Lord of the Flies - The characters

Question 1

What is Ralph like?

Answer 1

1.Determined -‘I’m chief. I’ll go. Don’t argue’
2.Brave - ‘Ralph picked up his stick and prepared for battle.’
3.Fair - ‘The choir belongs to you of course’
4.Honest - ‘We’d talk but we wouldn’t fight a tiger. We’d hide’

Question 2

What does Ralph represent?

Answer 2

1.law and order
2.democracy
3.civilisation

Question 3

How is Ralph imperfect?

Answer 3

1.He gets involved in laughing at Piggy and Simon in a way that shows he’s capable of hurting others
2.He sometimes gives in to his instincts - he gnaws at meat ‘like a wolf’
3.He takes part in the dance when Simon is killed, later he’s ashamed of it, but lets Piggy persuade him that it wasn’t his fault - this shows that Ralph could be slipping into savagery
4.By involving Ralph in evil, Golding is showing that no one is perfect

Question 4

How does Ralph struggle to think and speak sometimes?

Answer 4

1.He tries to plan an important assembly speech, but gets lost in a ‘maze of thoughts’ that he can’t put into words.
2.He says they should talk about the beast and ‘decide there’s nothing in it’.

Question 5

How does Ralph’s relationship with Piggy change?