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Ashley Lopez

English

Ralph’s Journey

Remaining sane on a deserted island and trying to get rescued can prove to be difficult.

In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies- A group of British boys get stranded on an island

in a plane crash , the adults are dead. The children are left alone to form a government of their

own and it is up to them to get rescued. And in doing so they must not let the dark side in them

take over. Because instinct and the need for belonging are driving factors in motivation, Ralph

illuminates these traits through his ego personality, belief in esteem, and his hero like persona

throughout the novel.

The novel starts with Ralph finding himself stranded on an island and meeting Piggy.

Ralph first shows his archetype ,hero, by being the first person to have blown the conch.

“Him with the shell.” “Ralph! Ralph!” “Let him be chief with the trumpet thing.” (pg. 22)

When Ralph first met Piggy and the others he was at esteem on Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

“Jack and Ralph smiled at each other with shy liking.”(pg.23) “Ralph smiled and held up the

conch for silence.” (pg.23). Ralph shows ego by being the person to organize meetings and

trying to focus on getting rescued.“Listen, everybody. I’ve got to have time to think things out. I

can’t decide what to do straight off. If this isn’t an island we might be rescued straight away. So

we’ve got to decide if this is an island.” (pg.23) Overall, in the beginning of the novel everyone

is at their best. But the further it goes the more these things start to waver.
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Later in the story, some of the boys only want to have fun and let savagery get the best of

them and start to question Ralph's leadership.Ralph continues to show this archetype when Jack

starts to say how Ralph is unfit for the position of chief, Jack somewhat represents the “beast”

that Ralph,the hero, needs to defeat.Ralph tells Piggy, “ We can do without Jack Merridew.

There’s others besides him on this island. But now we really got a beast, though I can’t hardly

believe it, we’ll need to stay close to the platform…” (pg.128). When in reality the beast was

them all along, some controlled it better than others.Ralph changes from ego to id when they

“accidentally” kill Simon.When they wanted to be included at Jack's tribe, “Kill the beast! Cut

his throat! Spill his blood!”Next, on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Ralph goes from esteem to

safety needs. For example, Ralph dredged in his fading knowledge of the world. “We might get

taken prisoner by the Reds”. Ralph is feeling the pressure that something really bad is going to

happen to him and he has no control over it. In summary, the longer they stay the more the boys

start to separate and go against each other.

Lastly, Ralph has to run and hide for his life after Roger set the island on fire and is trying to

kill him and later getting rescued by a navy officer. His archetype has still remained hero but he

has evolved to self-actualization and has grown up. When he was found by the navy officer and

realized everything he just went through, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of

man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” He has gone from

self-esteem to safety and security, and now to physiological needs only. He is scared for his life.

“ How long could you go without sleep? He yearened for a bed and sheets but the only whiteness

here was the slow spilt milk, luminous round the rock forty feet below, where Piggy had fallen”.

He has still remained in ego throughout the end of the story.Ralph tells samneric “What have I
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done? I liked him-and I wanted us to be rescued, he still has his plan of being rescued and knows

what they’re doing is not right.

Overall, Ralph's plan did not go so well, and he made mistakes, but there was a fire and he got

rescued.

In conclusion,Ralph grows mentally and learns how tough the human mind really is. Ralph’s

instinct and his need for belonging are his driving factors in motivation, he shows traits through

ego and his personality belief in esteem, along with his hero like persona throughout the

novel.Ralph tries his best to remain civilized throughout the novel. He is still only human and

may sometimes let the savagery get the best of him.When put in a tough and natural environment

we are tested how humane we really are.

Gale-Martin, Jerome. "Symbol Hunting Golding's Lord of the Flies." Children's Literature Review, edited

by Allison Marion, vol. 94, Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420055383/GLS?u=j043902&sid=GLS&xid=971b6334.

Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. Originally published in English Journal, vol. 58, no. 3, Mar. 1969, pp.

408-413.

Golding, W. (2019). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs within Lord of the Flies Essay... | Bartleby. [online]

Bartleby.com. Available at:

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-Needs-within-Lord-of-F3NF64936YYS [Accessed

11 Dec. 2004].
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