Characters are easily the most essential part of any novel. As the heart of a story,, characters can be used to represent a number of things. Certain behaviors are often displayed in a piece of literature by it’s author. Some authors will even unintentionally use their characters to represent some of the same things. Two characters can often teach readers the same lesson. In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Francie and Ralph are an example of this. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn takes place in a poverty ridden neighborhood in Brooklyn, where Francie lives with her family. The novel tells the story of Francie’s life and how she overcomes the challenges she faced. Lord of the Flies is a story about …show more content…
a group of young boys who are stranded on a deserted in the Pacific Ocean without any adults. During a fiction atomic war, set around the 1950’s, Ralph, the protaganist of the story, leads the boys to survival. It’s no coincidence that the traits they share lead them to success. Francie and Ralph are two very different children who both expirence hardships throughout their novels but manage to survive using the characteristics they share. A significant difference in Francie and Ralph is their intelligence. Though they are both very smart, the type of intelligence they use in their novels is vastly different. Francie’s intelligence is more along the lines of being book smart. Through her entire life, Francie has been exposed to some type of literature. As an infant, her mother read at least one page of Shakespeare and one page of The Bible every night until she was able to do this on her own. Francie has always valued the importance of education. In fact, Betty Smith explains that “School days were eagerly anticipated by Francie” (Smith 143). School was extremely important to Francie. Even as a young girl, Francie knew it was the way she would make it out of the poverty she lived in. Smith also says that “Francie expected great things from school” (Smith 151). Both of these quotes show how strongly Francie felt about her education. While Francie’s intelligence can be considered to be more along the lines of book smart, Ralph uses his wits as a way of survival. Unlike many of the other boys on the island, Ralph is aware that the boys are in need of resuce. From the beginning of the novel, Ralph knows that rescue is the only way they’ll survive in the long run. William Golding even has Ralph say “the best thing we can do is get ourselves rescued” (Golding 53). Ralph’s hope for rescue is one of the things that makes him able to continue surviving throughout the book. Francie and Ralph’s difference between intelligence is also only one of the many things that make them unique. Besides their intelligence, Francie and Ralph have many more things that make them two very different children.
The fact that they come from two different worlds does play a huge part in who they are. By nature, Francie is very protective of her family. When it’s finally time for Francie and her brother to start school, they are required to get vaccinations. During this process, the doctor and a nurse are overheard talking by Francie. After hearing the conversation about how dirty and poor she is, Francie speaks up to protect her brother’s feelings. Specifically, Francie says “‘My brother is next. His arm is just as dirty as mine so don’t be surprised’ They stared at this bit of humanity who had just become so strangely articulate” (Smith 147). This quote is also an example of her bravery. Francie is also a very lonely child and most of her lonliness comes from the fact that her mother favors her brother very clearly throughout the book. Even though her mother loved her, it wasn’t genuine. Betty Smith explains that “she loved her little girl because she felt sorry for her. It was pity and oligation towards her that she felt rather than love” (Smith 96). Along with Francie, Ralph also has many traits besides his intelligence. Ralph is a strong leader from very early in the novel. His confidence is one of the things that allows him to have so much power over the other boys. In fact, Ralph is actually the person who suggest having a leader to begin with, “‘Shut up,’ said Ralph …show more content…
absently. He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things’” (Golding 22). Along with his leadership, Ralph is inspiring and hopeful. He truly believes in rescue which is what keeps him and the boys going for most of the novel. William Golding has Ralph express this by saying “Your only hope is keeping a signal fire going as long as there’s light to see. Then maybe a ship’ll notice the smoke and come and rescue us and take us home” (Golding 178). Because of the enviroments they are growing up in, Francie and Ralph are two very different people with many traits that separate them, but they do have some in common. Despite being two very different people, the traits they share are what ultimately get them through the challenges they both individually face. Though Francie was smart all her life, she starts off as a young girl without any education. As she grows, she eventually becomes more confident, which leads to her believing in herself and getting into college. “I never went to high school. But I, M. Frances K. Nolan, am now in college. Do you hear that, Francie? You’re in college” (Smith 430). While Francie’s growth was postive, Ralph’s was more negative. Throughout the course of the novel, Ralph slowly learns how much savagery the boys truly have inside of them. This doesn’t truly affect him until he begins to accept it within himself. During Simon’s death, both Piggy and Ralph struggle with this. William Golding says that “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). Even though Jack’s society was filled with violence, Ralph longed to be apart of it once he accept this savagery. Francie and Ralph both learn a lot throughout their novels which helps them grow as people, even if it’s not a positive thing. Along with their growth, Francie and Ralph both change a lot throughout their novels.
Francie transitions from a young, shy girl into a strong woman. Despite coming from a rough background, she is able to achieve her goals, which turns her into a more generous person. While Francie transitions into something positive and gains more traits, Ralph loses some of his own. By the end of the novel, Ralph becomes disorganized and has lost his belief in order because of the actions of those around him. Golding describes Ralph by saying “His hair was full of dirt and tapped like the tendrils of a creeper” (Golding 183). This is an example of his disorganization because of the hesitance he had in the beginning of the novel to free himself like the other boys. While their appearences adapted to the island, Ralph kept his school clothes and his appearence very tidy until the end. Ralph also begins as a very optimistic boy, but the island eventually forces him to give into the savagery even as he fought against it. By the end of the novel, Ralph was acting less like a human and more like an animal. Piggy’s death is ultimately what destroys Ralph’s innocent character, as Golding says “And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 202). Francie transformed into an even better version of herself, but Ralph ulitimately
lost a big piece of who he was by the end of the novel. The challenges that the two protagonists face during their novels take their toll on everything from their personalities to their appearences. While sharing the different types of intelligence, Francie and Ralph both expierence growth and positive and negative changes. Francie transitions from being a weak, young girl into a strong and confident young woman who manages to get herself into college despite her poverty growing up. Ralph begins as an organized, civilized boy but the island turns him into the savage he always was deep down. Characters in any piece of literature can represent something important, such as a trait or a lesson. In cases like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Lord of the Flies, two authors may use their characters to unintentionally represent similar things. Betty Smith and William Golding both use their characters to show readers how challenges change you as you grow older and overcome them.
Ralph's actions as a character in the novel assist in reinforcing Golding's point that the prevalent force within man is evil. While Ralph struggles, albeit unsuccessfully, to maintain a civilized society on the island, he repeatedly tries to resist the temptation of evil inside him. As the island descends into chaos under Jack's tyrannical regime, the rest of the boys on the island let their hair become longer, at the same time becoming increasingly vicious. Ralph tries to ignore the temptation of having long hair, trying to push it back to maintain the good he has inside him. Ralph wants to “have a pair of scissors” to cut his hair, but the hair is coaxing him to let evil dominate (109). ...
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, has four very important dynamic characters. A dynamic character is a character that develops and grows during the course of the story. Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon are four dynamic characters in Lord of the Flies that adapt to their new lifestyles in different ways. Jack is a very important dynamic character in Lord of the Flies because he goes through the most changes during the novel. While on the island, Jack has many life experiences that change him forever. Jack never thought he would live his life the way he is living his life in the island. Jack’s authoritative figure, savage-like/instinctual behavior, and violence are three qualities that make Jack a dynamic character.
Ralph, the first character introduced to the audience, is probably the most likable character in the entire story. Although he does not ponder such deeply like Piggy, is not as spiritual like Simon, or as energetic as Jack, there is something in him that attracts the audience. Ralph serves as the protagonist of the story. He is described as being a playful, innocent child in the beginning, but towards the end he matures significantly. In the first chapter where he takes his clothes off and goes swimming like any child would do, he seems to be Adam in the Garden of Eden, a child left to play with the nature.
...Although, it can be argued that he had no one else to turn to so he went to Piggy, Ralph could have given up at this point. But, instead he finally consulted Piggy for advice, displaying his maturity. In the end of the novel, when Piggy dies, Ralph addresses the loss. When the naval officer arrives, “Ralph wept for… the fall through of the true, wise friend Piggy” (202). Ralph truly matures at the end when he values the intelligence, and good heartedness of his friend Piggy finally looking past his appearance.
His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy (Golding, 290).
This is the turning point for Ralph, not only as a person, but as a character in the book. Ralph goes from a somewhat flat character, to a round character, and with this transformation, he completes his dream, a dream which he had with him the whole time. Not only has he come to peace with himself and his accomplishments, he has come to peace with those around him, “Ralph watched the water fight with sadness in his heart, never guessing the scene would one day hearten him, as it did now.” (p296). Some may say that Ralph never achieved his dream. I say that he achieved his dream about half way through the book, he just didn’t realize all he had, and all he could lose until it was almost gone.
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a novel about British schoolboys, who survived on an island after the plane crash. This novel is an allegory: It is a literary work in which each character, event, or object is symbolic outside of the novel. It is allegorical in the level of society in terms of three major symbols. The conch symbolizes civilization, and helps to possess an organized law and order. Next, Jack, as the main antagonist in the novel, represents a savage in the society. Furthermore, the fire signifies the return of civilization and conflicts within the society. Thus, Lord of the Flies is an allegory for society since it represents good governance, humanity’s innate cruelty, and struggles to the return of its civilization.
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
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.
... people are out in the wild, and also have no civilization or government to keep their evil suppressed. At the very end of the book when the boys are rescued Golding writes, “ His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (202). In this quote Ralph is crying because he has now lost all of his innocence that he once had before he got on that horrible island, due to everything that has happened on the island. He is also crying because he had just lost his friend Piggy because of the savagery acts of the boys and now he realizes how evil everyone is.
Loss of innocence occurs throughout the novel. Piggy realizes the change between innocence and savagery when he questions, “What are we? Human? Or animal? Or savages?” (Golding 79). Simon soon follows when he states, “What I mean is…...maybe it’s only us” (Golding 89). Both boys realize the true beast is the group and they end up paying for the uncontrolled actions of others with their lives. The drastic change between civilization on the island causes the group to become savage and feed off of violence. When Golding writes, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 202), Ralph shows his understanding that they need adult authority in their lives and Piggy was the one trying to warn him. Ralph starts to think, “The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away” (Golding 91), when the group starts to lose innocence along with civilization. The late realization adds to the theme of civilization vs savagery and drives the plot to loss of
Lord of the Flies, which was written by William Golding, and The Coral Islands, which is written by R.M. Ballantyne were two books about British boys who were stuck on an island. Lord of the Flies is an imitation of The Coral Island. In Lord of the Flies the scene is set up with two boys stranded on an island from a plane crash, in which all the adults died. These boys were schoolboys that later found more boys that were stranded on the island by blowing on a conch shell. They all get together and they all decide to make their own society with a chief or leader. In The Coral Island we experience the adventures of three boys, who were the only ones that survived from the shipwreck on a Pacific Island. These two stories show that, like all great power, some wanted it for good and others for evil and authority. In these books there are many meanings that are shown out through the characters actions and their personalities. The characters that depict these meanings the most are Ralph and Jack. They both have many different opinions and beliefs more than they have similarities. The reason these play such an important role in these two books is that it represents the world today and what they were, which is savage. These two books have an important theme that relates to both of these books, which is that society holds everyone together, and without specific conditioned our deals, values and basic concept of right and wrong are eventually lost to poor authority and selfishness.
At the commencement of the novel, the author introduces Ralph as an innocent boy far from adulthood. Almost immediately, Ralph is described as a "fair boy." This phrase indicates a stereotype of the perfect child--blonde hair and blue eyes with blemish-free skin--which the author manipulated to show innocence. Also, Golding used this to give the reader a feeling of Ralph's position on the scale of maturation. It guides the destination of the novel and how much Ralph needs to grow to attain complete maturity. Ralph's innocence is further implied when he says his daddy is "a commander in the Navy" and that "when he gets leave, he'll come rescue us." Clearly, Ralph's comments call attention to his inability to view matters, especially his current situation, realistically, and to show Ralph's simplistic thinking, as well. Later in the novel, Ralph views Piggy as a fat bore with "ass-mar" and "matter-of-fact ideas." Ralph is still at the point where he believes that he is on a schoolyard playground where teasing and handstands are an acceptable practice. Similarly, Ralph's thoughts are intended to show what a sheltered child he has been all his life. Thus far, Golding developed Ralph so that the reader interprets him as an ideal child without any indication of maturity. The author will build upon this to transform Ralph as a character and as a person.
“The loss of innocence for which Ralph weeps at the novel's close is not, however, a matter of transformation from childish goodness to adolescent depravity, is not a growing into wickedness. It is rather the coming of an awareness of darkness, of the evil in man's heart that was present in the children all along,” (Boyd). At the end of the novel, Ralph cries for a few reasons. He cries because he has lost his friend Piggy. He also cries because he has lost his innocence. He now realizes that there is evil in every man.
...ties between the characters in the way that they act. Also there are similar actions shown in both accounts. Jack and Ralph portray different types of people in these books, but likewise had things in common. Jack and Ralph in the Coral Island are displayed as gentlemen throughout the story, but in the Lord of The Flies they are depicted as the exact opposite of gentlemen; instead they are quick descending into unutterable barbarity. By this the human nature changed the boys dramatically. The boys change shows the true character of them when it comes down to survival. Jack and Ralph have differences in both books with the ways the boys’ actions turn on the island; furthermore there are similarities between them.