Ralph

Chapter 1, Nature vs Nurture, Rousseau

Loss of innocence, Rousseau believed man was born pure, but becomes corrupted my society - Ralph has already lost the childlike innocent, perhaps foreshadowing his descent into savagery

Lost the prominent tummy of childhood

Chapter 1 (& Jack), Survival of the Fittest/Control, Authoritarian government

uncontrollable desire to have power - foreshadows how their strong wills and juxtaposing ideologies cause conflict later on

[Ralph and Jack] savoured the right of domination

Chapter 1, Innocence, Rousseau/Social control theory

Ralph enters the new world innocent and childlike, however he is corrupted later on - shows how purity cannot thrive in society - alternatively the reason he is ‘pure’ is due to his upbringing with societal regulations

There was a mildness about his mouth and his eyes proclaimed no devil

Chapter 2, Innocence/Darkness in mankind’s heart, Bildungsroman/Robinsonade

Ralph’s innocence concerning the capability of man to commit evil is seen through his naive assumption that all the boys would behave peacefully and in a civilised manner throughout their time on the island - he’s unaware of the darkness in mankind (however Golding is aware)

It’s a good island […] we’ll have fun

Chapter 2, Rules & Society, Authority/Social control theory

Characters gravitate towards any kind of lawful force - Ralph represents the law-abiding civilization they left behind - boys have been conditioned to always be obedient

Unbacked by any proof but the weight of Ralph’s new authority

Chapter 3 (& Jack), Rules & Society/Good vs Evil, Democracy/Dictatorship

Shows the divide between democratic and totalitarian ideologies, and how the two oppositions are represented through the characterisation of Jack and Ralph

They walked along, two continents of experience

Chapter 4

[The littluns] obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was […] a link with the adult world of authority

Chapter 5 (& Simon/Piggy), Rules & Society, Social Conditioning - articles of peace

The 3 boys most associated with the more civilised side of society or simply cosplayed adults in positions of authority - shows how influential societal norms and imposed ethical restrictions influence the actions of others

[Ralph, Piggy, and Simon] strived unsuccessfully to convey the majesties of adult life

Chapter 7, Nature vs Nurture/The ‘beast’ within, atavism

Ralph is forced to confront the evil in his own heart - he finally loses control over himself and faces the desires he shares with the others - his evil side was overpowering his good (synonymous with civilisation being exchanged with pure chaos)

The desire to squeeze and hunt was over-mastering

Chapter 10 (& Piggy), Fear/Survival of the Fittest/The heart of darkness, atavism

Defeating herd mentality: doesn’t claim he didn’t have a part in it, highlighting how he admitted to making an active decision to submit to his desires/nature - Ralph finally accepts the gravity of their actions, overcoming his main weakness: his inability to understand his regressed, corrupted and immoral ‘peers’ - a show of remorse (still has a thread of humanity)

That was murder-R […] We was scared-P

Chapter 10, Fear/The ‘beast within’, atavism

Ralph finally admits to his fears - the beast which was viewed as the source of all of their issues never truly existed, and was instead a manifestation of their fears of the darkness or ‘beast’ within one another

I’m frightened. Of us

Chapter 12, The heart of darkness/Innocence, Hobbes (corruption)

Overwhelmed with emotion after being forced to confront the inherent evil that exists in not only himself, but all of mankind - has been disillusioned

Ralph wept for the end of innocence [and] the darkness of man’s heart

What does Ralph represent (4)

Morality, civilisation, political democracy, leadership

Themes to link (3)

Good versus Evil, rules & society, innocence

Context to link (3)

Social control theory, democracy, Rousseau

Motifs (becomes dirty - represents the loss of innocence/descent into savagery)

Uniform

Symbols (represents technology and hope - when it dies out, society is truly lost)

Fire

Ralph establishes rules (relates to social conditioning) and integrates the conch into their newfound society (democracy). He’s established as an adult figure - takes on a leadership role. He ignores the littluns fears of the beast (logical - aware of his inability to change the situation - maintains leadership qualities), establishes the fire (symbol of hope) - shocked when a littlun dies

Chapter 2

Tensions between Jack and Ralph (civilisation vs barbarity) - disagree over priorities (shelter > hunting) - Ralph emphasises boring but necessary tasks - he’s unable to understand why Jack is so impulsive - his weakness is his naivety

Chapter 3

SETTING - Jack goes to castle rock - Ralph dislikes it as a base - no food, shelter - he takes the more sensible view on it - shows how he maintains logical behaviour throughout

Chapter 6

Ralph joins a hunt - descent into savagery - joins them in their reenactment, almost harming another boy (desire for violence overpowering - animal-like instincts - Hobbes) - Jack challenges Ralph to look for the beast at night - shows his strong sense of responsibility (attribute of a good leader)

Chapter 7

Jack tries to take over (through a democratic vote) but fails - Ralph has maintained some modicum of power over the boys (but it’s slipping due to FEAR of the beast - Ralph doesn’t acknowledge therefore they go to Jack instead) - Ralph views the hunters as “boys armed with sticks” - PARALLELS the adult at the end who views them in a similar, childish manner.

In his speech, he also forgets the reason for the fire and “pushed the idiot hair out of his eyes and looked at Piggy” - hair = loss of rationality, looks to Piggy who’s the voice of reason

Chapter 8

Ralph feels guilt for his part in Simon’s death (still maintains morality - not completely regressed), forgets what the fire is for (losing his grasp on civilisation)

Chapter 10

Ralph cries after seeing the extent of the darkness of mankinds heart - loss of innocence - historical allegory - neither good nor evil, civilisation nor savagery won

Chapter 12