Jacob Dugger

English II
18 October 2016
LOTF Final
How would it feel to have the most important role in a group that you are in? How would
you feel if everyone relied on you to make the right decisions? Well, Ralph has had many
struggles and has succeeded with being the leader. Some of those struggles are, Finding self
confidence, figuring out who is willing to work with making shelters, and finding love and
belonging with close friends on the island.
In the beginning of the book, Ralph has self esteem as the group elects him as the chief.
Ralph feels self-confidence [and] worth... in the world(Maslow 5) as the circle of boys
[breaks] into applause(Golding 23). Ralph feels he is worth something because when he was
elected he was chosen as their leader. The only one who always helps is Ralph and Simon, he is
the one to separate people into their groups, and most important the others rely on him to get
them to safety. Out of anyone who could have been chosen they chose Ralph which probably
made him a little excited or happy. Ralph probably felt even better when everyone decided to
stay with him when Jack tried to take over because Jack believed that Ralph was neither worthy
nor courageous enough to be a leader. Jack gets mad because [Ralph is] like Piggy. He says
things like Piggy [and] he is not a proper chief...hes a coward(Golding 126). Just because
Ralph ran away when he, Jack, and Roger went up the mountain, Jack thinks that Ralph is a
coward, even though Jack and Roger ran away too.

In the middle of the book Ralph realizes that nobody besides Simon is willing to work on
the shelters for safety from storms and/or wild animals. While building Ralph discovers it is
unfair that he works all day with nothing but Simon and [the others] come back and dont even
notice the huts(Golding 50) because Ralph and Simon are making huts so the members feel
safe enough from wild animals, extremes of temperature, ETC.(Maslow 3). Ralph gets
frustrated because no one helps except for Simon so that the others can come back and not be
cold at night or wet from rain and nobody even cares or even recognises that Ralph and Simon
have made the shelters. This seems unfair since nobody really cares or appreciates that Simon
and Ralph had made ull of the huts with little to no help from Jack or Jacks hunters. When
Ralph explains this to Jack, Jack doesnt notice that much even then. All that Jack thinks about
while they are on the the island is getting food. Ralph gets frustrated when Jack keeps saying that
they want meat(Golding 51). Ralph talks to Simon exclaiming that two shelters were in
position, but shaky(Golding 50). They are trying to put the shelters up with only two people so
since they dont have many people to help the shelters are going to be a little shaky or unstable
which will cause the shelters to be not so great when there is a storm.
At the very end of this book, Raph has found Love and belonging in Piggy even though
that sometimes Piggy got mad at him or yelled, that Piggy was the best friend that Ralph had
ever had. Ralph never thought of it before Piggy had died but when they were rescued Ralph
wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a mans heart, and the fall through the air of the
true, wise friend called Piggy(Golding 202). Ralph didnt expect Piggys death and didnt know
how [he would] feel keenly, as never before, the absence of [a friend](Maslow 5). Ralph didnt
really expect the death and he did not experience a sight of a true friend dying before Piggy

passed away so Ralph felt sad that his only friend on that island was murdered. Ralph also
backed Piggy up in the beginning of the book when Ralph and Piggy first meets Jack and his
group. When Piggy says that he forgot what Jacks name was Jack rudely says, Shut up,
fatty(Golding 20). When Jack says this, Ralph gets outraged because Hes not fatty His real
name's Piggy(Golding 20). This shows that even though Piggy and Ralph were not great friends
at that point, Ralph knows its not right to call Piggy that, so he stands up against Jack. This is
not right that just because Piggy is not in the best physical shape that means that Jack gets to
bully Piggy and act like he is better than the others.
These three paragraphs have showed how Ralph had evolved as a leader and as a person
by seeing how much a person's live impacted his, how to keep yourself and others safe and on
track with their working roles, and being more confident with the decisions he had made
throughout the book.