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Character Study Of Ralph: Lord Of The Flies Essay

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Throughout William Goldings novel Lord of the Flies, we see a post apocalyptic scenario in which a group of young British schoolboys are stranded upon a desert island. The beast within, an evil longing for power, gradually begins to manifest itself inside each of the boys however they all deal with it in very different ways. Ralph is seen as one of the key characters to withstand this base evil nature and shows a strong sense of leadership and righteousness throughout the course of the novel. Although this is the general way in which Ralph would like himself to be seen, he occasionally succumbs to this sense of evil to achieve his ultimate goals. He is the epitome of the wealthy British schoolboy and is a fascinating example of how a civilised boy reacts to such atrocious circumstances as those presented in Goldings Lord of the Flies.

Towards the beginning of the novel, we begin to see Ralphs intelligence and practical approach to situations through his summation of their situation. He states to Piggy, This is an island; at least I think it's an island. That's a reef out in the sea. Perhaps there aren't any grownups anywhere. Although this might seem to be stating the blatantly obvious, it displays keen observation and a willingness to dissect the situation to obtain the best possible outcome. It is largely this lateral thinking and observation that persuaded the other boys to elect him as their leader. The difference between Ralph and all the other boys on the island apart from possibly Piggy is his ability to remain calm in a situation and obtain the best possible outcome for all involved. He also possesses a certain characteristic most akin to charisma that forces all those surrounding him to sit up and listen to what Ralph has to say. Ralph defines this quality also in his first speech as leader; Listen everybody. I've got to have time to think things out. I can't decide what to do straight off. If this isn't an island, we might be rescued straight away. So we've got to decide if this is an island or not. Everybody must stay around 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 will go on an expedition and find out. We clearly see Ralphs intelligence and reasoning skills within the early part of the novel as well as strong leadership skills.

Out of all the boys on the island, Ralph is the most practical yet civilised of all. Simon and Piggy could be considered exceptions to this remark however neither possesses the practicality and ability to get things done that Ralph has. We first see Ralphs practicality when he states that one of the first things they needed to do as a group was to light a fire on top of the mountain for passing ships to see. Ralph reasons that this is the right course of action whilst the majority of other boys are content with playing on the beach and swimming. Ralphs ultimate goals whilst on the island are to get recued, have shelter and ensure the wellbeing of all children and everything he does is with these ultimate goals in mind. He attempts to convince the others that they need to abide to his rules if they wish to live in a clean state and also to possibly be rescued however after they abandon most of his rules he comes down harshly upon them and chastises those involved. Two examples of this are when the fire is not maintained by the hunters and also when the kids do not follow his plans for toileting. This example of Ralph chastising the littluns over their dirtiness gives us a strong insight into the mind of Ralph. We see that he is clinging on to what civilisation is left within him and the thought of this unhygienic act utterly repulses Ralph. Gradually over the course of the novel however, we begin to see Ralphs strong sense of civilisation diminish although he still maintains it more than any other. The mind of Ralph also seems to be a step ahead of those belonging to the others. He cannot comprehend why the hunters would let the fire go out instead focusing on simply hunting. Ralph states; Dont you understand? Cant you see we ought to die before we let the fire out? Ralphs sense of civilisation is far more heightened than that of the others which is exhibited through several instances in the novel.

The major question surrounding the character of Ralph, is whether he was an egotistical, power hungry character or an honest and just leader who led the boys on the island with a great deal of maturity and insight. Ralph was not a clear cut case of either of these personas however the majority of evidence suggests that his intentions were reasonable. Although Ralph may have used forceful language in several instances throughout the novel and sometimes treated people with a great deal of disrespect, for the most part Ralph was simply trying to help the person or group in question. A key example of this is when he speaks with disdain to the littluns with regard to their hygiene and their attitude. This may be seen as forceful and it even could be said that Ralph was trying to assert dominance over the younger boys. However it is quite clear from the text that he was telling the boys off for their own good, he ultimately wanted them to enjoy a high quality of living. This is in complete contrast to the character of Jack who simply abuses his power and asserts his dominance simply out of a primeval thirst for power. In fact, the only instance in which we see Ralph abusing another boy simply for the sake of it is when he teases Piggy with regard to his much hated nickname. Yet even in this most extreme of situation, Ralph shows a great deal of remorse and even apologises to Piggy.

The character of Ralph shows us through his actions and personality within Goldings Lord of the Flies that man does have a just and reasonable side within that can shine through in the most horrific of circumstances.

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