Point Ralph And Jack's Relationship example essay topic

GCSE Prose 1914 Study - Discuss the characters of Ralph and Jack and show how their relationship changes and develops throughout the novel 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding 'Lord of the Flies' was published in 1954 and is well known literature classic that has an excellent reputation because of its clever plot and contrasts. It is about a group of boys being stuck on an island while they were being evacuated during the war. The story tells of how their behaviour changes as time goes on and how they descend into savagery. Their real personalities are revealed when the group splits, coming to an intense climax at the end of the novel.

One very influential book to 'Lord of the Flies' is 'Coral Island' by RM Ballantyne. This book is about a group of English boys who are on an island and live in harmony, making it more of an adventure than survival. There are many things in 'Coral Island' that are very similar to that in 'Lord of the Flies'. The main similarities are the characters, for there is a Ralph and Jack in Coral island, and Peterkin, on which Piggy is based on. Simon is Golding's own imagination, but it is thought that he is based on Simon the apostle from the New Testament. The characters are similar and so are some of the incidents, but 'Lord of the Flies' is more Golding's own circumstances and he comes up with a more compact plot than Ballantyne, making 'Lord of the Flies' an ironic contrast from Coral Island.

This is due to many of Golding's intentions in 'The Lord of the Flies' to reveal the "beast" in everyone of us and to tell a realistic tale, not just a fairy tale like Coral Island. Golding calls 'Lord of the Flies' "a book about real boys on an island showing what a mess they'd make" and says "Within the child are flowers of evil that will eventually flower". which shows the contrast between that and Coral Island. This piece of coursework will study how the relationship between Ralph and Jack changes through the main events in the book. It will look at the way language is used throughout the story.

It will also look at the structure of the novel, and in what context the book was written. The beginning of the book is a crucial part, for it is when all the characters are introduced. Golding portrays Jack and his compatriots as militaristic and aggressive, with Jack's bold manner and the choir marching in step with one another. Jack seems a physical embodiment of evil: with his dark cloak, red hair and the fact that he is "ugly without silliness". Jack uses the imperative to his choir as if they were troops, not allowing discussion: "Choir, stand still!" Significantly, the role that he first chooses for his choir is hunters; he selects the task that is most violent.

It is obvious that Ralph was made to contrast with Jack. He is described as having "fair hair" and a handsome face. He comes across as being calm and peaceful, the complete opposite to Jack. His first priority is to be rescued, and building shelters. The clash between caring and hunting is obvious from the beginning and this theme carries on through the whole novel. The first part in the book that really strains their new friendship is when Ralph is elected leader.

Jack thinks he should be the chief because. ".. I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp". This shows Jacks "simple arrogance" immediately and the fact that he thinks highly of himself as leader. Jack speaks in assertive statements and very rarely asks questions because he thinks he knows everything.

Ralph is quieter about being leader and. ".. there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size and attractive appearance... yet most powerfully, there was the conch". This shows how Ralph is a natural leader and it is obvious that Golding wanted the reader to like Ralph. Ralph being elected leader introduces the theme of leadership, which follows on through the whole book. We also start to see the theme good versus evil, which becomes one of the main themes through the whole story. Another crucial part in the book is when they have their first real disagreement over the fire because this is when the antagonism between Jack and Ralph starts to develop. Jack goes off hunting and Ralph starts to build shelters, both ending up with nothing at the end of the day, then the argument begins.

Ralph's personality starts to clearly emerge at this point because he argues that they need shelters more than anything and Jack is not helping, just going off to satisfy his blood lust. The language used at this point is made up of quick, short sentenced dialogue as they argue. Golding does this to show the tension between the two boys. Jack also gets angry which shows he is very impatient: "suddenly Jack shouted in rage... ". Golding does things like this intentionally; in this case he wanted the reader to dislike Jack as much as possible by giving Jack another bad characteristic to add to his bossy, arrogant and big headed personality.

Another occurrence that illustrates the development of Jack and Ralph's characteristics is when the fire goes out due to Jack and his gang hunting. A ship goes by and the fire was out so Ralph and Piggy confront Jack. Jack is determined and single minded in his pursuit of the pigs, disregarding any other important issues. Golding tells us that all Jack is thinking about is that: .".. they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink".

When confronted by Ralph and Piggy he punches Piggy, partly because of the truth that he let the fire go out, and partly because he feels cornered. This action further reflects his violent personality. Ralph shows his despair at the passing ship by saying "They might have seen us, we might have gone home-". This is because he is beginning to feel the pressure of the responsibilities over the boys. This particular event shows how Jack and Ralph have different priorities, which further separate their relationship.

Ralph is concentrating on being rescued and keeping the boys civilised whereas Jack wants to hunt. He is less interested in the rules and the conch, which play an important part towards the end of the book. The sighting of the ship and the killing of the pig contribute to the downfall of peace on the island. These two events represent the different strands of human behaviour existing on the island. The ship is a reminder of the civilized society to which the boys belong and renews the possibility that they may eventually escape the island, while the killing of the pig is an example of their fall from civilized behaviour into savagery and killing.

This is where the theme of civilisation versus savagery really becomes obvious. The antagonism becomes even more apparent when the first signs of evil emerging from within Jack appear when he re-enacts the killing of the pig. In the process people were injured and the chanting, which becomes a ritual, begins at this time. Although Jack's ambition to kill a pig had been fulfilled, he now has a taste of the glory and a sense of self-fulfilment.

This means that he was by no means satisfied to have killed one pig, but would instead continue to do so. It is significant that Jack feels it necessary to kill pigs, even though there is a lot of other food. It is possible that Jack simply wants to kill pigs because the evil inside him has begun to emerge and introduced his lust for killing, and power over the boys. This new evil contrasts Ralph's peaceful personality, splitting them apart further as the book continues. Golding introduces the symbol of the beast to bring the conflict between Jack and Ralph to breaking point.

Although Jack initially dismisses the idea of a beast on the island, he comes to accept the idea when they call the beast an enemy that his hunters may kill. Jack continues to be an aggressive and destructive force. He continues to physically threaten Piggy, and he manipulates the young boys' fear of a possible beast. During the assembly Jack fully abandons the rules and codes of society using swear words that would have shocked a 1954 audience: " Bollocks to the rules... if there's a beast, we " ll hunt it down! We " ll close in and beat and beat and beat-!" This shows Jack's obsession with hunting and killing on the island, which further separates him and Ralph. Jack uses the idea of the beast to frighten the boys, whereas Ralph tries to convince the boys that there is no beast like a mother would.

One thing in the book that really makes the difference between Ralph and Jack stand out is how they treat and speak to other characters. Piggy is the educated character in the book that acts far more maturely and wisely than any of the other characters. The way Ralph treats him is with respect, for he knows he depends on him to rule over the boys, as he is leader. He doesn't say anything nasty to Piggy or treat him unfairly; he just treats him as another member of the group, and listens his ideas. Jack on the other hand is completely opposite in how he acts towards Piggy. He uses the word "fatty" many times throughout the novel and tells Piggy to "shut up" continuously.

At one point in the story Jack loses his temper with Piggy and aggressively lashes out hitting Piggy in the face, resulting in him breaking a part of his glasses, which are crucial to light the fires. This treatment reflects Jacks personality because he picks on Piggy because he is weak and insecure on the island, an easy target for Jack. This contrasts Ralph's personality well because he treats everybody fairly, and is patient with them. The tension between Jack and Ralph becomes more intense as Ralph continues to remind Jack of his misguided priorities. The rift between the two characters becomes more apparent as they struggle for authority over the other boys.

Golding focuses on the tactics each uses to promote themselves. Jack uses his size and aggression as a sign of strength and dominance, mocking Ralph for supposed cowardice: "Why don't you go. Are you frightened?" Ralph is straightforward and direct, challenging Jack's self-confidence and notes that Jack is motivated by hatred. At this event Ralph sees through Jack's pretence, seeing him for what he really is: "For the first time since he had known Jack, Ralph could feel him hesitate". By this point Ralph and Jack's relationship has deteriorated so much that Golding says Ralph "hated Jack", using an extremely strong verb to describe his feelings. A significantly important part in the book is Simon's death and how Ralph and Jack react to it.

Simon discovers the truth about the supposed beast and when he arrives to tell everybody else on the island about his discovery Jack and his tribe savagely murder him in a killing frenzy. This killing is an example of the violence present among Jack's band of hunters, who finally move from brutality against animals to brutality against each other. This is yet another line that the boys cross on their fall from civilization. Following Simon's death it becomes clear that Ralph and Jack are greatly different. Jack insists that Simon was merely disguised as the beast and the beast is not really dead. Ralph realises that he has taken part in the murder of a human being: "That was murder".

It is clear that Ralph has managed to accept that the evil came from within him and he has to learn to control it, which is Golding's main message in the play. Jack, on the other hand, has no idea of what he has done and does not care anyway. This fact confirms that Jack had been overcome by the evil within him. The structure of 'Lord of the Flies' is very important regarding Ralph and Jacks fluctuating relationship. The structure is mainly based on the characters and setting. Golding puts his characters on an island like RM Ballantyne did and the events take place around their behaviour and relationships.

It concentrates mainly on the rivalry between Ralph and Jack, with other events in between. The fact that it is an adventure story, the events move on quickly, one after another, similar to 'Coral island', which is also an adventure story. 'Lord of the Flies' is a fable as well as an adventure story. It contains a moral, which is that human beings are naturally capable of evil, even though they have a reputation of civilised behaviour. The structure helps contrast Jack and Ralph as the story starts by introducing the characters and setting. Then it focuses on the conflict and deteriorating relationship between Jack and Ralph until it reaches a climax at the end of the novel.

The separate chapters help the reader understand the events and how they affect Jack and Ralph's relationship. One of the final events in the novel is when the tribe finally splits into two groups. Jack moves to Castle rock, which is significant as it is rough, harsh rock with less vegetation, reflecting his cruel and evil personality. His tribe descend to savagery even further when they all cover themselves in paint and Jack becomes a true chief, even making his tribe address him as "Chief". This is significant because he becomes a dictator to his tribe, similar to Hitler and Stalin, which at the time would have been shocking as World War II only ended 9 years previous to the book being released.

The language Jack uses now in control is very dictatorial in contrast to when Ralph was in charge. This is because he is now has control over most of the boys. Ralph stays at the safe end of the island with his remaining followers. This divide illustrates the breakdown of their relationship, and the result finally shows them for what they are: Ralph remaining peaceful and following the old rules of civilisation, Jack a violent savage that still likes to "play". Throughout the book symbols are very important, and the two main symbols are Piggy's glasses and the conch. Towards the end of the story Jack and some of his tribe members steal Piggy's glasses for their own tribe and they refer to them as "fire" in which to cook the pig.

The fact that they steal them illustrates that they have taken the old rules, as that is what the glasses represented, and are now free to make their own rules. Ralph goes up to Jack's threatening end to retrieve the glasses, and this is when the final climax takes place in the novel. They go to castle rock and try in one last effort to civilised the savages. It results in Roger rolling a large rock and it striking "Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch explode into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist".

This death and destruction shows the definite end of civilisation as the conch symbolized law and humanity, and piggy was the voice of reason and maturity. It shows the cruelty of Jack and his tribe, and how they can just kill anyone that stands in their way without remorse. Again it contrasts with Ralph's morals and personality, as he is still aware of the old rules, and still abides by them. Golding employs much figurative language through the story for example when he describes the beach as being. ".. swept clean like a blade that had been scoured". This is to create imagery so the reader can imagine a picture in their head to help better understand the novel. Golding also uses many intentional describing word such as "twisted" and "black" to create a certain feeling, in this case a dark, sinister feeling towards castle rock to contrast Ralph's safe and peaceful area of the island.

It is believed that the island is a slight boat shape, which signifies the boys' long journey to adult hood. At the end of the book the similes "as with a gigantic hand" and "as big as a cottage, big as a car, a tank" are used. This is because Golding intends to bring the reader back to reality for a moment to make the reader realize how the boys have developed and changed on the island. At the very end of the novel the savages chase Ralph in a final attempt to rid them of their enemy.

It is the final split in their relationship. This is because Jack takes his savagery to the extremes as Roger has. ".. sharpened a stick at both ends". This hints towards cannibalism because they cut off the pig's head and ate the rest of the body, and are hinting to do the same thing in this case. This is the final event in the story that shows the now obvious contrast between Jack and Ralph, and the absolute end in their relationship, as their hatred has turned to possible murder.

The language used in 'Lord of the Flies' is simplistic, as its target audience is generally younger people. The dialogue in the novel varies but is naturally realistic and brief. The words spoken are dated from the era, like "w acco" and "wizard" and the language is well spoken, as they are public school boys. There are some short sentences in the novel, especially in speech for dramatic effect.

The book also contains some long sentences and description in places: "Evening was advancing towards the island; the sounds of the bright fantastic birds, the bee- sounds, even the crying of the gulls that were returning to their roosts among the square rocks, were fainter". This is used to describing the island in this case, the long sentence helps carry on the peaceful and tranquil feeling the words create. It is also done to help show the contrast between the beautiful island and the evil of Jack compared to Ralph. There are also sections that use violent and menacing language to create a strong feeling to reflect the atmosphere that time in the book. For example "devil" is used several times to emphasize the evil atmosphere.

Some of the language also contrasts man and nature at times. A good example of this is when Golding describes the island as being very peaceful in contrast to the sinister and aggressive man, this is done to further emphasize the evil of men, and how they can do such awful things on such a beautiful island. In the book there is a lot of irony, which helps relate his message. One example is that the boys were evacuated because of a war, and then created their own war on the island between Jack and Ralph. Then at the end of the novel they are rescued, only to be taken back to another worldwide war.

The book 'Lord of the Flies' has been written to show a contrast with our society and show what, if left unrestrained could happen because of the darkness in man's heart. When it was published in 1954 the plot was full of shocking surprises for the audience, and still is today, for its content seems so brutal considering it is about children. The conflicting personalities of Jack and Ralph instantly caused tension and Ralph being elected leader was the first turning point in their relationship. The next crucial point that affected their relationship was when Jack killed his first pig. The freedom offered to him by the island allowed Jack to express the darker sides of his personality that were suppressed by his past environment.

Without adults as a superior and responsible authority, he began to lose his fear of being punished for bad actions and behaviour. This freedom along with his aggressive and arrogant personality made it possible for him to quickly descend into a savage. In my opinion the most significant part of the play is where Jack challenges Ralph once again for leadership of the boys, and gets defeated, therefore running off to form his own tribe. Nearly all of the boys join him because they are tired of civilised life and want to play and hunt. I think this is a major turning point because this is when Jack gains the leadership he has been seeking over a majority of the boys and I feel he views them as a sort of army, to conquer the island. This is when his true evil is unleashed and quickly a murder takes place followed shortly by another.

This divide in the group in my opinion was the end of law and order. This is because they were no longer ruled by the civilised Ralph, but by the uncivilised Jack, and that is what caused the sudden end in their relationship, and the start of the real conflict. I think that Ralph and Jack are two perfectly contrasting characters intentionally created by Golding. He uses changes experienced by boys on an uninhabited island to show the evil nature of man. I think by using different characters Golding was able to portray various types of people found in our society.

Their true selves were revealed in the freedom from the laws and punishment of a world with adults. I think Ralph had grown so used to the regularity of a civilized world that the changes they underwent were difficult for him to understand. He became confused and less capable of thinking clearly and independently. Although he too had experienced the urge for violence that had driven Jack and the hunters to momentary peaks of madness, his more sensitive personality and his sense of civilisation saved him from complete savagery. Jack on the other hand let out his evil and quickly turned savage and uncivilised. These two people in society do exist and that is what Golding is trying to portray through 'Lord of the Flies', and in my opinion he does very successfully and that is why the book is so popular.

Golding learnt just how brutal people can be from the war he participated in which influenced 'Lord of the Flies' greatly and this quote: "The boys try to construct a civilisation on the island; but it breaks down in blood and terror because the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human.".