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Sociology of Lord of the flies
Sociology of Lord of the flies
Use of symbolism in Lord of the flies
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Lord of the Flies:
Ralph and the fire
If you were to look into human nature it is quite sad. The author of Lord of the Flies did just that. William Golding uses symbolism to create a universal message in his novel. Ralph and the fire are two of the symbols William Golding has put into his novel. Ralph is the symbol that says “STAY SANE!”. The fire resembles hope which is a symbol Golding has also shown in the book. Hope in imbedded in Ralph to believe that they will be rescued, which demonstrates the theme of society back to the defects of human nature.
Ralph symbolizes democratic and just civilization. Ralph is elected chief and to keep a civilized community together, he says to Jack “the choir belongs to you, of course. They could be the army, or hunters.” (pg. 23) in order to make everyone feel safe and happy. He’s a good chief. Ralph thought towards the middle of the story “if you were a chief you had to think, you had to be wise.” (pg. 78). He knows the importance of what needs to happen in order to everyone to survive. Ralph has gotten through so much in order to keep everyone happy, including himself.
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The fire symbolizes hope and reaching out for help.
Ralph wants to get rescued and needs to keep the fire going, ralph says, “The fire is the most important thing on this island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep the fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?” (pg. 80), concerning everyone to keep the fire going. Ralph later was more desperate for hope that ever, “don’t stop- go on up! Smokes getting thinner.” (pg. 126). At this point Ralph, Sam, Eric, and Piggy are the only ones looking for hope to go home. This connects to human nature defects, by everyone turning to be bad just because it’s
easier. Ralph and the fire correspond with each other by wanting hope. Ralph is wanting to keep the fire going, while the other boys are giving up and refusing to. “We got to keep it going.” (pg. 163) Ralph says. Making it harder to him, Piggy, Sam and Eric to be rescued and to keep their head on straight. The four boys are slowly trying to keep the fire going, but failing because there isn’t enough people to keep it going. These relate to the defects of society, because of one man (in this case child) cannot keep the fire going every day and night 24/7. Lord of the Flies is a great story to see the flaws in humanity, because of the flaws the boys have in this story. Ralph had come so far to keep his humanity sane, but the other boys flaws were dragging him down and literally trying to kill him. The fire was hope for ralph and the boys till the fire was no longer being used for hope. Jack and many of the other boys turned into savages making it hard for the hope to be rescued to be on the island. Defects of mankind can very much be flawed by not only Lord of the Flies, but with several different symbols (people and objects).
The book Lord of the Flies has changing symbolic values in objects and places. These values reflect humanity's nature to become savage. This is demonstrated by the symbols in their mirroring of the boys. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the meaning of symbols evolve throughout the story with the conch standing for civilization and then the breakdown of order in society, Piggy’s specs meaning knowledge then Jack’s power, and the fire first representing hope then ultimately destruction.
With such rigid and different identities, Jack and Ralph have very different priorities, making it challenging for them to work together. Ralph’s identity is threatened when Jack lets the fire burn out to go hunting, so he lashes out at him, accusing him, “I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can’t even build huts-then you go off hunting and let out the fire-”(70, 71). By ignoring what Ralph told him to do, Jack threatens numerous aspects of Ralph’s identity. Ralph identifies with being elected Chief based on his plan to get rescued, so Jack’s insubordination threatens Ralph. Meanwhile,
However, as the plot progresses, Ralph faces both internal and external conflicts; from those conflicts he greatly matures. Ralph always has the strong belief that all the children will be saved from the island sooner or later; he is so sure that he even insists that they should have fire at all times to signal. However, when the boys abandon the fire which is symbolic of Ralph’s hope of getting saved, Ralph faces an internal conflict that makes him fear about their future; perhaps they will not be rescued at all. By insisting that the children should keep the fire going, he creates an external conflict with Jack whose values are different. Jack is enjoying life as a leader of the savages, and he fears that fire will possibly end his authoritarian rule over the savages. Both conflicts are resolved when Ralph finally meets the naval officer.
Ralph, in some ways, parallels a school teacher. He always tries to do what is in the best interest of the community, but sometimes is over powered by the majority and gives in. In over words, he does his best to keep order and peace, but of course can’t all the time because of disagreements, stubbornness and rebellion.
One of the very first announcements Ralph makes is that the boys will be rescued. Ralph has hope that his dad will rescue them. But Piggy, having knowledge and intellect, replies that nobody knows where they are. Ralph then says that they “must make a fire” (page 38). The thought of having a fire going gives Ralph hope. He hopes that if a ship sails near the island, they will see the fire as a signal. Ralph is very optimistic about being rescued on the island. He believes that they will be stranded for only a couple days, however he does not realize that they could be there for a very long time. We light up a fire if we are lost so we can send a signal of to others near the area. If one person was near enough to see a signal, the boys would be rescued. But instead of looking at the world realistically, Ralph is looking very optimistically at the
So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire." pg, 37 Ralph always has the strong belief that all the children will be saved from the island sooner or later, but at the middle of the story. he begins to doubt it. At the end of the story, after the death of Piggy, Ralph’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies, he knocks. over the pig’s skull. " A sick fear and rage swept him away.
He blows the conch and summons the deserted children together” (Li & Wu 1). While all the boys are interested mainly in playing and setting out to satisfy their own needs, Ralph is focused on building shelter and keeping a fire going to facilitate their rescue. As one can see, Ralph is “the representative of civilization and democracy, lives by rules, acts peacefully, and follows moral commands and values the good of the group, who dramatically reveals the condition of civilization and democracy in Golding’s time” (Li & Wu
Ralph tries to resists the urge to become a savage through out the book. Almost all of the other boys become hunters and forget what is important. In the beginning, all of the boys come to the assemblies and decide that Ralph should be the chief. Ralph is the authority figure of the group. He was the one who kept reminding the boys that the fire is the important thing(chpt 4). The hunters let the fire go out and a ship just happens to come along. Because the fire is out, they lose a chance to be rescued.
Ralph was introduced as a fair and likeable boy. His interaction with Piggy demonstrated his kind nature as he did not call him names with hateful intentions as Jack had. His good looks allowed him to be well accepted among his peers, and this gave him enough confidence. His handsome features and the conch as a symbol of power and order made him stand out from the crowd of boys and led to his being proclaimed Chief: "There was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerful, there was the conch" (p. 24). From the quick decisions he made as Chief near the beginning of the novel, it could be seen that Ralph was well-organized. Gradually, Ralph became confused and began to lose realness in his thoughts and speeches: "Ralph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come down." (p. 156) He started to feel lost as the boys, with the exception of Piggy, began to change and adapt to their freedom.. He was more influenced by Piggy than by Jack.
So Ralph had really struggled dealing with everybody. In my opinion Ralph was doing a good job, Yes he kind of gave up for a little bit but he was trying his best as a leader. Instead of just letting everybody go kill animals and run around adventuring like Jack he was trying to protect everybody. Here is a quote when Ralph says “ I'm chief”, because you chose me and we are going to keep the fire going.
Ralph’s power at the beginning is secure but as the group succumbs to their savage instincts, Ralph’s influence declines as Jack’s rises. This is due mainly to the cruelty and violence that goes on in the story. This cruelty reveals that Ralph’s commitment to civilization and being rescued is so strong that he will not allow himself to change his morals and become cruel like the others. The cruelty in this novel also shows that Ralph is a very intelligent character. His intelligence can be proven because there was a point in the novel when he hunts a boar for the first time and he experiences the thrill of bloodlust. He also attends one of Jack’s feast where he is swept away by the frenzy and participates in the killing of Simon. This is a very tragic moment for Ralph because this is when he realizes the evil that lives within himself and every human being. It is the cruel acts that happen in this novel that reveals Ralph’s character of being intelligent and being able to think deeply about human experiences. He even weeps when getting saved because of his knowledge about the human capacity for
He tries to keep a democracy, but Jack's aggressive nature does not allow it to last very long. Ralph is probably the most likable person in the book, because of his good nature and his handsome looks, "His size and attractive appearance". Ralph means "counsel" in the Anglo- Saxon language, and he's the one who calls all the meetings by blowing the conch, and he's chosen as the leader. The conch is seen as a powerful symbol, and he holds it. Ralph does not specialize in any area of human behaviour, except maybe for having common sense (building shelters, climbing the mountain to see if it is an island) and Jack can be seen as his opposite.
Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, took place on an isolated tropical island. There were many symbolic items within the story, and their meanings changed as the story developed. The fire was the symbol of hope and civilization at the beginning of the novel, but at the end it had become a fire of destruction. Ralph, in the beginning of the book, stood for leadership and almost perfection, however as the story progresses, he was nothing more than a normal human. The beast, upon its first appearance, symbolized fear, but soon, it represented the savagery within them. The different symbolic figures within the book, such as the fire, Ralph, and the beast, shifted in meaning as the story develops.
Ralph's society becomes a symbol of the democratic society, where everyone has their rights and an equal say. He assigned the choir as hunters and Jack the position of being the leader of them. The conch becomes an important symbol for authority and civilisation, anyone who holds it has the right to be heard. In Ralph's society everyone works for the benefit of the whole group. Building shelters, looking for food and keeping the fire alive are the three most important issues.
Ralph first takes on the position as leader at the beginning of the story, when the rest of the boys vote him in as chief. He carries this position until Jack and his fellow hunters break away from the group. Ralph makes it his job to set out the rules to organize a society. Ralph always thinks of what is best for everyone and how they will all benefit from his decisions. Rules and standards are set when Ralph is the chief. He orders the group to build the basic necessities of civilization, shelters, and most importantly to keep the fire going, in hope that they will be rescued and return to humanity. "But I tell you that smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one" (Golding 75). Jack, on the other hand, takes on the idea of every man for himself. He does not care about making homes, only about hunting. When Jack is the leader, evil takes over and all good is destroyed. Under Jack's power both Simon and Piggy are killed.