Hello there, thank you so much for joining me.

Great to see you today.

My name's Mr. Barnsley, and I'm really excited to continue our exploration of the text "Lord of the Flies." In today's lesson, we're gonna be focusing on the character of Ralph, and how he has been presented in the novel.

All right, you're gonna want to make sure you've got a copy of the text to hand.

Let's get started.

So let's have a look at today's outcome then, shall we? By the end of today's lesson, you are gonna be able to explain how Ralph changes throughout the novel, and we're gonna think about what Ralph, the character, represents.

So there are gonna be five keywords I want you to look out for in today's lesson.

They are protagonist, charismatic, naive, heinous, and democracy.

So protagonist is the main character in a text, and democracy, that word at the bottom, is this idea of a system of government whereby leaders are voted in by election, so they're gonna be useful terms, but the three in the middle are gonna be adjectives that are really gonna describe Ralph's actions, behaviours, really useful when considering him as a character.

All right, so keep an eye out for them.

If you need to pause the video and read through all these definitions, now's the time to do it.

Okay, so there are two learning cycles in today's lesson.

First half of the lesson, we're gonna be thinking of Ralph, the character, as a leader, and then we're gonna start to think about changes that we see in Ralph's behaviour throughout the novel.

So let's start by thinking of Ralph as a leader.

So Ralph is arguably the protagonist, the central character, the hero, some may say, of the novel.

We meet fair-haired Ralph at the very beginning of the novel.

We're also told that Ralph has golden skin.

Let's start then, by thinking about what do we associate with the colour gold? All right, over to you for this one.

If you've got a partner, you can discuss this with them.

Otherwise, you can just think through this question independently.

Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you've got some ideas that you're willing to share.

I heard some really great ideas there.

I really want to shine a spotlight on some of the things that some of you have said.

So I heard people talking about gold linking to power and generosity.

Some of you mentioned golden linking to wealth, which might also link back to both power, and therefore, generosity.

Prosperity, as well.

Some of you, I heard the word wisdom, and some of you talked about angelic.

You might have even come up with some words that aren't on the screen now, and that's great, too.

Right, what I want us to think about now is where do we see each of these traits or these ideas within Ralph, in the novel? So think back to what you know about Ralph.

Do you see any of these traits in him? Pause the video, have a discuss, have a think independently, and press play when you're ready to move on.

Right, let's have a look at things that you might have said then, shall we? So some of you were saying some similar things to Lucas here, who said, "We see the idea of wealth in Ralph through his privileged upbringing.

Ralph also has a wealth of knowledge, which makes him very powerful, initially, in the novel." I heard some of you saying some similar things to Sofia, who said, "We see the idea of prosperity in Ralph because Ralph has been left the uncontested leader.

We get the impression that the boys would've had a better chance of prospering on the island if, you know, if some of the other boys didn't try and take that leadership role from Ralph." And then you might have said something similar to Jacob, who said, "Ralph's fair hair and golden skin give him this almost angelic appearance, and perhaps this suggests that he prioritises the needs of the group over his own personal needs." And this might be in contrast to some of the other characters, who seem to behave in more selfish ways.

Well done if you've said anything similar to what you can see on the screen, and of course, you might have had your own interpretations, and that's fantastic, too, as long as you can justify them with ideas from the text.

Okay, so we know from the first few pages that Ralph is referred to as a fair child, or the fair child.

What I want you to think about, then, is how might this description of Ralph foreshadow his role in the novel? How might it give us some hints and clues about how he might behave later in the novel? And how does Ralph behave throughout the text? All right, pause the video now, over to you, and discuss these questions together.

If you're working by yourself, you can just think through these independently.

All right pause the video, over to you, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back.

You might have said that Ralph, along with Piggy, is arguably the most fair and moral character in the novel.

His leadership style feels very fair.

He seems to be sensible, and he tries to act with the group's best interests at heart.

Okay, let's stop for a moment and see how we are getting on, then.

Let's think about why might Golding have characterised Ralph as being fair? Is it A, to foreshadow his potential to be savage later in the novel? Is it B, to show his moral and just nature? Is it C, to show his willingness to trust others too easily? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you think you've got an answer.

Well done if you said B.

I think when Golding characterises Ralph as being fair, we get to see that, generally, he's a very moral, just, and fair young man.

Okay, let's start to think, then, what do we think Ralph's aim is as a leader? Over to you for this one.

Pause the video, have a discuss, or have a think independently.

What is Ralph's aim as a leader? Remember to press play when you're done.

I heard some lovely ideas there.

I heard plenty of you talking about Ralph's main aim as the leader is to get the boys rescued, he wants them off the island, so to do this, he prioritises the fire, because he sees the fire as a method of escape, and this feels like a very reasonable and very logical priority in this situation.

However, we know that Ralph then gives Jack the freedom to decide how best to utilise the choir.

Why do you think Jack.

Why do you think Ralph gave Jack this freedom? And do you think this was a sensible decision or not? Why do you think that? All right, over to you for this one.

Pause the video, have a discuss or have a think, and press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back, and I can hear some really interesting discussions there about whether you thought this was a sensible decision or not.

I heard lots of you saying, talking about how Jack, when he lost the election to become leader, how mortified he was, and because Ralph was very emotionally intelligent, arguably, by giving Jack control over the choir, he's trying to appease Jack, he's trying to get him on side, he's trying to make sure that his loss in the election doesn't mean he's gonna turn against Ralph.

However, by the end of the novel, we recognise this decision was arguably quite naive.

However, I could hear lots of you saying at the time, it seemed like a really fair decision to make, but with the benefit of hindsight, when we saw how the novel progressed and continued, actually, it felt like a very naive decision.

Let's remind ourselves, then, about what that word naive means.

It was one of our key words.

Does it mean to show a lack of effective judgement , often based on a lack of experience, or maybe being too optimistic? Does it mean to be being overly suspicious of others, thinking the worst of their intentions? Or does it mean to be deliberately foolish to further one's own agenda? What do you think? Pause the video.

Can you remember what being naive means? Great work if you identified A as the correct response.

In this moment, when Ralph gives Jack, or makes the decision to allow Jack to decide how to utilise the choir, it shows a little bit of a lack of effective judgement.

He's probably being too optimistic that Jack will use this power and become a positive force for good as a leader, and that probably shows a bit of a lack of effective judgement from Ralph, here.

Okay, so having read the text, one of our Oak pupils, Izzy, had the following to say.

She said, "Ralph possesses all of the qualities necessary to be a great leader.

He is charismatic, he is fair, he is honest, and he is confident, but his power slowly slips away throughout the novel, and that's really hard to understand why." What do you think about this statement? At what point does Ralph lose control of the group, and why do you think Ralph's influence wanes? Why does he lose influence over the group? Pause the video, have a think about this.

If you've got a partner, you can discuss with them.

If you're working by yourself, you can just think through this independently.

All right, pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you are done.

Some really interesting ideas there.

I just wanna shine a spotlight on some of the fantastic things that I heard.

Arguably, Ralph's control over the group slips away because he refuses to behave like Jack, he refuses to use fear as a manipulative tool, so it's Ralph's morality, his belief in how he should behave, it's arguably what gives him the potential to be a great leader, on one hand, but arguably, it also causes his downfall.

And really interesting how many of you talked about Ralph's morals, and his sense of fairness, and his honesty being both a positive quality, but being the quality that allows Jack to take control as well.

Okay, let's think, look at our first practise task today.

I want you to find evidence from "Lord of the Flies" to support the following students' interpretations of Ralph, so you're gonna want to need, you're going to want to make sure you've got a copy of the text at hand.

So can you find evidence to support Lucas's argument that "Ralph was never a good leader, he was far too naive to be considered an effective leader.

He signed his own leadership away the minute he decided to cooperate with Jack." Can you find any evidence to support Sofia's argument? "Ralph was a brilliant leader.

He was kind, moral, and fair throughout the text.

Jack's behaviour was out of Ralph's control.

Ralph made the right decisions throughout." And can you find any evidence to support Izzy's decision? "Ralph's fairness was his triumph as a character, but it was also his biggest flaw." Okay, over to you now.

Pause the video, and let's find some evidence from the text.

Press play when you are done.

Okay, some fantastic researching there.

Now we're gonna use that research to think about which of these students do we agree with most.

Is it Lucas, who believed Ralph was never a good leader, that he was too naive? Is it Sofia, who believed Ralph was a brilliant leader who was kind, moral, and fair? Or is it Izzy, who believed that Ralph's fairness was both a triumph as a character but also his biggest flaw? You're gonna use the evidence that you found to have a discussion, to share your thoughts and opinions with a peer, and I want you to use the A, B, C discussion strategy on the following slide.

So this is all about structuring your discussions to make them productive and respectful.

You may wish to agree with something that your partner has said.

You can use phrases like, "I agree because.

." or "I share the same viewpoint because.

." You might want to build on one of the comments.

Maybe your partner said something but you feel like that point could go a little bit further: "Expanding on this, I would add that.

." "Another aspect to consider would be.

." But sometimes you might disagree with your partner, and that's okay, you can challenge a comment, but you need to do this in a respectful manner.

"I see it differently because.

." "It's worth considering whether.

." Okay, over to you now to use the evidence that you found to have a discussion about whether you agree with Lucas, Sofia, or Izzy.

Pause the video, over to you.

Best of luck.

Some really great discussions there about Ralph as a leader, but now I want us to focus on the change that we see in Ralph across the text.

So we generally think of Ralph as a moral and fair character.

However, there is one horrific atrocity that we know Ralph participates in.

Can you remember what it is? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you think you've got an answer.

Really well done if you remembered that Ralph participates in the killing of Simon in chapter nine.

So let's think about this then.

What leads Ralph to participate in the murder of Simon? How does Ralph feel about his participation afterwards? And what do you think this experience teaches Ralph? Pause the video.

If you've got a partner, you can work through these questions as part of a discussion.

If you're working by yourself, you can either make some notes or think through these independently.

All right, over to you.

Let's think about Ralph's involvement in the murder of Simon.

Pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you are done.

Heard some really interesting discussions there, and well done to those of you who were using our A, B, C strategies to make sure those discussions were purposeful and respectful.

I heard lots of you talking about how Ralph is the only character who acknowledges the group have murdered Simon.

We know that Piggy and Samneric persist in making up excuses, avoiding the truth of the matter, they call the death an accident, and that's as opposed to Ralph who is the first one and the only one who really acknowledges that this was a murder.

I heard lots of you saying that from that murder of Simon, Ralph is forced to acknowledge the darkness that lives inside of him, the savage impulses that drove him to participate in this heinous, this evil act, and this really terrifies Ralph.

He knows that boys are capable of killing again, and it really shows almost a sense of maturity and self-reflection that he can acknowledge that this darkness exists within him as well as the other boys.

So do you think Ralph's involvement in the killing of Simon changed your perspective of him? If so, how? And did his reaction to the killing of Simon change your perspective, as well? If so, how? Pause the video, have a think about this in pairs or independently, and press play when you think you are done.

Heard some really interesting ideas there on your perspectives of Ralph.

Now, we know Ralph has often been considered to be a representative of order, civilization, and democracy.

He represents that society where people have been voted to have power and control.

Would you consider, though, Ralph's behaviour throughout the novel as civilised? Why, or why not? Over to you to have a think about this one.

Pause the video, and press play when you are done.

I heard lots of you saying there that Ralph shows a real, strong commitment to being civilised, and even after he participates in the heinous murder of Simon, Ralph strives to regain his own morality and self-control.

He returns to his original aim: getting rescued and getting the boys off the island.

And we could argue that Ralph's commitment to being civilised drives him to face his own wickedness, and he confronts it head on, and we could argue that this is a very admirable moment for Ralph, especially when you compare it to all the other characters and their denial.

True or false, then? Ralph repents his involvement in the death of Simon.

He regrets and feels apologetic for it.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Yeah, well done if you said that was true.

Now let's justify that.

Is it A, Ralph is the only character to admit that the group murdered Simon.

He tried to regain control of the group to prevent another disaster.

Or is it B, Ralph and Piggy both repent for their roles in the death of Simon.

Together, they work hard to show the other boys the heinousness of their crime.

Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you think you're there.

Yeah, well done if you said A.

We know Ralph is the only character who admits to the murder of Simon.

Piggy tries to frame it as an accident.

So where do we then see Ralph's commitment to democracy in the novel? Pause the video, have a think, and press play when you've got some ideas.

Some great ideas there, or I really liked it when those of you were saying, actually, it's Ralph who strives to establish a democratic leadership from the beginning.

You know, he wants there to be a fair vote for leader, and he also tries to cooperate with the opposition, he listens to others' suggestions, and actually, even when his leadership has broken down, he continues to employ a democratic leadership style.

When he visits Jack following the theft of Piggy's spectacles, he orders Jack to return the glasses back, and he points out that he was the one who was voted to be chief, okay.

That's the democracy, he was the one voted to be chief, and therefore he orders Jack, "I'm the chief, I'm the leader.

You must return the property to Piggy." So even in a moment of fear and frustration, we see that Ralph continues to play by the rules of democracy.

Do you think this is admirable? Should we admire him for this? Or is this another example of him being naive, making a poor judgement , maybe being overly optimistic? Pause the video.

If you're in pairs, discuss this.

What do you think about this behaviour from Ralph? And if you're working by yourself, just think through this independently.

All right, pause the video, give this a go, and press play when you're done.

Heard some really interesting ideas there, and it was really interesting to hear that not everyone agreed.

Some of you said this was admirable behaviour, others said, no, this is another example of Ralph being quite naive.

Now, we know at the very end of the novel, when the naval officer finds Ralph, he asks him, "Who is the boss of the island?" and Ralph loudly replies that he is the leader.

How did you respond to Ralph in this moment? Okay, right at the end of the novel, when he says, "I am the leader," how did you respond to him? Pause, have a think, and press play when you've got some ideas.

You might have said something similar to what Sam, one of our Oak pupils, said.

She said, "I really admire Ralph in this moment.

After everything he's been through, the fear, the shame, the hurt, he is still standing by the same morals that he stood for at the very beginning of the novel.

He is truly a democratic leader, who refuses to let Jack take the position from him without a proper election, despite the fear and threat that he feels." I wonder if you agreed with Sam.

Okay, on to our final task of today's lesson, and this is a discussion activity.

I want you to discuss the following questions: How does Ralph change throughout the novel, and what has Ralph lost in this experience? Let's use those A, B, C phrases to make sure we're responding to others' ideas effectively, and really elevating our discussions, so we might want to agree, build on, or challenge what other people are saying.

If you're working by yourself, you may wish to find someone else that you can have this discussion and practise these skills with.

Okay, pause the video, have this discussion, and press play when you are ready to continue.

Welcome back.

Some really fantastic discussions there, and some really great ideas which show a really solid knowledge of the text.

Let's share some of the ideas that you might have discussed.

So you might have discussed how Ralph loses his innocence and his naivety throughout the course of the novel.

He begins to realise the savagery that lurks within civilization.

You might have also said something along the lines of that by the end of the novel, the boy who sobs on the beach at the horror of humanity is no longer the same child who performed a headstand and grinned at the thought of being there, with no adults on the island.

You might have said that he is a child who once thought the best of people, and he appeased, he looked for the best in his direct opposition, but now he recognises the very worst in not only others, but in himself, too, when we saw him being really self-reflective after the murder of Simon.

So let's think, then, for a moment, our final discussion question.

Why do you think Ralph is in the novel? Why aren't all the boys like Jack? Pause the video, have a think.

Let's try and link this back to context.

Press play when you are done.

Great work there.

I really want to shine a spotlight on some of the fantastic things that you might have said.

So some of you were talking about what Golding witnessed during world war war.

We know he witnessed extreme violence and destruction, and that can be reflective.

Maybe Ralph almost represents Golding and the things that he witnessed.

Some of you argued that perhaps Golding uses Ralph as a vehicle to try and understand the circumstances in which ordinary and moral people can become savage and cruel.

And some of you might have said that even Ralph, arguably the most fair and moral character, surrenders, only momentarily, to his inner savagery, and this shows strong these impulses must be in all human beings.

Well done if you've said something similar to any of our Oak pupils.

And of course, you might have said something slightly different, and that's fantastic, too, as long as you can justify those with ideas from the text.

Really fantastic work today.

It's been great to see you discussing the character of Ralph in so much detail.

Here's a summary of everything that we've learnt.

We're gonna go through it together so you can feel really confident before you move on to our next lesson.

So we learn, in the beginning of the novel, Golding uses colour symbolism to characterise Ralph as an effective and charismatic leader.

We know that Ralph believes firmly in democracy and has a strong sense of morality.

Ralph's participation in the murder of Simon illustrates human beings' capacity for savagery and brutality.

Ralph's naivety fades away as he begins to recognise the savagery that exists in supposedly civilised people.

And Ralph's faith in democracy is arguably his greatest strength, but also, perhaps, his greatest weakness.

All right fantastic work today.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I hope to see you in one of our lessons again in the future.

Have a great day.

Bye-bye.