What would happen if a group of kids from a civilized society were suddenly thrown together on a desert island with no adults? William Golding's Lord of the Flies provides a possible answer. In the cold and vulgar novel, Lord of the Flies, written in the 1954 novel by William Golding, Golding revives the ferocity against civilization in man in its purest form. The main characters Jack and Ralph are ideal illustrations of these characters. However, they didn't start out with these good versus bad behaviors. The author uses archetypes to exemplify how the characters started out with the same identity, but that quickly changes as society is ripped away from them. The isolation and the people around them have transformed the characters into who they really are, behind the glasses, the war paint and without the adults. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay At the beginning of the novel, Ralph is shown as a strong leader, but he doesn't know how to lead. He gains confidence when others on the island vote him in as leader. However, by the time the novel ends, he has lost his confidence, followers, and pride. He is still a leader, but he is masked by the terror and struggles he experienced on the island. “He with the conch. Ralph! Ralph!”. At that very moment Ralph was filled with pure confidence. A confidence that will accompany him throughout the book. Now he realized that the island boys were behind him. They trusted him to rule them. They entrusted him with the task of maintaining a civil society. But most of all, they trusted him to get them off this island. Because the others trust Ralph, they mostly listen to what he has to say. Ralph applies certain rules and ideas to ensure their rescue. “We have to have special people to take care of the fire. Any day now there could be a ship out there... and if we get a signal, they will come and take us away. And one more thing. We should have more rules. Where the shell is, that's a meeting. The same up here as down there. (Golding 43) Ralph tries to create an orderly civilization among the boys by prioritizing signal fires and establishing rules about meetings and communication. Throughout the novel, Ralph insists on the need for an organized system of government, insisting on the use of the conch. Ralph also prioritizes the need to maintain fire over the need to hunt, which leads to his eventual confrontation with Jack. “Don't you want to be saved? All you can talk about is pig, pig, pig!” Ralph angrily realizes that Jack and his hunters let the signal fire go out while hunting a pig. As he believes that signal fire is their only legitimate means of rescue from the island. Furious at Jack's short-sighted obsession with hunting and killing a pig rather than focusing on saving it. As the novel progresses, Ralph becomes afraid of the beast, the island is torn away from each of the boys. He recalls memories and dreams of what it was like to live at home. He's homesick and that's one of the ways the island has changed for the time being. He wasn't homesick when he returned home. "I am afraid. About us. I want to go home. Oh God, I want to go home. (Golding 140) Ralph grapples with his grief the morning after the boys kill Simon. Ralph realizes he has committed an unspeakable act. The new awareness of his and the other boys' capacity for violence makes him fear their situation even more than before. As a reminder that these characters are simply children, Ralph wants to return to the safety of his home. He stared at the beginning of the book longingan adventure and explore the island. He quickly loses the excitement of being alone and independent and having the freedom to roam without rules. Ralph's transformation was heavily influenced by the presence of the other boys on the island. He gained trust the moment he was elected chief. He is therefore described as a moldable and impressionable character, due to his rapidly changing personality based on the opinions of others. Ralph also formed bonds with characters like Piggy. When Piggy's time came to an end, he was very saddened and felt guilty about his death. He also creates allies who stay by his side knowing his loyal nature, Piggy was an ally. Ralph is not one to be influenced, he is a leader, not a follower. He remains sane and balanced during morbid events that occur. When all the boys first arrived on the island they needed a leader. Jack and Ralph were the two who took over the position. Both have leadership qualities, however both have different ideals. “You could have had everyone when the shelters were finished. But you had to hunt.” The two boys have not yet separated into the groups that will later reveal themselves. Tension grows, conflicts and disputes put a strain on the relationship. Jack wants to live freely without rules, while Ralph focuses on government-type standards and being smart about his actions. Actions that could help them stay safe. Actions that could bring the boys to safety. Actions that could bring them home. Ralph must handle these conflicts with maturity, keeping in mind that the balance of the boys will influence the survival of the “government” and his rule. Rules and regulations keep kids more in line, less wild. Without them they can do whatever they want. Jack forces Ralph to step up and act like an adult. There are no real adults to impose them or help balance the social structure, there are only kids who pretend to be; trying their best to do what adults would do. Once again, Jack and Ralph disagree and Piggy tries to mediate. "Which is better, law and rescue, or hunt and destruction?". This sums up the essential conflict between Jack and Ralph. Ralph believes in law, order and working for the greater good – in this case, rescue, while Jack prioritizes hunting, chaos and living in the moment. Ralph (strong word) one last time with Jack and the others to reason. He wants them to join the group and help him build a civilization. By saying this, Piggy is showing off how terrible Jack's tribe is. Jack rules by fear and to maintain his high status he must set an example for anyone who challenges or confronts him. With these intentions, the words spoken by Piggy will unfortunately be his last. In the escalating fight to get Piggy's glasses back, Roger pushes a boulder off the mountainside. Which proceeds to fall to where Piggy and Ralph were. Ralph, who could see perfectly, jumped away, but Piggy, having lost his glasses, was shot and killed. He is a natural leader. Ralph's leadership ability is evident from the beginning (he is the boys' only elected leader). During the crisis caused by the sight of the dead paratrooper on the mountain, Ralph manages to proceed with common sense and caution. Work carefully to keep the group's attention saved. When the time comes to investigate the castle rock, Ralph takes the initiative alone, despite his fear of the beasts. He has all the elements of a hero. Golding portrays the Ralph archetype as the hero of the novel, and he succeeds. Ralph is not your typical hero, he doesn't necessarily solve the problem that the entire novel is based on in the end. Some might argue that Ralphhe is not the hero and that there is no hero present. For example, Harry Potter is the hero of the Harry Potter series because he is brave, kind, a capable leader, and solved the problem of the novel. At the end of the series Potter is an adult and that's when he solves the problem. Ralph is a 12 year old boy. He has less experience and is doing the best he can for his age situation. In the end Ralph is the well-represented hero of the novel. Golding faRalph fits perfectly as the hero archetype for this particular circumstance the characters find themselves in. Jack started out as a choir student who wanted to be the leader as soon as he heard the words. He did not prove himself to be a good leader but simply stated that he could sing "C sharp". Meanwhile Ralph didn't even have to state his reasons for being voted for, he just was. But Jack's real trick is unleashed on the island, bringing out a power-hungry animal, or beast. The conflict on the island begins with Jack attempting to dominate the group rather than working with Ralph to benefit him. He often questions the power of the conch. Declare that the shell rule does not matter in some parts of the island. Yet he uses the conch to his advantage whenever possible, as when he calls his own assembly to make himself leader and prevail over Ralph. For him, the shell represents the rules and boundaries that have prevented him from acting on the impulse to dominate others. “Things are breaking. And I don't understand why. We started well, we were happy. And then…” He moved the couch gently, looking beyond nothing, remembering the beast, the snake, the fire, the talk about fear. At this point the boys gathered for a meeting. They are discussing the fear, the apparent beast, and the signal fire. Soon after the meeting begins things get moving and Ralph takes matters into his own hands to pacify things. Things take a turn when Jack starts calling the little ones names, he thinks it's illogical to think there are rampaging beasts on a desert island. Then things escalated even more, the kids were fighting over the couch. When Jack had the couch, he rocked it like it was his baby. The shell symbolizes power, so in a way Jack loves and cradles power like a mother cradles her beloved child. Piggy tries to stand up for himself when others get the upper hand on him. He states that he has the couch so that the other kids should be quiet. Jack quickly shows his true character to the boys when he can't get what he wants. He would get angry over little things, like when Ralph was elected chief. All the built-up anger exploded out of him and he transformed into the Jack we know at the end of the book. "Shut up, Fatty." Jack was an unfiltered kid from the start. He said and did what he wanted. Without caring whether this was harmful to his peers or to the survival of the so-called government, Ralph was desperately trying to organize himself. However, Ralph quickly states that Piggy is not fat, this implies that Piggy is not brave enough to defend himself, so Ralph does it for him. While the other boys, including Jack, continue to laugh, Ralph remains silent. Jack is extremely arrogant and this never changed over the course of the book, in fact he probably developed more evil characteristics than he started with. The other characters didn't change his, they just gave him someone to rule over and take control over. In the real world his powers were held back by social structures and rules, but on the island we saw who Jack really was. To hell with the rules! “We are strong: we hunt! If there is a beast, we will hunt it! We'll get closer and we'll beat, we'll beat and we'll beat -!”?