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Ralph's Influence In Lord Of The Flies

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“The Word, that understandable and lawful Word, was slipping away.” (Golding 82). Ralph, the original leader of the boys in the Lord of The Flies, is initially a great leader and person. Ralph soon becomes pulled by his desires, a recurring theme of human nature seen frequently. Ralph experiences a man vs. societal conflict due to Jack’s influence but is resolved through the arrival of the long-awaited Naval officer. Ralph’s inner conflict of the desire to rule and the desire to be a part of the hunting display both a man vs society and a man vs self-conflict. Ralph realizes at times that by hunting with Jack, he can provide safety needs, but also that he needs to rule the boys rather than Jack. As evident when, “Which is better- to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” (Golding 180). It is evident the boys, as well as Ralph himself, are not sure whether they would rather have food or civilization. This affects Ralph as now he is pulled by hunger and the fact some would rather employ Jack’s rulings. Ralph does, however, take charge and say, “I’m chief… because you chose me. And we were going to keep the …show more content…

Their difference lead to conflict, but initially, Ralph attempts to work together. Golding writes: “Ralph was full of fright and apprehension and pride. ‘I hit him! The spear stuck in-”’ (Golding 131). Ralph is proud of himself for killing the pig, and wants everyone to know. However, this causes problems later as now he is pulled to do so with Jack again. When Jack leaves the boys he takes away their physiological needs, “We hunt and feast and have fun. If you want to join my tribe come and see us…” (Golding 140). Because Jack has food for their boys to eat, many leave with him, causing Ralph to lose his following. This pains Raph and creates a desire in him to get his people back, and rule again. Even though Jack influences Ralph, he is resolved by a Naval

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These boys, Jack and Ralph, both fight for dominance during this novel, whilst grappling with their egos and desires. Ralph is the superior leader in, “Lord of the Flies,” due to his prioritizing the group’s welfare and emphasizing reason over primal instinct. Ralph's leadership prioritizes the group's welfare, he says “We've got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there... ”(Golding 33)

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Golding shows that although Ralph’s leadership starts off strongly, authority based on order will not survive due to man’s savage nature. Like in a democracy, Ralph gets the position of authority when the boys elect him as their leader. As chief,

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In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, there are many possible leaders. Ralph’s adversary on the Island had been Jack, who had been pushing to take over as leader. This caused a lot of controversy among the common people on who is the more powerful leader, rather than the most effective. Throughout the book Ralph has proven to be the better leader in two ways; he’s civilized and organized.

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In The Lord of the Flies William Golding explains in both an innocent yet precise manner the way the rules and laws of civilization disintegrate and loss all value in the face of disorganization and anarchy. Out of all the characters in this dystopic novel, none stand out as much as the main protagonist Ralph. Although all the characters in this novel progress despite being directly in the face of disorganization changes drastically, none do so as Ralph does who must maintain balance and order despite his age and the rebellious nature of the boys. This makes Ralph an extremely relatable character expressly among those who’ve had to lead a rowdy group and to those who’ve had to act as an older brother or sister to others. The situation presented to Ralph in The Lord of the Flies allows him to express as well as develop his skills and qualities of leadership, charisma, and his determent attitude to being rescued.

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Ralph complains about the lack of help in the construction of the shelters, but all Jack can talk about in that same moment is how he should go about hunting to kill a pig. Jack was inconsiderate in the fact that he was not willing to lend a helping hand in the building of the foundation of the group. This was most likely due to the fact that Jack did not agree with Ralph’s ways of ruling, and wished the power upon himself. He eventually took the power for himself when he declared himself leader of a new

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823 Words | 4 Pages

Instead, Ralph becomes conscious of his “filthy appearance” and is discomforted. Considering that he was more concerned with how he looked in front of an adult than potentially being killed, it shows that Ralph’s civility remained intact even after all that happened on the

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199 Words | 1 Pages

In the novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph represents leadership and management, but has the loss of knowledge like Piggy has and is not as cold-blooded as Jack. Ralph relates to Martin Luther King Jr. ’s quote because he goes through many difficulties such as building shelters for the littluns and creating a signal fire to be rescued. In the very beginning of the book, Ralph takes the lead alone when the time comes to explore the castle rock, despite the fears of the so-called beast. Also in chapter two when Ralph said “and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off.”

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Democratic power can be used to control a society, as well as establish a closeness as civilians. To lose sight of this can mean the corruption of a civilization caused by the lack of order. One’s choice of independence in order to better the chances of their survival requires complete dedication and willingness to risk. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph loses his democratic power due to his failure to ensure survival and protect the boys as a leader. Ralph’s failure to lead the group is due to his initial and chronic independence and inability to compete with Jack’s followers, accounted for mainly by fear.

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At first glance, Ralph is a central character who starts and completes William Golding novel The Lord of the Flies. From the onset of the novel, he is described as a “fair boy” with an “attractive appearance” (p7, 29). The author compares his stature as that of a boxer, “as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil” (p11). He has the physique and presence of a typical leader – strong but with a kind heart that makes him trustworthy.

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870 Words | 4 Pages

This is a key moment because the conflict between Ralph and Jack has grown from audible disputes, to a physical divide between civilization and savagery of the boys. “Later in the novel, he even breaks away from Ralph’s newly formed society, forming his own tribe of hunters.” (Neighbors,1) This split shows the growing tension between the boys because they are now also splitting the other boys between the two sides. Ralph states that getting rescued should be their priority while Jack thinks hunting is just as important.

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833 Words | 4 Pages

As the story proceeds, Jack becomes power-hungry and a power struggle ensues. Jack comes out on top, and he becomes an absolute ruler of his tribe. In addition, when Jack decides he’s “not going to be part of Ralph’s lot--”(127) he gets other boys to join him by saying “anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too”(127). Like him, the other boys want blood, thus they join him. He gets boys to join his group with ease, showing us just how natural savagery is for us, and he also shows us how easily the savage within us can be brought

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574 Words | 3 Pages

In chapters 6 and 7, there are more signs of Jack and everyone else disobeying Ralph, implying the further strain of Jack and Ralph’s relationship.    In Chapter 8, Ralph angered Jack simply by calling him and his hunters cowardly and ineffective. In response, he unsuccessfully tries to impeach Ralph then permanently runs away into the forest, with many others joining him. A small provocation from Ralph causing Jack to form his own separate group shows how volatile the tension in their relationship now is. It can also be seen that Jack now fully rejects Ralph’s leadership in favour of his own.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

Since everyone is made to go against Ralph, he feels secluded from everyone else. Towards the end, Jack and his tribe are on a manhunt to find Ralph and kill him. Ralph, thinking miserably of the near future, feels “fear and loneliness goading him” (Golding 210), revealing his isolation from the group due to Jack’s power. Since nobody is there to help or comfort Ralph, he feels

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1091 Words | 5 Pages

Attempting to disrupt everything Ralph attempts to do, Jack symbolizing the clash between totalitarianism and democracy. Jack had already undermined Ralph's rule, dividing the boys. Jack, making empty promises, such as meat and enjoying themselves, lures the members of the tribe to join him and leave Ralph. Strangling Ralph out of power and caring more about himself and the hunt, Jack careens the tribe into disaster as he neglects his responsibilities. Also, to help Jack enforce his bidding, he enlists the help of Roger.

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684 Words | 3 Pages

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Golding attempts to compare and contrast two opposite strategies of control. Golding portrays that while Ralph and Piggy’s government may have been a morally sound solution, the boys chaos is too strong to be controlled by a democracy. It must be controlled by a feared dictator. While the idea of democracy, represented by the conch, is a pure concept and can provide an equal opportunity for all of the boys on the island, the animalistic need for power and chaos that controls the boys can only be reined in by a powerful dictatorship. Democracy on the island could have provided an equal opportunity for all the boys on the island.

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