Ralph's Display Of Civilization In Lord Of The Flies

Kylee Danielson

Ms. Johnston

ELA 3-4 H

7 February 2018

Ralph’s Display of Civilization According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of leader is ‘the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country.’ In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph is elected as the noble leader of the boys on the uninhabited island in which they land on after their plane gets shot down. Ralph is described as being committed to morality, as well as being the primary representative of order, civilization, and productive leadership on the island. Ralph illustrates the theme of civilization due to his stupendous demonstration of characteristics of order, leadership, and power. For the reason that Ralph was voted as leader on the island within minutes of the boys being there, he established four fairly simple rules for them to follow at the beginning of their quest. These rules stated that the boys could only use the conch in assembly meetings and they had to wait their turn to talk. They had to bring water from the stream and store it in coconut shells under leaves, and keep the fire signal on the mountain going at all times. They also had to use the rocks for going to the bathroom, not the fruit trees area. Literary experts John F. Fitzgerald and John R. Kayser state, “Ralph seems to be the civilized counterpart to Jack: Osiris to Jack 's Typhon. Ralph blows the conch, articulates the idea for a rescue fire, and, according to Jack, "gives the orders."