How Does Ralph Survive In Lord Of The Flies

“No one is born bad” (Sachs, 1). For instance, in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the English boys were not born bad, nor were they bad when their plane crashed and when they were stranded on the island. However, as time went on the boys started committing evil actions. At first, the boys tried to create a civilization like the ones that they came from and elected Ralph as the leader. This method of survival worked for a very short period of time, but it eventually was ruined completely when Jack created his own tribe dedicated to hunting. One group consisted of Ralph, Piggy, Samneric, Simon and some littluns, and the other group was Jack, Roger, Maurice and many more. One day, Jack’s tribe had a feast and Ralph and his tribe joined

them. The boys at the feast started a chant and a dance. At the same time Simon walked into the group. The violent boys, now savages killed Simon, the most righteous boy on the island. Ralph, although people may argue he was pressured, he was responsible for the death of Simon and should face the consequences.
Even though Ralph knew that the dance was turning into murder he stayed with the group of boys and contributed to Simon’s death. “‘That was Simon… That was murder,’ Ralph said” (Golding, 156). Ralph obviously knew that they were not just hurting Simon. This situation ended in murder, and Ralph knew that it would, but he did not stop it. As the original chief, Ralph still had some power. If he would have told the boys to stop, they would have at least considered his idea, but he kept quiet. Ralph’s silence deprived Simon a chance at living. Simon not only died, but he died in a painful way because of Ralph. Ralph should be as responsible as the other boys, if not more responsible for Simon’s death, because he was the elected chief and he could have used his power to stop the situation.
Likewise, Ralph fully understands right and wrong, so he should be held accountable for his own actions and inactions that led to Simon’s death.

“Piggy and Ralph under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society” (Golding, 152). Ralph realizes that this group of boys is about to do something that they might regret, but he joins the dance anyways. Ralph does not follow anyone. He joins the dance on his own, out of his own best interest. He knows that it is the wrong thing to do, but he still does it, which means he is mature enough to endure the consequences. As an older member of the tribe Ralph should know to think things like this through. “At the age of 7, a child is considered by the Roman Catholic Church to have reached the ‘age of reason’” (Sachs, 1). Not only has Ralph reached the “age of reason” but the other boys believed he was capable of making well reasoned decisions when they elected him as the leader. If he can be a leader, he should be held accountable for his actions. Ralph did not just let Simon get killed on accident, he knew that it was wrong, but he let it continue. Ralph not only took part in the killing, but also did not stop it when he could have, which makes him a

killer.
On the other hand, it can be argued that Ralph was scared and forced into the circle without knowing that they were killing Simon. This is completely incorrect because Ralph was not forced into the circle nor was he forced to come to the feast. He may have been scared, but that is not a valid excuse to kill someone. In “Why Boys Become Vicious” Golding says, “There are, for instance, conditions in which cruelty seems to flourish, which is different from saying that it has clear causes. What are these conditions? Chaos is one, fear is another” (Golding, 1). Golding explains that brutality and savagery may be more common when fear is involved, but fear does not give Ralph a justified reason to kill. Besides being scared, Ralph and Piggy just ventured over to the feast. They could have stayed back at their own camp. Also, no one forced them into the dance. When the dance started, Ralph knew that they were killing Simon. He knew that the dances led to violence, but he decided to join anyways. Ralph had many instances when he could have stayed out of the conflict, but he joined anyways, which means he should face the consequences of murder.
All things considered, Ralph should face some of the blame for the dance that led to the death of Simon. He was involved as much as every other boy there. Although he may not have led the fight, he still participated in the killing, which makes him a killer. He had many chances to stay out of the fight. He could have stayed with his own tribe and not come to the feast at all. He also could have left the feast when it got violent, but he stayed even with his prior knowledge of the dances. Ralph not only should have stayed out of the fight he also should have stopped the fight. Ralph deserves to blamed because if he would have stopped the fight Simon might still be alive.