Compare and Contrast the characters of Ralph and Jack in the first and last chapters in Lord of the Flies

Lord of the flies is a novel about a group of boys who are lost on an island in the sum of the ocean. It is written by William Golding. Two of the key characters in the novel are Ralph and prick, they have completely dissimilar characteristics and this essay will compare those ii characters.The counterbalance clock we calculate the two characters of Ralph and Jack contrast is in chapter one. The conducters read that when Ralph first appeared on the island he was wearing his school sweater. Slowly because of the heat he took it forth and trailed it from one hand. The fact that Ralph shows no respect for his clothes tells the reader that he is an ordinary school boy who does not yet care about his appearance. As a result of this he is not self conscious and thereby exonerated. In contrast, Jack and his choirs, bodies, from throat to ankle, were hidden by black cloaks which bore a long silver cross. Their dark clothes are menacing and hint about them cosmos savages in the fu ture. Their clothing is extremely unsuitable for their tender surroundings and they soon take them off. Jack is in any case winly the leader of the choir, as he is wearing a golden cap. He over exercises his chest of drawers and hurls orders at his choir boys.The readers similarly work out from this first chapter that Ralph was brought up in the Home Counties. Golding writes that Ralph, jerked his stockings with an automatic gesture that made the jungle seem for a moment like the Home Counties. We can assume that Ralph, coming from the Home Counties, was brought up in a middle class background. This automatic gesture in addition tells the reader that he is naturally reassuring nonetheless in these strange set of circumstances. His natural reassurance is shown again later on when, he saw two little-uns and, not having any idea own appearance , wondered why they screamed and ran. He calm nature in these bizarre events show how innocent and immature he is.Ralphs immatureness is shown further when he finds out that there are no grown ups on the island, the delight of realised ambition came over him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his headway. Ralph celebrates the fact that there are no adults on the island by standing on his head. Ralph standing on his head symbolises how their lives have been reversed. It also shows what an immature and innocent character Ralph is. Jacks attitude is completely different, he thinks because he has authority back in school it should be transferred to the island. He arrogantly says that he should be chief, because Im chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C-sharp. We constantly see Jack trying to be the omnipotent leader. He even protests against democracy.One way in which both the characters of Ralph and Jack are similar in chapter is the way in which they treat neanderthal. Ralph at first ignored neandertal for, when the fat boy waited to be asked his name in turn but this offer of acquaintance was not made, Ral ph did not care for him at this tip and finds him rather tiresome. In-fact he even mocks him by teasing him about his Ass-mar. Ralph considers shoat to be inferior to him as he is middle-class whilst shoat is lower-class.Jack also hated him from the beginning, he constantly bullies him by saying things like, shut up fatty in-fact he did not even give him a chance. Jack bullies Piggy to devote himself seem important, this shows to the reader that Jack is a bully at heart this unfortunately does not change as the novel progresses. Ralph also betrays Piggy by telling Jack that his, His real names Piggy. Ralph betrays Piggys trust and confidence. Ralph acts in this way to gain popularity with Jack and his cronies as they are upper-class and he is middle-class. and then he looks up to them.Piggy being from a working class background finds life sociably difficult. In comparison Ralph and Jack, who obviously come from a more(prenominal) educated and wealthy background, automatically see themselves as superior.Piggy is also physically frail, because of his asthma, and needs Ralph to constantly look after him on the island. Ralph immaturity is shown again when in his eagerness to swim he runs and, in a few moments the fat boys grunts were right behind him. Ralphs enthusiasm to swim causes him to leave Piggy behind. Ralph chooses fun over common sense, whilst Piggy tries to be sensible. Ralph immaturity is shown when he, stood there naked looking at the dazzling beach and sea. Ralph shedding his clothes tells the reader that he is stock-still very much a child and is not worried or self conscious about what others may think of him.Ralphs loneliness also tells us that he is innocent and childlike as a result he is very naive. Being naked in paradise, metaphorically reminds the reader of Adam and Eve being naked in the Garden of Eden. If Jack had been around he would have thought it maybe gay or babyish to strip naked in front of everyone because he did not k str aightaway such innocence as Ralph did. We see that Jack is much more mature and less innocent then Ralph.However, the readers also see that Jack is still very much a school boy who possesses fear and morals. We read that Jacks face was white under the freckles. He noticed that he still held the knife aloft. Jack cannot bring himself to kill the pig he is still a civilised school boy who is squeamish about blood.Ralph immaturity is shown further when he shows disrespect towards normal aspects of democracy. Piggy constantly warns Ralph that he should be Careful Youll break it Ralph is warned how fragile the conch is by Piggy and is irritated by the warning. The conch is symbolic of order, rules and democracy. Therefore Ralphs careless attitude towards it shows he does not yet meet the great importance of democracy and civilisation. This also shows that Ralph does not appreciate the good value of common-sense. Jack also shows no appreciation for democracy as he protested when they vot ed for a leader. However, this is out of pure greed of power not immaturity.In the last chapter of the novel, Ralphs character is shown to have taken a complete metamorphosis. A clear example of this is when Ralph exclaims, How could you listen for naked feet if youre splashing around in the water?. In the first chapter Ralph swam in the water without a care in the world. However, now things have changed, Ralph is petrified for his life since Jack and Roger are trying to kill him. These painted savages will do anything Jack or Roger tell them to do, out of fear of being put to death. It seems that terror and danger has changed the immature outlook which Ralph had in life that we see in Chapter One.We also see that the way the other characters treat Ralph has also altered from the beginning of the novel. The younger children who admired and loved him previously in Chapter One, ignored and mistreated him. This is shown when, he saw two little-uns and wondered why they screamed and r an. Ralph has now function too immersed in his emotions due to the sorrows of his current life. This makes Ralph an unrecognisable figure for the younger children.In Chapter One the whole island was on the whole united in their aims. Now, because of Jack and Ralphs rift, the island is now split into two territories. Jack and Ralph each have their end of the island. This split lets Jack party and bully the little-uns in peace without Ralph and Rodgers interference.We also see that Ralphs character in Chapter One whose, mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil, has totally changed. He has transformed from being a young innocent child to one that is now wild and fears death at every corner. Ralphs experiences have taught him to be ruthless and not to be so trusting and naive. This is shown when he vents his anger at the pigs skull. Golding tells us that he lashed out and cried out with loathing. Ralph destroys the pigs skull in the same way that Jack and Roger destroyed the conch. This represents both clans rejection of rules and democracy. The pig skull is the master key of the flies as it attracts flies. It also represents evil, so therefore when Ralph destroys it is considered as if he has removed most of the evilness from the island.In the last chapter Jacks hatred towards Ralph reaches its climax, They (Jack and Roger) hate you Ralph. Theyre dismissal to kill you. Jack hates Ralph because Ralph just wants to be rescued, which means you need rules. However, Jack and Roger just want to be free and have no rules or democracy.In addition Jack also wants to kill Ralph because Ralph took away his leadership and as a result he is extremely jealous.Upon being rescued by a group of naval officers, The officer inspected the little scarecrow in front of him. The kid needed a bath, a hair-cut, a nose wipe and a good deal of ointment. The readers are reminded here that despite Ralph going through this horrible ordeal, he is still ultimately a child. This reminds the rea der of Ralphss character in Chapter One when he looked innocent and childlike and looked at everything with, bright exciting eyes. One could see how the events of the novel have changed Ralphs character. However, Goldings description of his appearance when he was found by the naval officers, remind the reader that he is still physically a child.In conclusion when comparing Jack and Ralphs characters in the first and last chapter in the novel, one can see that the main differences are that Jack is more conventional and conformist where Ralph is more easy going and a little rebellious who is always on the look out for adventure and danger. However, Ralph would like to be rescued by others where as Jack would like to make his own gang and would thrive on his own leadership.