In the beginning of the novel, Lord of the Flies, Ralph is an innocent boy with no direct knowledge of the evil in the world.  When the plane crash lands on the island, Ralph begins to organize the other students into groups to help them all survive which is a logical reaction  to the situation.  He sees his fellow students as just that, students.  Then, as the novel progresses, he watches the descent into chaos and evil. Piggy is killed, the hunters begin to follow the blood thirst to extreme, the young boys subverted into becoming hunters also, and in the final act of depravity, Ralph himself becomes the hunted.  Reason is swept away while evil rules.  When the naval officer arrives at the end, Ralph is saved from death only by the officer's arrival.  Ralph weeps for the change which has occurred on the island; that the innocent boys who landed on the island have turned into savages who will kill even Ralph, their one time leader.