One of Ralph's external conflicts in Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is trying to get Jack and his group of hunters to realize the importance of maintaining order among the group and maintaining the signal fire. Ralph feels that it's important for the boys to try to somehow keep the semblance of life on land alive on the island by doing things they would normally do at home. For example, the boys should maintain their hygiene and try to keep the camp clean. Also, Ralph feels the priority should be to keep the signal fire going. That is the only way they are ever going to get rescued. However, Jack and his hunters are of the philosophy that the most important endeavor to be worrying about is hunting to provide food for the group. Jack is trying to proliferate this philosophy among the boys, while Ralph is trying to make the boys see things his way. It's a constant struggle for Ralph.
What are the internal and external conflicts of Ralph?
If there's a hero in Lord of the Flies, it's Ralph. He's the sensible, rational one, the boy who realizes that, if this party of stranded schoolboys is to survive, there needs to be some kind of rules-based order on the island. Otherwise, Ralph realizes with remarkable prescience, the boys will descend into outright savagery.
Yet none of the other boys—with the notable exception of Simon and Piggy—are remotely interested in establishing any semblance of civilization. Most of the boys just want to have fun. Free from sustained adult supervision for the first time in their short lives, they'd much rather spend their time skinny-dipping or hunting than getting down to the hard graft of building fires and constructing shelters. So right from the get-go, Ralph finds himself in conflict with most of the other boys, even during that all-too-brief period when they accept him as their leader.
At the same time, Ralph himself is still a boy, and as such he has a natural desire to be one of the boys. For the most part, Ralph handles his inner conflict between what he wants to do and what he ought to do quite well. But there are one or two lapses. For instance, Ralph derives great pleasure from pulling Piggy's leg, despite the fact that Piggy is his natural ally on the island. More seriously, he—as well as Piggy—participates in the wild dancing ritual that ends with the brutal slaying of Simon.
What are the internal and external conflicts of Ralph?
As a main character, Ralph of Lord of the Flies experiences several conflicts. These struggles are what move the plot forward, in fact. Initially, Ralph, who mistakenly thinks that he has arrived on an idyllic island, finds himself elected leader of the boys and burdened with much responsibility. At first, with the assistance of the rational Piggy, Ralph establishes order by using the conch to call the boys to meetings. He convinces them initially of the importance of building and sustaining a fire with green branches that will send smoke high...
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into the air as a signal so they can be rescued. Yet, even with Piggy, Ralph has some conflict as they disagree at times. However, as previously mentioned, Ralph's leadership is most challenged by the aggressive and proud Jack, once leader of the boys' choir, who now wishes to rule the boys and have them join his own group of hunters [see ch.4]. The external conflict comes of the civilized manner of Ralph's leadership which involves building shelters and maintaining the rescue fire vs. Jack's control of the boys by brute force and having them engage in hunting the feral pigs on the island. This force of Jack and his hunters along with his sadistic friend,Roger, defeats Ralph's group by stealing the fire; after this, anarchy rules the island and the hunters go after Ralph, who is only saved by the rescuing warship and its captain.
Within Ralph there are, of course, internal conflicts, which his inner thoughts reveal. One important one is his desire to join in the hunt, as previously mentioned. In Chapter 5, for instance, Ralph experiences another internal conflict in his realization that he does not have enough to command the leadership:
Again he fell into that strange mood of speculation that was so foreign to him.....The trouble was, if you were a chief you had to think, you had to be wise....
Once more that evening Ralph had to adjust his values. Piggy could think. He could go step by step inside that fat head of his, only Piggy was no chief. But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains. Ralph was a specialist in thought now, and could recognize thought in another.
By the end of this chapter, Ralph begins to wish for the return to civilization where adults have the answers. He realizes inside himself that he is not equipped to handle what changes are occurring on the island.
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Before writing an essay on Ralph review the character analysis in the site below. Go back through the novel; hopefully, you noted significant passages.
What you want to do, essentially, is analyze the character of Ralph, discussing what traits he possesses and how he deals with his internal and external conflicts; that is, discuss the development of Ralph as a character. Explain how he resolves (or does not resolve) these external conflicts/struggles with Piggy, the littl'uns, and Jack. And, identify his internal struggles--what he worries about, wants, etc.--explaining how he deals with these conflicts.
What are the internal and external conflicts of Ralph?
External conflict in literature is conflict that happens between the character and something outside of him. This can be society, or another character, or even the weather. But in this case, the most obvious external conflict for Ralph is his conflict with Jack. They spend the whole book, just about, competeing with each other for power.
The major internal conflict for Ralph, I would say, comes when he is tempted to join Jack and the hunters. He participates in a dance and is really ashamed of himself.
Overall, though, I'd say that the conflict between him and Jack is more important.
What were Ralph's internal and external conflicts?
Ralph is an absolutely fantastic character to read about, and a large part of that has to do with the fact that he struggles both internally and externally. I would say that he has two main external struggles. The first struggle is fairly obvious based on the book's setting. It is a man vs. nature conflict. He is stranded on a deserted island; therefore, he has to fight against hunger, thirst, exposure, injury, etc. The island isn't a tropical paradise that delivers food from heaven each morning. He and the boys have to hunt down food and work together to build shelter that protects them from the elements. The second major external conflict for Ralph is a man vs. man conflict. Starting right from Chapter 1, Ralph and Jack are butting heads. Both boys think they should be the one to lead, and this conflict escalates little by little each chapter until Jack is outright trying to kill Ralph.
Internally, Ralph struggles with how to lead. He wants to be "cool" and fair, but he also has a good handle on what needs to be done. He knows that some jobs aren't going to be glorious, but they have to be done all the same. He struggles with exactly what kind of leader he wants to be and what kind of leader he needs to be.
What were Ralph's internal and external conflicts?
The end of the novel also highlights Ralph's confusion about society itself. He struggles to reconcile what he knows of school - the rules, the structure, the discipline - with what he knows of the world - violence and war. Although uncomforable with Jack's violent treatment of some of the boys, Ralph hesitates to contradict him because it appears normal to him. It is when the naval officer stumbles upon him and comments on the "play" of the boys that Ralph understands society. He weeps then for the "end of innocence" and the "darkness in men's heart". He realizes that the discipline of society is barely covering up its true, violent nature.
What were Ralph's internal and external conflicts?
Ralph is one of the most complex characters in this novel. Internally, he struggles between his accepted leadership and his actual age. As the elected leader, he feels the responsibility of both keeping them together as a civilized society (hence his attempt at shelters, bathrooms, etc.) and of getting them rescued (his obsession with the fire). However, as a kid, he envies the other boys, Jack especially, because of their ability and willingness to shun responsibility and just have fun. This is seen most pointedly during his argument on the mountain with Jack after they missed their chance to be saved the first time. Ralph's external battles are mostly related to that same idea. He fights (physically, mentally, and emotionally) with Jack about what the boys should be doing. He recognizes Piggy as an outsider and pokes of him for that. He also must defend his actions against all of Jack's tribe once they abandon reason. Ralph has some obvious conflict with the elements of nature, also, but their importance pales in comparison to his relationships with the other characters.