Tuesday 22 May 2012

Character Sketch


Alayah Czernick
Saviour
Life is about choices, and the choices one makes can lead them into a negative or a positive path. Choosing to be the leader can send you on a path with obstacles, however choosing to be a follower can lead you on a path where you'll never be independent. In the novel “Lord of the Flies”, written by William Golding, Ralph's choice to become the Chief leads him on an unpredictable path. “I'm Chief then” (page 24). Ralph is Chief and holds all the power on the island. He also chose to be-friend Piggy, although his choice to be-freind Piggy causes him to lose his power later on. Because the boys are stuck on an island, all Ralph wants is to be rescued. Although, he worries that this isn't possible beccause no body cares about the rescue signal, which is the fire on top of the mountain. Unfortunatly, since there is more focus on hunting and less focus on being saved, Ralph starts to lose power and Jack starts to gain the power Ralph lacks. Jack gains power because he wants to have fun and doesn't care much about responsibility, and since the island is filled with boys and not adults, the “tribe” will follow Jack in whatever he does, “I'm not going to be apart of Ralph's lot” (Page 140). Others view Ralph as chief, except for Jack. Jack wants to be chief because he's older, and he sees Ralph as a weak character. However, Piggy sees Ralph as a leader. Ralph see himself as a saviour, or a guide for the “tribe”. He believes that he can rescue the boys and himself, and looks out for everyone. What motivates Ralph would be the desire to go home. Everything Ralph does is done so the “tribe” can be safe, fed and go home. In this novel, like every novel there is conflict, and in this novel a main conflict is the conch. The conch holds all of the voice, one must posses the conch to speak, “I got the conch” (Page 91). On the other hand, Jack doesn't believe that the conch should hold that kind of power. Later on in the novel, the conch is shatterd, and now anyone can speak, however there is no order for voices. Another conflict is the fire signal. Ralph wants to keep the fire signal going, at all times. The”tribe” doesnt care for the fire signal as much as Ralph. As said previously, the boys care more about fun activities, such as hunting with Jack, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Page 168). Therefore, conflict arises between Jack and Ralph. Ralph has a few redeeming qualities. Being a leader is one. Starting out as chief makes Ralph a better leader, since he was on his own near the end because of the deaths of Piggy and Simon, and the rest of the “tribe” went with Jack. “What have I done?--I wanted us to be rescued” (Page 208). All Ralph wants is to be rescued. With the hope mentality Ralph has, he learnes to survive with little food, water etc. His intelligence grew as a boy, because of the choices he made after ariving on that island.

1 comment:

  1. Well Done- good to reflect on the tension between Jack and Ralph. Helps build character and conflict.
    Watch spelling and run-on sentences.

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