How Ralph and Jack Change :: William Golding Lord of the Flies Essays

How Ralph and Jack Change William Golding wrote the story "Lord of the flies". It is about a large group of schoolboys whose plane has crashed. They get stranded on a desert island. The story is about their survival and how they run their everyday lives. The two main characters Jack and Ralph are both from upper class and they both start off as the leaders. Later on the boys have a vote for leader and Ralph is selected. The first impression we get about Ralph is that he is active and doesn't like authority. When he found out that there were no grown ups on the island he "stood on his head and grinned" Piggy is the first of the other survivors that Ralph meets. Piggy is lower class. Later on in the book it shows that Piggy is really bullied by the upper class boys. Ralph at first seems very unaware of the seriousness of being on a deserted island, but later on he shows his maturity by suggesting a vote for leader. Overall, Ralph is friendly and active. He is not fat or skinny and is easy to get on with. The first impression of Jack that we get is that he is arrogant and dangerous, because the book brings him in as a shadow. He is very different compared to Ralph. He is skinny and has red hair. He is also wearing a black cap. He has freckles, a crumpled up face and his eyes are light blue. Jack does not seem pleasant, but like Ralph he seems to have the role of a leader. From the start Ralph and Jack get on very well. There are very few signs of anger between them. Immediately after Ralph is elected as leader, "Jack and Ralph smiled at each other with shy liking" This shows that they can still be friends even though one of them failed at being elected leader. As they explore later in the chapter, they can agree with each other without any signs of awkwardness. The first sign of conflict between Jack and Ralph started on page 37. Jack took the attention off of Ralph, "Come on. Follow me." It made everyone lose concentration and run from the meeting. Ralph was calling for silence but no one listened to him, and this was the first threat against his authority, and it became an irritation. Even though they argue, there is still agreement between Jack and Ralph. On page 38, they both help each other by moving a large branch. The real disagreement is in chapter 3, when they disagree on priorities.