Quote 1
All at once, Robert was screaming and struggling with the strength of frenzy. Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife. Behind him was Roger, fighting to get close. The chant rose ritually, as at the last moment of a dance or a hunt.
"Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!"
Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering. (7.74-76)
Blame it on mob mentality or the lure of primitivity or being called four-eyes one too many times, but our sweet Ralphie just went out of his skull.
Quote 2
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. (12.248)
Ralph may be weeping like a kid, but he's not a child any longer. It's not that he's lost his innocence, exactly; it's more like he's lost the idea that anyone is innocent. Pretty rough stuff. Also, check out the way this passage pushes together totally different language. We go from the specific and ugly "filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose" to "the darkness of man's heart," and from the uplifting, noble language of "true, wise friend" to … Piggy. What's that juxtaposition all about?
Quote 3
Ralph had stopped smiling and was pointing into the lagoon. Something creamy lay among the ferny weeds.
“A stone.”
“No. A shell.” (1.141-143)
It is Ralph, not Piggy, who both finds and identifies the shell. Piggy goes on to explain the conch’s sound to Ralph, but Ralph is the one who makes the initial discovery and takes possession. This is important, as the conch later enables Ralph (and not Piggy) to become chief.
Quote 4
"Shut up," said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. "Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things."
"A chief! A chief!"
"I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp." (1.228-30)
It's dumb of Jack to think he should be leader because he can sing C sharp, but is it any dumber that Ralph gets elected because he's cute and has the conch? Maybe Golding is saying that all rules and order are kind of made up—but that doesn't mean they're not important.
Quote 5
"All this I meant to say. Now I've said it. You voted me for chief. Now you do what I say."
They quieted, slowly, and at last were seated again. Ralph dropped down and spoke in his ordinary voice. (5.58-59)
All Ralph has to do is remind the boys that they decided to obey a certain set of rules, and they chill out. For now. It's scary to think about, but that's pretty much the only thing keeping our government in place, too: a (vast) majority of people think it should be there.
Quote 6
"I'm chief. We've got to make certain [that there is no beast]. Can't you see the mountain? There's no signal showing. There may be a ship out there. Are you all off your rockers?" (6.238)
Poor Ralph. He's learning that just saying "I'm chief" isn't enough; you have to have people to enforce your system of laws and order—like a police force, or Roger.
Quote 7
[Ralph] was vexed to find how little he thought like a grownup and sighed again. The island was getting worse and worse. (8.243)
When Ralph notes order breaking down, he is quick to blame the island as getting worse and worse, not the boys.
"…I mean…what makes things break up like they do?
Piggy rubbed his glasses slowly and thought […].
"I dunno, Ralph. I expect it's him."
"Jack?"
"Jack." A taboo was evolving round that word too.
Ralph nodded solemnly.
"Yes," he said, "I suppose it must be." (8.259-2.65)
Ralph and Piggy see Jack as the reason that all their rules and order collapse. In other words, it's the dark, bestial side of us that just can't resist trying to rebel. (They don't seem to realize that there's a teeny bit of Jack in them, too.)
“You're a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief!” (11.187)
Interesting! Ralph calls Jack both “a beast” and “a swine.” Lord of the Flies seems to argue that the boys are indeed both.
Quote 10
The booing rose and died again as Piggy lifted the white, magic shell.
“Which is better –to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?”
A great clamor rose among the savages. Piggy shouted again.
“Which is better –to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”
Again the clamor and again – “Zup!”
Ralph shouted against the noise.
“Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?”
Now Jack was yelling too and Ralph could no longer make himself heard. Jack had backed right against the tribe and they were a solid mass of menace that bristled with spears. (11.200-207)
The description of the shell as “white, magic” seems to be the way Piggy sees it. The passage that follows proves that the shell is in fact no such thing; it can’t even get the boys to quiet down and listen.
Quote 11
"Shut up," said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. "Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things."
"A chief! A chief!"
"I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp." (1.229-231)
Sure, bet that C sharp really comes in handy when you're trying to keep a group in order. Jack thinks he should have the power because he's always had it. There's nothing special about him; he doesn't have any particular talent for leading. He's just arrogant. And sometimes that's enough.
Quote 12
The suffusion drained away from Jack's face. Ralph waved again for silence.
"Jack's in charge of the choir. They can be—what do you want them be?"
"Hunters."
Jack and Ralph smiled at each other with shy liking. The rest began to talk eagerly. (1.254-257)
Check out how Ralph gets Jack on his side by sharing power. He's set up to be a good leader, taking into account the needs and desires of his group. Too bad it's not going to last.
Quote 13
Ralph pushed Piggy to one side.
"I was chief, and you were going to do what I said." (4.132-133)
Uh oh. This is basically the equivalent of Ralph saying, "But it's not fair." If you have a sibling, you know how well that works. (Not at all.)
Quote 14
Something deep in Ralph spoke for him.
"I'm chief. I'll go. Don't argue." (6.155)
Notice that Ralph isn't the one agreeing to go look for the beast; it's the chief inside of him. He's a good example of how power can actually make you better. If you know you have people depending on you, and if you take that responsibility seriously, then power can be a positive force.
Quote 15
"Then we must go as we are," said Ralph, "and they won't be any better." Eric made a detaining gesture.
"But they'll be painted! You know how it is."
The others nodded. They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought. (11.63-66)
Check out Golding's almost paradoxical use of "liberation" and "concealing." The paint does both: it liberates the boys by concealing their identities. If you know you won't be recognized, you're a lot more likely to be a total jerk. (Just ask anonymous Internet trolls.)
Quote 16
You can see who I am!" [Ralph] shouted. "Stop being silly!"
He put the conch to his lips and began to blow. Savages appeared, painted out of recognition, edging round the ledge toward the neck. They carried spears and disposed themselves to defend the entrance. (11.106-107)
This "You can see who I am!" is Ralph's major weapon. He asserts his identity hoping that it'll let him reason with the boys—but it doesn't mean anything, since the boys are beyond things like "identity" now.
Quote 17
He tried to remember.
“Smoke,” he said, “we want smoke.”
He turned on the twins fiercely.
“I said ‘smoke’! We’ve got to have smoke.”
There was silence, except for the multitudinous murmur of the bees. At last Piggy spoke, kindly.
“’Course we have. ’Cos the smoke’s a signal and we can’t be rescued if we don’t have smoke.”
“I knew that!” Shouted Ralph. He pulled his arm away from Piggy. “Are you suggesting–?” (11.73-78)
Ralph’s ability to think falls victim to the chaos of the island. Only Piggy remains a pillar of reason. So you can imagine what it means when Piggy later gets smashed on the rocks.