Monday, February 1, 2016

What are some quotes about Ralph in Lord of the Flies that show his weak leadership? Please include the reference to the quote.

In Chapter 4 of Lord of the Flies, Ralph shows his weak leadership.  At this point in the story, the boys have spotted a ship and are hopeful that the ship will see the signal from the fire that is supposed to be at the top of the mountain.  Piggy cannot see if there is smoke coming from the fire and asks Ralph if he thinks the ship can see the signal.  Ralph, however, does not answer him.  He starts to run to the mountain when he realizes that if the fire is out, he'll need Piggy's glasses to get it going again.  Ralph cannot figure out what to do:  "Balanced on a high peak of need, agonized by indecision, Ralph cried out, 'Oh God, oh God!'"  Here, Ralph displays a serious moment of weakness through his indecision.  The fire is in fact out and the ship does pass the island.  Ralph finally takes action by running to the peak and screaming for help, but it is too late.  Ralph is not able to mobilize the boys or himself to make a feasible attempt at saving themselves and thus shows his weakness as a leader.

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