In book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Golding uses different characters to represent different types of people in the real world. One of the two main characters he used this for was Jack and Ralph. When the boys crash landed on the island, they all group together and decide on a leader. Although Jack has the support of the choirboys, Ralph wins by popular vote. Jack is unhappy that he didn't win but Ralph allows Jack to be the leader of the hunters. As the novel continues, Jack and Ralph begin to clash more and more. The power switches towards the end of the book to Jack. Jack leads the boys into a more savagery way and focuses more on hunting than getting rescued. Throughout the book, Jack and Ralph shows similarities and differences. Jack and Ralph demonstrate …show more content…
their similarities and differences through their values, their leadership methods, and their personal relationships. Jack and Ralph have many differences in their values. One of the main differences in values that Jack and Ralph have is that Jack represents the id and Ralph represents the ego throughout the book. Jack is the id because he does almost whatever he wants and doesn't consider the consequences his actions have on himself and the other boys on the island. One of Jack’s passions in the book is hunting which has a big impact on the other boys on the island. When Jack comes back from killing his first pig, he is confronted by the others boys and Ralph says angrily to him “There was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out!” (Golding 70). This demonstrates how Jack represents the is because he is more focused on survival and hunting than getting saved. This mistake causes an even bigger divide between Jack and Ralph because Ralph represents the ego in the book. Ralph symbolizes the ego because he focuses on the reality of the situation the boys are in on the island. While Jack is busy hunting and focusing on what he wants to do, Ralph stays at the base and tries to do things to better the group of boys as a whole. He, with the help of others, sets up a fire on top of the mountain and assigns the hunters to keep the fire going. He also shows characteristics of the ego because Ralph tries to organize the boys and make rules on the island. Jack always tries to do the most realistic choices throughout the book as he displays this by saying “What’s the most sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly for debate nor dignity of the conch” (Golding 196). Ralph is shown here that he is always thinking about what is the best and most sensible thing to do in a situation proving that he represents to ego. Overall, Jack and Ralph’s values are very different and this causes many conflicts on the island. Jack and Ralph have different leadership methods in the way they control people and their style of leadership.
Ralph’s way of leading the boys represents a more democratic way of leading people. Ralph uses the conch shell to give the group of boys together. The conch shell represents order with the boys and it gives each boy on the island a chance to say their opinion. When Ralph is making rules, he say “And another thing. We can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have to have ‘Hands up’ like at school... Then I’ll give him the conch” (Golding 33). Ralph takes a different way on leading the boys on the island. Jack uses the fact that the boys are scared of the beast to his advantage when he leads. Knowing that the beast is feared, when Jack becomes the new chief he says “And then- about the beast...We are gonna forget about the beast” (Golding 133). Jack shows the boys that he is not scared of the beast which makes the other boys want to follow Jack. Since there is this huge fear of the beast, the other boys on the island are more likely to want a leader who shows no fear of the beast at this point of the novel. In summary, Jack uses fear as a leader and Ralph uses order to control the
boys. One similarities that the Jack and Ralph share is the way they form and keep personal relationships in the novel. Jack and Ralph makes relationships with the other boys on the island because they both have power. This means that the other boys look up to Jack and Ralph which makes the other boys want to become close with Jack and Ralph. Since the beginning of the book, Piggy becomes very close with Ralph. Piggy is scared of Jack and Ralph protects and stands up for Piggy. Golding brings their friendship out bay writing “"If you give up," said Piggy, in an appalled whisper, "what 'ud happen to me?" (93). Piggy is deeply afraid of what Jack would do to him if Ralph wasn't in power. Jack, although doesn’t have any close relationships like Ralph and Piggy have, he also gains friendships using his power. Towards the end of the book, most of the boys listen to Jack’s rule because he has power. The others boys on the island feel safe with Jack as Piggy feels safe with Ralph. Jack and Ralph show similar tactics in making friends on the island. To conclude, Golding uses two characters, Jack and Ralph, to bring out their similarities and differences. Jack and Ralph do have their similarities in the book but they definitely have more differences. Jack towards savage early on in the book while Ralph tries to stay more civil in his actions. Although, Golding does include Ralph in the killing of Simon to show that Ralph is also changing. In conclusion, Jack and Ralph have many differences and similarities that are shown using different sequences in the book.
The Lord of the Flies is a gruesome story about young boys stranded on an island, who underwent a transformation from polite British choir boys to savage hooligans. One of the main difficulties the boys face during their adventures upon the island, is their method of government, they either follow the path of Ralph, the democratic leader whose main focus is to escape the despairing island; or Jack a power-hungry monarchical leader who won't ever take no for an answer. The two boys are constantly bickering and arguing over who deserves the leader-position. We all understand Ralph wants to be leader so that he can ensure that the boys will return back home, but in Jack's case, it is a constant mystery to us about why he wants power over the other children. But we do get much small hints from the author, William Golding, that Jack's biggest fear among the other children on the island is public humiliation. This becomes more and more evident the farther on into the book, and his fear seems to be what persuades him to reach for a powerful position.
Ralph shows that he has a better understanding of the boys than Jack. He knows that the boys need some sort of order on the island in order for them to survive. He starts a simple form of government and sets a few rules for them. Even though they don’t last very long, the fact that he tried to help the group is what makes him a better leader. Ralph’s wisdom and ability to look toward the future also has an advantage over Jack. He has a sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. When the fire goes out, Ralph gets upset because the chance to be rescued was gone as well. Ralph enforces his role of leadership as he gives the boys a sense of stability of an authority figure. He keeps the boys in pretty good order at the meeting by making a rule that they can only speak if they have the conch. Ralph knows that the littleuns are afraid and they need shelter to feel more secure. They work together for a while, but as the time goes on the smaller boys want to go play. They slowly lose all their help until Simon and Ralph are the only ones left to work on them. Ralph knows that this is a necessity and keeps bringing it up at the meetings. Jack, on the other hand, is doing nothing but causing chaos.
"They looked at each other, baffled in love and hate," (Golding 71). In the tale of Lord of the Flies by William Golding, in attempt to escape from their boarding school during WWII, numerous British schoolboys end up stranded on an island after the catastrophe of a plane crash. Before long, innocent kids are dying, society is falling apart, and anarchy reigns. The dominate characters in Lord of the Flies, Jack and Ralph, are two boys of the same age and who battle constantly for power throughout the entire novel. While Ralph possesses some rescue skills, Jack possesses survival skills which ensure him to live a moderate life while stranded on the island. Jack also accomplishes many things while living on the island, such as creating a tribe, whereas Ralph only achieves starting a small fire atop a mountain in attempt to be rescued. Considering these facts, Jack is the better leader in Lord of the Flies.
the two of them. Ralph wins the vote and is given the role of leader
Throughout William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies there is an ever-present conflict between two characters. Ralph's character combines common sense with a strong desire for civilized life. Jack, however, is an antagonist with savage instincts, which he cannot control. Ralph's goals to achieve a team unit with organization are destroyed by Jack's actions and words that are openly displayed to the boys. The two leaders try to convince the boys that their way of survival is correct.
In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies Ralph though not the stronger person, demonstrates a better understanding of people than Jack which gives him better leadership qualities. Ralph displays these useful human qualities as a leader by working towards the betterment of the boys' society. He knows the boys need stability and order if they are to survive on the island. He creates rules and a simple form of government to achieve this order. Jack does not treat the boys with dignity as Ralph does. Ralph understands that the boys, particularly Piggy, have to be given respect and must be treated as equals. This makes Ralph a better leader as he is able to acknowledge that he was not superior to any of the other boys. Ralph's wisdom and ability to look to the future also make him a superior leader. Ralph has the sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. He insists on keeping the fire burning as a distress signal. Ralph's leadership provides peace and order to the island while Jack's leadership makes chaos.
With no adult supervision on the island, someone needed to be appointed to lead the group. This is where trouble started. In the novel, Golding had Ralph elected chief because he is holding the conch, which symbolizes power and authority. Adults are the ones that usually hold the authority, and that is what the children needed. When Ralph was holding the shell it got the boy’s attention because it was very shiny. Jack wanted to be leader, but he was not chosen. He is very arrogant and did not care about anyone but himself. Jack was mortified when he was not elected to be in charge. Ralph does realize that he needs some control, so he gives Jack control of the choir boys.
In the midst of World War 2, a group of English schoolboys find themselves stranded on a deserted island after their evacuation plane is shot down. With no adult survivors, the boys try to maintain civility by forming a government and electing a leader while they wait for rescue. Conflict immediately arises as Ralph, our protagonist is pitted against another boy named Jack in a fight for power.
William Golding’s interpretation of the characters in the novel Lord of the Flies, shows power in each of them. Each of the main boys approach the use of power in different ways, it tells a lot about the character and clarifies the characters traits. Ralph is the first lost boy we meet, and is chief. Also, he has the conch, the conch symbolizes power and order. Ralph gets a head start in the island in leadership. While most of the other boys are having fun, and avoiding work, Ralph sets about building huts and thinking of ways to maximize their chances of being rescued. Instead of getting caught up in the hunting bloodlust, he proposes something practical and sensible- to start a fire. “Something deep in Ralph spoke for him. ‘I'm chief. I'll go. Don't argue.”(114) Ralph is not the one agreeing to go look for the beast; it is the chief inside of him. He is a good example of how power can actually make you better. For this reason, Ralph’s power throughout the story has been for greater good. Another character that shows power is Jack, Jack’s use of power the complete opposite of Ralphs. From the beginning of the novel, Jack wants control. He wants to be leader but loses against Ralph. Jack becomes the leader of the hunters and says that hunting is the most important thing to do, not the signal fire. When the ...
While the boys are under Jack's control, they quickly went back into how they started when they first got there. However, Ralph was able to keep the boys under control by holding meetings. At the meetings, a sense of order is instilled because the boys are not allowed to speak unless they have the conch shell. "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (p. 31) By making this rule, he gains respect from the boys and becomes for confident as a leader. Ralph uses his power to tries to make the boys better people. He shows his by building them shelters. "They talk and scream. The littuns. Even some of the others." (p. 53) Ralph is saying that the boys need the shelters because they are afraid and the shelters will help the boys feel more secure. This shows he has better knowledge of people making him a better leader than Jack who does not understand this. Jack does not realize that the boys need to feel secure and need someone in control.
Have you ever read Lord Of The Flies? If not you should because it is a thought provoking and interesting book. In the book Lord Of The Flies by William Golding a group of plane wrecked boys attempt to lead themselves, Ralph being one of the main characters. Throughout the book Ralph attempts to maintain authority and civilization; often ending up facing against Jack, with whom he struggles for power; often struggling over one of the three powerful symbols revealing his inner nature.
If I had a choice between Ralph or Jack I would choice Ralph. I believe that Ralph has better ideas and knows whats needed. He knows whats necessary if a person wants to get off the island. He had the idea of a fire to get attention but Jack thought it was better to go hunting. Hunting is needed but if theres an opportunity for rescue then I think a fire is more important. Also, he supports Piggy. I feel sorry for Piggy because the other boys pick on him. Jack is not a bad leader but I think he doesn't knows what the fundamental needs are. The only reason I would choose Jack as a leader would be because he is better at hunting. This island is dangerous with boars and the “beastie” so choosing a leader is important
William Golding’s Lord of The Flies is an adventurous story about schoolboys stranded on an island without an adult. When they realize they need a leader, they elect one of the boys as chief to be in charge of them as they find a way off the island. Jack and Ralph, two characters described as bigguns, wanted to be leader. They had to consider many things when they vote for a chief. The two boys had different qualities and abilities. Jack and Ralph are both good leaders for different reasons, but Ralph is the best option.
Jack is the character that provides us with one of the main conflicts besides the fact they are stuck on the island. Without him Ralph wouldn’t have anybody to compete against for the right of leader in their group. On top of that, if he weren’t on the island then the story would just go on and on with Ralph talking about how the group stranded were just trying to keep alive on the island and probably some stuff on the Lord of the Flies attacking the children until they were eventually rescued. The author would have still made that pretty interesting like when Ralph encounters the pig skull on Page 185, but it wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as reading about how everything starts to fall apart and paths diverge while still having the Lord of the Flies there. What makes Jack unique from the others who rebelled, is that he could do it on his own. He would be able to survive out in the jungle for a good amount of days, but if he were to gain the control he wanted then he would need to have others who would help him reach that power. What that does is add a main rival for Ralph in the story and can make them both get really fired up and strive to get stronger. “Jack wrenched free and swung at Ralph with his spear. By common consent they were both using their spears as sabers now.”(Page 177) Shows that they aren’t afraid to get at each other. Overall, he demonstrates the insanity side very clearly in the book with his ‘tribe’ and how they act towards the other survivors. “The liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.”(Page 172) Illustrates they are truly seen as the savages of the
In Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, the two main characters, Ralph and Jack, are twelve years old on an island with no adults. Their power clashes against each other in their fight for control on the island. When Ralph makes decisions he thinks about what others want, but when he should be assertive he is not; Jack is a very effective leader because he identifies with the other boys, but he is immoral. Ralph and Jack’s strengths and weaknesses are what make them the kind of leader they were. During their time on the island they experience many challenges that tests their leadership abilities.