What are some bad things Ralph does in Lord of the Flies by William Golding? What are some good things he does?

Ralph is written as a round character, meaning that he is well-developed and, like a real person, has positive and negative traits and behaviors. Right from the beginning of the story, readers understand that Ralph is just a typical boy when he can't resist teasing Piggy for his nickname. He also tells the other boys the name even though Piggy specifically asked him not to. Like most young people, he pays more attention to the...

Ralph is written as a round character, meaning that he is well-developed and, like a real person, has positive and negative traits and behaviors. Right from the beginning of the story, readers understand that Ralph is just a typical boy when he can't resist teasing Piggy for his nickname. He also tells the other boys the name even though Piggy specifically asked him not to. Like most young people, he pays more attention to the older boys and tends to ignore the little ones. He only off-handedly gives Piggy the assignment to take roll of all the littluns, not realizing the importance of someone taking responsibility for their care. This leads to the death of the boy with the birthmark in the fire. In addition, he ridicules Simon and calls him "batty." Although Ralph doesn't get carried away with hunting to the extent that Jack does, when he has a chance to hunt, he gets overly excited and participates with the other boys in a mock pig hunt that actually hurts and scares Robert. This foreshadows Ralph's worst failing, namely participating in the murder of Simon. 

Despite those failings, Ralph does a lot of good things and represents the side of virtue and order on the island. He feels sympathy for Jack when the other boys don't vote for him, and so Ralph lets Jack choose something to be in charge of. He runs the meetings in democratic fashion, trying to let everyone speak as long as he has the conch. He works hard building shelters even when most of the boys don't help. He continually thinks about the long-term welfare of the boys, namely their rescue, and works hard to keep the signal fire a priority. He eventually recognizes Piggy as a true friend and disapproves of Jack's violent and unethical behavior. He stands up for Piggy against Jack and tries to get Piggy's glasses back after Jack steals them. Although Ralph is not perfect, he displays many admirable qualities.