In the story “Lord of the Flies” there are many interpretations of what the character Ralph symbolizes. Ralph displays many traits such as leadership, knowledge, and poise as the chief of the stranded boys of the island. This is why I believe that Ralph represents the government of the island.
A government is established to create peace and equal opportunity for everyone. If everyone is at peace then they can work to achieve a certain goal to obtain happiness. This is why certain characteristics are essential to running a stable government. Those characteristics, which I mentioned before, are leadership, knowledge, and poise. Leadership is essential to a government because a good leader can gather a group of people and make them believe in something, making it easier to accomplish. Knowledge is important as well for the simple fact that people are more likely to believe someone if they know more, making them easier to follow and trust. Poise is an attribute that means that you are willing to stand up for what you believe in no matter what the situation or problem. These are the essential characteristics that a great government must possess in order to stay strong and keep followers.
Ralph shows great leadership abilities in the book. A great example is in the beginning of the book when Ralph is elected chief because of his knowledge and leadership abilities. Ralph shows a lot of poise when, instead of giving in to his selfish desires such as hunting, he does the right thing by trying to get back piggy’s glasses so he can start the fire and they can be rescued. This is why Ralph symbolizes the government in the book “Lord of the Flies”.