Ralph in Lord of the Flies

     Ralph, the protagonist in Lord of Flies, is a twelve-years-old English boy who is stuck on a deserted island with many other boys after the plane that is evacuating them from a war in their homeland has crushed and the pilot has gone missing. He is the oldest boy on the island and because of his “size… and attractive appearance”, he was elected as the leader of the boys on the island, even though Piggy, a boy with glasses, is clearly the more intelligent, and Jack, the chapter chorister of a choir of boys, is the most obvious leader (P19). My first impression for Ralph is a very charismatic leader. He possesses many leadership skills and is very clear on the rules that the children should obey. He tries hard to maintain orders among the boys. For example he knows when to talk and when not to, and uses the conch that has assembled the boys as an indicator of the right to speak at meetings so that the boys can only speak one at a time. But at first, Ralph is acting rather inexperienced as a leader when he encourages the boys to have fun and assures that they will be rescued very soon. When Peggy suggests that in order to get rescued, the boys should first start building shelters on the beach, Ralph ignores him and wants to make a big fire on the top of the mountains to make signals to ships passing by. All the boys favor Ralph’s idealistic assumption that the rescue is coming soon over Piggy’s harsh reality that “Nobody knows where [the boys] are”, so everyone rush up the mountain while Piggy tires uselessly to stop them (P32). Yet because the lack of organization and knowledge, the boys started a fire that burn down half the forest and kill an innocent six-years-old boy who might be playing in the forest at the time. Ralph’s character is relatable to immature politicians in our world. Some politicians are elected by people not because that they are capable but because their appearance, family background, and wealth, just as Ralph was elected by the boys for his physical attractiveness, despite his immaturity as a leader. The intension of these immature politicians might not be bad, but their lack of experience and practical knowledge often results in bad outcomes. But Ralph, unlike the incapable politicians in the real world, can easily be forgiven for his actions because the fact that he is a typical child. Different from Piggy who appears much more mature than his actual age, Ralph as a boy sees the island as a great adventure and enjoys the thrill of conquering the place. Therefore even though Ralph's unthoughtful command resulted in a disastrous conflagration, he is still a likable character to me because I feel sympathetic for the situation he is in. I personally hope that as the story progresses, Ralph will become more experienced as a leader of the group and become more practical in what he does for the group. Ralph will become a much better leader if he can adopt some of Piggy’s thoughtfulness and intelligence when considering matters. I think in order for Ralph to grow personally and mentally, he will have to accept Piggy as his friend and consider his opinion more often. Even though Ralph seems to prefer Jack to be his friend and offers Jack the to the leader of the choir, who are the hunters on the island, I feel that Jack has a very selfish and almost savagery desire for power. He is unhappy when Ralph is elected as the leader instead of him. After letting a pig ran from his hand, he cares little about the boys on the island, and all he focuses on is to kill a pig. Jack’s selfishness sharply contrasts Ralph’s wish of getting everyone rescued. I don’t think the two boys are able to be friends. In fact I think the closer they become with each other, the more conflict they will have and eventually become mutual enemies. I believe that Ralph is leader with many potential. I hope he can develop his leadership skills as the story progress and eventually be able to get all the boys rescued.