NON - AFRICAN PROSE WILLIAM GOLDING: LORD OF THE FLIES Consider Ralph as the hero in the novel.

Answer Details

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Ralph is the central figure around whom the action turns, and although he is flawed he functions as the hero of the novel because he stands for order, reason and humane leadership against the tide of savagery.

He is the elected leader. At the first assembly the boys choose Ralph as chief, largely because he possesses the conch that summons them. From the start he represents legitimate, democratic authority rather than force.

He champions civilisation. Ralph's leading policy is the signal fire kept burning on the mountain so that a passing ship may rescue them. His steady insistence on the fire, on shelters and on orderly meetings shows him working for the common good and for a return to the adult world of law and reason.

He grows in understanding. Ralph matures during the story. He learns to value the despised Piggy for his intelligence, and he gradually recognises the darkness that is overtaking the others. This growth in moral awareness is a mark of the hero.

He resists the descent into savagery. As Jack's hunters abandon rules for painted faces, blood and cruelty, Ralph almost alone holds to decency. He is horrified by the killings of Simon and Piggy and refuses to join the tribe, even when doing so would make him safe.

He is the hunted victim who is finally saved. In the climax the whole island is set ablaze to smoke Ralph out for the kill, and he flees for his life until he collapses at the feet of a naval officer. His survival, and his weeping for the end of innocence and for the death of his true, wise friend Piggy, confirm his role as the moral centre of the book.

Ralph is not perfect; he sometimes mocks Piggy and even shares briefly in the frenzy that kills Simon. Yet because he embodies order, responsibility and conscience, and because he suffers and endures in their defence, Ralph deserves to be regarded as the hero of Lord of the Flies.