Ralph Flashcards
‘The fair boy’
Connotations of justice and democracy. Golding immediately presents Ralph as a character that values equality and still has his innocence intact.
“Built like a boxer’
Suggests Ralph is physically strong, he is a leader character.
“Dark with violent pleasure” (blowing the conch)
Suggests inner conflict, Ralph is a democratic character however he is not immune to the temptation of violence and the innate evil that Golding believes resides in us.
“The fire is the most important thing”
Fire represents hope, among all the chaos Ralph still fights for hope. It is important to him.
“I don’t know what I was thinking”
Ralph has inner conflict surrounding Simon’s death. He’s creating excuses for it, showing he still experiences empathy and has not been deprived of humanity and democracy like the other characters. But, killing Simon shows he is not virtuous and he has cause suffering due to the innate evil of mankind.
“Ralph wept for the darkness of man’s heart, and for the end of innocence.
Juxtaposes “fair boy” as Ralph is no longer innocent. Ralph feels empathy towards the characters lost. We live in a world where evil has triumphed goodness.
