Contrast of Ralph and Jack in William Golding's Lord of the Flies
             Many people believe that evil is not derived from society, but that evil lives within the people of society. This is most evident in William Golding's book Lord of the Flies. In Golding's book a group of young boys are trying to escape war when their plane crash lands on a deserted island. Many of them survive, and two of the boys ,Ralph and Jack, begin to stand out as leaders. These characters are different in many ways. Through Ralph and Jack's differences in their abilities, how they became leaders, and how they govern, Golding sets up a contrast to emphasize the conflict between good and evil.
             Both Ralph and Jack had great physical abilities. However they both used their abilities in different ways. In the second chapter Ralph, thinking about the possibility of rescue, proposes that the group should build a large signal fire on top of the island's central mountain, so that if a ship passes, it will see the fire and know that someone is trapped on the island. The boys collect a mound of dead wood and use the lens from Piggy's glasses to refract sunlight and set it on fire. Ralph uses his abilities in the second chapter for the benefit of the whole group. In the third chapter while all the other boys are building huts for the group, Jack is in the woods hunting. With his makeshift spear in hand, Jack tries to track a pig through the woods however the pig manages to evade him. During this whole time Ralph and the other boys are building huts while Jack is satisfying his savage need to kill in the woods.
             Ralph and Jack were both leaders of their own tribes, however their rise to leadership was very different from one another. In the first chapter shortly after the plane crash the boys decide to elect a leader. The choirboys vote for Jack, but all the other boys vote for Ralph. Ralph wins the vote, although Jack clearly wants the position. Ralph also possess th...