Ralph in Lord of the Flies

Kyla Sebastian                                                                      Sebastian 1                                                                                                          

T. Mckenna

English II

April 23, 2015

Lord of the Flies

Ralph in Lord of the Flies demonstrates his outstanding characteristics; he holds great leadership ability and is extremely charismatic. He displays these qualities through his actions towards helping and guiding the boys through their crash, landing and living on the island.

Ralph first shows his leadership qualities when he outranked Simon in their vote for a new leader. During their time on the island so far he shows great concern for the other boys. The others show little interest in working on building shelter and other survival tactics. He assigns each of the boys a position toward building structures, collecting firewood and food for their new village. Ralph also establishes rules for them so that everybody has a set of guidelines to live by rather than running wild like a bunch of barbarians, which is most of the boys' preference. When the others grow tired of the rules, such as the argument over who gets the conch, Ralph tries reminding them that rules are rules, and were put into place for a reason. On page ninety-one, Ralph says, "I'm Chief. I was chosen." When Jack argues and says that nobody cares about Ralph's rules, Ralph replies, "Because the rules are the only thing we've got!" In chapter six, it becomes profusely clear just how much Piggy depends on Ralph for his survival. These are just a few of the ways Ralph displays his leadership qualities.

Sebastian 2

There's obvious reason why Ralph was chosen as chief, not only because of his leadership skill, but for his charisma as well. He shows compassion and tries keeping the group together rather than turning on one another. He knows it takes more than ruthless killings of animals living in the forest to keep them alive, he always makes sure the boys who collect firewood return safely and they put the fire out. He cares for Piggy most of all. Piggy is by far the easiest target and all of the boys know it, even Ralph. Ralph acts as a safety net to him when the others start to bully and taunt him. On page fifty-nine, there's a reference to Ralph's size and the way he carried himself that was the link between their fantasy land and the adult world that made them feel safe. He brings them comfort, and is very capable, which is what most likely drew them to select him as their chief.