Jack And Ralph In Lord Of The Flies

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Pages: 2

In the book The Lord of the Flies, Ralph is depicted as a duplicitous boy, which shows that humans are savages without the restraint of civilization. Written by William Golding and set on a tropical island during the Cold War, this book deals mainly with the oppressed savagery within humanity. The story begins when 12 civilized boys are stranded on an island but gradually unwraps each one’s inner evil throughout the adventure. Ralph, the leader, Jack, the strong, and Piggy, the powerless, play a significant role in communicating the message. After Ralph is elected chief over Jack, Ralph is “eager to offer something” (23). Here, Ralph is trying to please Jack, so Jack will not rebel against him. Ralph’s action proves that he is deceiving because his mere purpose of the offer is to clear out Jack’s threat. The foreshadowment of Ralph’s …show more content…
Ralph takes advantage of Piggy instead of respecting him like he did to Jack, revealing Ralph’s double sided personality. This trait demonstrates that humans abuse those who are weaker than them when civilization is not present because there are no consequences for any wrongdoings. A few days later, a ship comes near the island but Jack destroys the precious chance of being rescued by letting the fire out. Yet, Ralph, extremely frustrated, says nothing except an “ingracious mutter” (72). Though not explicitly stated, Ralph held down his anger with the cost of death because Jack is the authority. Ralph maintains his first side of respect because he is afraid to fight Jack. The restraint of frustration displays that humans are scared to stand up to authority, which does not support the essential building of civilization because one person does not make the whole world. Overall, Ralph manifests the universal theme of savagery without civilization by exhibiting three important morals: humans respect the strong, abuse the weak, and fear the