader he makes Jack be the leader of the hunters. This would allow Jack and Ralph to have a good relationship until the middle of the book where having Jack be the head hunter would cause a split in the…

    • 657 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

    For example, Ralph values rescue over the hunting and killing of pigs. As Jack talks about hunting on the island, Ralph comments, “the best thing we can do is get ourselves rescued” (Golding 54). Ralph knows that even if they don’t die off quickly on the island, they’ll become savages first: “[w]e’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued” (99). He may not understand it completely, but he still senses the slow decay of innocence and knows that the boys need to return back to the adult world before it’s too late. If the boys stay on the island, whatever happens will be worse than even death, and consequently, Ralph puts rescue above meat. He is not swayed by the excitement of being wild, and is constantly reminding the boys that their main goal is to get off the island. His ability to prioritize also motivates him to keep the smoke signal going. After all, “how can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going?” (86). Another example of Ralph’s aptitude for sorting through his needs and wants is shown in his concern over the other boys’ health. While they’re still stuck on the island with no sign of rescue, Ralph wants to ensure everyone’s safety. He works on the shelters diligently, even as the other boys “work for five minutes then wander off or go hunting” (51). Ralph does this because he is not only worried about the rain, but the littluns as well: “they dream. You can hear ‘em...They talk and scream” (53). His concern for the other boys’ safety keeps him from being distracted by the simple pleasures of bathing and hunting. As the chief, Ralph reminds the boys that they’re not invincible and there are many things to be considered when stranded on an island. On the other hand, some will argue that Jack is a better leader because he is naturally authoritative and easily controls the boys. However, the only thing Jack cares about is hunting. He doesn’t give the well-being of…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 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
  • Better Essays

    Ralph's Savagery

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ralph has undergone the devolution from civilization into savagery. In the beginning of Ralph's stay on the island, he is portrayed as a calm, innocent boy, “ a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil” (10). Also, Ralph shows that he cares about everyone on the island not just himself. Ralph’s want's to get everyone off the island by using fire, “There’s another thing.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph, the chosen chief, represents the only symbol of the real world and its adulthood on the island. As Ralph battles the urge to give in to savagery, he tries to keep order in the few children that still listen to him. “Ralph watched them, envious and resentful. Not till they flagged and the chant died away did he speak. I’m calling an assembly” (Golding 75). Golding does not hide the emotions of Ralph to show that he will not be deferred by these savages of his goal of getting off this island. Ralph also knows that when he returns home he will never be the same again. “This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grownups come fetch us we’ll have fun” (35). At this moment, Ralph assumes the position of adult on the island and truly loses his childhood innocence. As savagery continues to rise, it is evident that Ralph’s rule has no effect on Roger.…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays