Ralph

Ralph has been an easy character to follow, and has changed a lot over the course of the book.  He started out as a lost, scared little boy, who had no idea what to do.  He quickly turns into a leader of many boys, and as those boys break up, he becomes the leader of a side in the middle of a war.  He ends up running for his life from the people that used to respect him.

In chapter 6 when Sam and Eric see the beast, Ralph takes control over the situation.  When Jack wants to go on a fun hunt, Ralph realizes that this is bigger than just "boys with sticks" (101).  He convinces Jack to take a few more people along and actually be careful.  They end up finding a place that all of the boys want to make their fort.  Ralph is the only one who actually stays focused on the hunt,and he is not technically a hunter.

In chapter 6 again, the boys are on a quest to find the beast.  When they have to go to the big rock, nobody wants to go out of the safety of the forest, so Ralph volunteers himself because he realizes that he is the leader and is responsible for the safety of everyone.  This shows how much he really cares for everyone, even Jack, and how much they all respect him and see him as a leader. It shows how he thinks and his judgment.  He says, "I'm chief.  I'll go. No arguments," (105)

In chapter 11, Ralph uses the conch to call an assembly of both tribes of boys.  He tells Jack "You voted for me for chief.  Didn't you hear the conch? You played a dirty trick-we would have given you fire if you'd asked for it-" (176).  This shows that the boys really respect Ralph more than they do Jack. They are more scared of Jack than they are of Ralph, so they choose to follow Jack instead.  This quote shows that Ralph has a kind heart and would like it if everyone survived and got off the island.  He is not a selfish person and has grown immensely as a leader and his learned to use his instincts to survive and make the best choices  for the tribe.