Ralph Isolation In Lord Of The Flies

Have you ever wondered what would happen to a group of young children if they were stuck on an island with no adult? This is the exact scenario that was depicted in William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies. Children from the age of six to fourteen unexpectedly crash land on a deserted island, with no adult to assist them. No one has any idea whatsoever about whether they will be rescued or not. Some of these boys take a step forward to keep order between their minuscule population. One of these main characters is Ralph, a boy no older than twelve year. He had blown the conch shell, which allowed all the boys on the island to find each other. This prompted everyone to elect him as their chief. The way Ralph acts also plays an immense role

When the boys first arrive at the island, Ralph is very self-assured. As soon as he is elected as chief, he decides to tell everyone what to do, with strict confidence that his thoughts are right. He says to the boys, “Everybody must stay round here and wait and not go away. Three of us- if we take more we'd get all mixed, and lose each other- three of us go on an expedition and find out” (23-24). When he obtains the right to make decisions, Ralph immediately does so. He knows that what he is doing will benefit everyone, and that it is a very well thought out plan. However, later on, Ralph starts to become more self conscious, and doubts what he's doing. Jack, the choir leader, causes Ralph to feel intimidated, as if the boys on the island would rather have Jack be their leader. Ralph loses hope because the other boys do not care about going back home. They just want to have fun on the island. When talking to Piggy and Simon, Ralph explains, “If I blow the conch and they don't come back; then we've had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued” (92). According to Ralph, there is no hope for any of the boys on the island. He thinks he is not a good enough leader, which is why the boys are not listening to him, and that this will lead to the boys being stuck on the island for the rest of their lives. Ultimately, Ralph’s lack of confidence in himself is

For example, in the beginning of the book, the only thing he cared about was finding a way off the island. He did not care about how he acted towards the other boys. This was displayed in his relationship with Piggy. Before, when he had just met Piggy, Ralph did not even bother to ask about what his real name was. He laughed about Piggy’s nickname, and it did not affect him that Piggy was hurt by this. In fact, he went on and told the others about this. When Piggy finally confronted Ralph about this, all that occurred was, “‘Better Piggy than Fatty’ he said at last, with the directness of genuine leadership” (25). This conversation proved that Ralph used to be very insensitive, and only bothered to accomplish his own motives, no matter what it took. He was prepared to sacrifice his friendship with one person in order to satisfy another group of people. As additional events occur, Ralph slowly starts to realize how good of a friend Piggy is for him, and how he could not throw away their friendship for cruel people like Jack and Roger. After Piggy dies, Ralph becomes lonely, and regrets all the times he argued against Piggy. At the end of the story, when the boys on the island are finally rescued, Ralph thinks about this again, and reveals real emotion for the first time. The boys were all crowded around the newcomer, “And in the middle of