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Lord Of The Flies

LORD OF THE FLIES: RALPH vs. A SEPARATE PEACE: GENE

Lord of the Flies by William Golding and A Separate Peace by John Knowles are very unique novels. Both of them deal with man versus society. The main characters of the two novels are Ralph and Gene. In both novels the two must overcome deaths, wars, and antagonists to survive. The two are very alike in many ways, even though the setting and situations they encounter are totally different. Ralph is trapped on an island while Gene is and older man looking back at his days in high school. One trait that the characters have in common is their ability to be a leader. Ralph and Gene go through some hard times, but they always manage to rise above the chaos and be leaders. Ralph is worried about becoming rescued and getting killed by savages, while Gene is worried about having done intentional harm to his friend. Both of them are different in many ways too. But, the similarities are what stand out the most. Ralph and Gene are similar in the way they are leaders, they lose a friend, and they mature as the result of the events.
A leader can be defined as a person who sets a good model for everyone else. Ralph and Gene do this for their friends in many ways. Ralph is a leader because he takes control as soon as the boys find out they are stranded. While thinking about what he could do a boy named Piggy finds a conch shell and gives it to Ralph. This conch would be a symbol for the leadership and power that Ralph possesses. Ralph blows the conch and suddenly all the boys on the island are standing in front of him. When the boys all see Ralph with the conch they say, "Let him be chief with the trumpet thing” (Golding 21). Immediately, Ralph is the new leader of the boys. Ralph tells the boys what they must do in order to survive. He makes groups to build huts, find food, and build fires for rescue signals. Even though he is organized, another boy named Jack bothers him. Jack is irresponsible by going hunting instead of...