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Jul. 27th, 2016 07:34 pmI N B O X |
IC Voice Mail You have reached: ermmm, Ralph Please leave your message after the tone. Mun Contact |
Savrou App
Jul. 23rd, 2016 09:19 pmOUT OF CHARACTER
Player Name: Trik
Are you 16 or older: yes
Contact: iamtheuberlorax on plurk and aim
Current Characters: None.
Tag: ralph
IN CHARACTER
Name: Ralph
Canon: Lord of the Flies
Canon Point: Post Book.
Age: 12
History:
The Actual Sparknotes and also if you want a more hilarious recounting here’s a liveblog version.
Personality:
Lord of the Flies is a story centered on the transformation of Ralph. It’s studied and taught and analyzed as a story about “the death of innocence, and the darkness in a man’s heart” (as the book itself states openly in its final lines), which is undeniably true, but the first transformation that happens in the book is in a lot of ways more important for understanding Ralph as a character and a person. He exists in the book often as a representation of civilization. He shows practicality, self consciousness, leadership, and responsibility in contrast to Jack’s passion, freedom and destruction. In particular, Ralph’s relationship with responsibility is what drives him, what fuels the conflict between him and Jack, and what will steer how he recovers, (or fails to) from the trauma he’s endured.
Ralph’s treatment of Piggy is the most telling marker of his growth, and starts immediately. Initially Ralph is dismissive of Piggy’s doubts and feelings. He’s not as openly antagonistic as Jack, but he breaches Piggy’s trust by sharing his nickname with the other children. To Ralph it was a throw away comment, and when Piggy confronts him about it after the meeting, Ralph sees the harm he’s done. He’s not immediately and deeply remorseful however, rather more uncomfortable. He’s a kid and didn’t realize the effect his actions would have, and now that he’s faced with them he isn’t sure what to do. He falls back on defending his actions, saying, “better Piggy than Fatty”, as Jack had been calling him. It’s the first decision he makes for the wellbeing of another person, and by all accounts he fumbled it. But as time moves forward, Ralph treats Piggy better. He starts listening to him, relying on him, and in later parts of the book (ineffectively) protecting him. This shows the development of his compassion, which is heavily linked to his role as chief.
Becoming chief by popular vote, not because he advocated for himself or necessarily desired the position, but because the other children put their trust in him, is what starts the changes in Ralph’s demeanor. He takes the position seriously, not in terms of being in charge or having control over the other children, but with the knowledge that everyone is relying on him. He fundamentally wants to do the right thing by the people he’s leading. He wants people to be safe and comfortable and happy while they wait for rescue. As things start crumbling little by little, Ralph reacts with anger and disappointment when the other children don’t do as he says, but it’s not based in ego. He has priorities, ones that he’s (fairly reasonably) decided are important and he wants them taken care of. Water, food, shelter and rescue are what he wants to provide for everyone, but without cooperation there’s very little he can do on his own to make that all happen.
His first choice is to deal with this conflict by trying to appeal to the other boys’ reason; anger and resentment are not his initial response. He explains why he thinks these things are important, and tries to get the others to see it his way. Unfortunately the other boys, (save Piggy and Simon), don’t share his priorities. They are, after all, a bunch of children who would rather be playing in the sand or swimming than doing any kind of work. Ralph, for all his virtues, is not all that authoritative, and not very good at persuasion. So when his efforts to sway the group’s opinions don’t work he’s at a loss. He does as much of the work himself that he can, and enlists the help of the few that will listen to him. He compromises as much as he can with Jack, again and again trying to work against the feud building between them, but his efforts are futile. Eventually Jack splits from the group, and eventually nearly all the children have joined his side.
Ralph does not try and force people to stay. He is not upset that people are leaving him, or that people like Jack’s ways better. He is upset because the signal fire is out. He is upset because pig hunting is not a sustainable strategy. Finally, he is upset because he feels responsible for how things have fallen apart. What finally brings things to a boil between him and Jack is not Jack working to undermine Ralph’s authority, nor was it the shattering of the fragile community on the island. What Jack does that crosses the line for Ralph is that he needlessly puts Piggy in danger. When Jack raids the camp and takes Piggy’s glasses Ralph is at the end of his rope. The smaller confrontations they’ve had throughout the course of the book that he’s done his best to descalate have lead to this one which he himself leads the charge on. Ralph admits that he would have shared their fire with Jack, effectively calling out his aggression and machismo as unnecessary and hurtful. But by this point, Ralph has nothing left to bargain with, no one left save the now blind Piggy to back him up, and no option but to play Jack’s game.
Then Roger kills Piggy, effectively takes control of Jack’s tribe, and decides that Ralph should be hunted like an animal.
This kind of treatment will do a number on anybody, and Ralph is no exception. Panic and fear take a hold of him, but even then his first instinct is to hide, not fight. He spends two days desperately evading capture. He arms himself, and lashes out when he is cornered, but at no point does he try to come up with a plan to turn the tables on Jack or Roger. Stripped of power to do anything about his situation, his sole goal is to prolong his life as much as possible. He is clever, he is fast, and he is strong, but he is one boy against many and eventually they have him surrounded at the end of the island. Only for rescue to finally arrive.
Faced with real actual authority for the first time since crashing on the island, all the boys freeze up, except Ralph. When asked who is in charge, in spite of everything, Ralph answers that it’s him. Again, this is not out of ego. He is not sticking it to Jack by still clinging to his title as chief. He is, once again, accepting responsibility. The Naval officer is horrified by the state of the island and wants to know how it got this way. Ralph takes the blame on himself, and that is the state of mind he is in when he comes through the Ingress, guilt, terror, and despair with a side of emerging paranoia.
Contracts: Ralph thinks he might want to go home, but isn’t sure. Either way, after just having spent ???? amount of time stranded on an island he doesn’t feel very inclined to let himself get dumped somewhere even less familiar than here. If this place has a roof, and cooked food, and toilets, and at least one adult it’s better than where he came from.
Abilities/Skills: He can do a handstand, and blow a conch.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Strengths: He’s pragmatic, straightforward, and doesn’t shy away from difficulty or responsibility. Weaknesses: He’s fresh off the boat (literally) from childmurder island and now has severe trust issues and his faith in the goodness in men’s hearts has been trampled on.
Items: Nothing but his tattered clothes.
SAMPLES
Network Sample:
[TEXT]
I’ve been all over this ship, (It is a ship, not a plane, right? Even though we’re flying? I don’t get all this space stuff.) and I don’t know if all the rest of you have seen, but we’ve got these big cannons on front. Have we got a war going on? None of them people that brought me in said anything about one, and there wasn’t nothing in that paper they had me sign either. But why else would we have those? So if there’s a war, and this is a gunship, and we’re all her crew I want to know who we’re fighting. Don’t you?
Prose/Action Sample: http://thisavrou-ooc.dreamwidth.org/52080.html?thread=9967728#cmt9967728
Are you 16 or older: yes
Contact: iamtheuberlorax on plurk and aim
Current Characters: None.
Tag: ralph
IN CHARACTER
Name: Ralph
Canon: Lord of the Flies
Canon Point: Post Book.
Age: 12
History:
The Actual Sparknotes and also if you want a more hilarious recounting here’s a liveblog version.
Personality:
Lord of the Flies is a story centered on the transformation of Ralph. It’s studied and taught and analyzed as a story about “the death of innocence, and the darkness in a man’s heart” (as the book itself states openly in its final lines), which is undeniably true, but the first transformation that happens in the book is in a lot of ways more important for understanding Ralph as a character and a person. He exists in the book often as a representation of civilization. He shows practicality, self consciousness, leadership, and responsibility in contrast to Jack’s passion, freedom and destruction. In particular, Ralph’s relationship with responsibility is what drives him, what fuels the conflict between him and Jack, and what will steer how he recovers, (or fails to) from the trauma he’s endured.
Ralph’s treatment of Piggy is the most telling marker of his growth, and starts immediately. Initially Ralph is dismissive of Piggy’s doubts and feelings. He’s not as openly antagonistic as Jack, but he breaches Piggy’s trust by sharing his nickname with the other children. To Ralph it was a throw away comment, and when Piggy confronts him about it after the meeting, Ralph sees the harm he’s done. He’s not immediately and deeply remorseful however, rather more uncomfortable. He’s a kid and didn’t realize the effect his actions would have, and now that he’s faced with them he isn’t sure what to do. He falls back on defending his actions, saying, “better Piggy than Fatty”, as Jack had been calling him. It’s the first decision he makes for the wellbeing of another person, and by all accounts he fumbled it. But as time moves forward, Ralph treats Piggy better. He starts listening to him, relying on him, and in later parts of the book (ineffectively) protecting him. This shows the development of his compassion, which is heavily linked to his role as chief.
Becoming chief by popular vote, not because he advocated for himself or necessarily desired the position, but because the other children put their trust in him, is what starts the changes in Ralph’s demeanor. He takes the position seriously, not in terms of being in charge or having control over the other children, but with the knowledge that everyone is relying on him. He fundamentally wants to do the right thing by the people he’s leading. He wants people to be safe and comfortable and happy while they wait for rescue. As things start crumbling little by little, Ralph reacts with anger and disappointment when the other children don’t do as he says, but it’s not based in ego. He has priorities, ones that he’s (fairly reasonably) decided are important and he wants them taken care of. Water, food, shelter and rescue are what he wants to provide for everyone, but without cooperation there’s very little he can do on his own to make that all happen.
His first choice is to deal with this conflict by trying to appeal to the other boys’ reason; anger and resentment are not his initial response. He explains why he thinks these things are important, and tries to get the others to see it his way. Unfortunately the other boys, (save Piggy and Simon), don’t share his priorities. They are, after all, a bunch of children who would rather be playing in the sand or swimming than doing any kind of work. Ralph, for all his virtues, is not all that authoritative, and not very good at persuasion. So when his efforts to sway the group’s opinions don’t work he’s at a loss. He does as much of the work himself that he can, and enlists the help of the few that will listen to him. He compromises as much as he can with Jack, again and again trying to work against the feud building between them, but his efforts are futile. Eventually Jack splits from the group, and eventually nearly all the children have joined his side.
Ralph does not try and force people to stay. He is not upset that people are leaving him, or that people like Jack’s ways better. He is upset because the signal fire is out. He is upset because pig hunting is not a sustainable strategy. Finally, he is upset because he feels responsible for how things have fallen apart. What finally brings things to a boil between him and Jack is not Jack working to undermine Ralph’s authority, nor was it the shattering of the fragile community on the island. What Jack does that crosses the line for Ralph is that he needlessly puts Piggy in danger. When Jack raids the camp and takes Piggy’s glasses Ralph is at the end of his rope. The smaller confrontations they’ve had throughout the course of the book that he’s done his best to descalate have lead to this one which he himself leads the charge on. Ralph admits that he would have shared their fire with Jack, effectively calling out his aggression and machismo as unnecessary and hurtful. But by this point, Ralph has nothing left to bargain with, no one left save the now blind Piggy to back him up, and no option but to play Jack’s game.
Then Roger kills Piggy, effectively takes control of Jack’s tribe, and decides that Ralph should be hunted like an animal.
This kind of treatment will do a number on anybody, and Ralph is no exception. Panic and fear take a hold of him, but even then his first instinct is to hide, not fight. He spends two days desperately evading capture. He arms himself, and lashes out when he is cornered, but at no point does he try to come up with a plan to turn the tables on Jack or Roger. Stripped of power to do anything about his situation, his sole goal is to prolong his life as much as possible. He is clever, he is fast, and he is strong, but he is one boy against many and eventually they have him surrounded at the end of the island. Only for rescue to finally arrive.
Faced with real actual authority for the first time since crashing on the island, all the boys freeze up, except Ralph. When asked who is in charge, in spite of everything, Ralph answers that it’s him. Again, this is not out of ego. He is not sticking it to Jack by still clinging to his title as chief. He is, once again, accepting responsibility. The Naval officer is horrified by the state of the island and wants to know how it got this way. Ralph takes the blame on himself, and that is the state of mind he is in when he comes through the Ingress, guilt, terror, and despair with a side of emerging paranoia.
Contracts: Ralph thinks he might want to go home, but isn’t sure. Either way, after just having spent ???? amount of time stranded on an island he doesn’t feel very inclined to let himself get dumped somewhere even less familiar than here. If this place has a roof, and cooked food, and toilets, and at least one adult it’s better than where he came from.
Abilities/Skills: He can do a handstand, and blow a conch.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Strengths: He’s pragmatic, straightforward, and doesn’t shy away from difficulty or responsibility. Weaknesses: He’s fresh off the boat (literally) from childmurder island and now has severe trust issues and his faith in the goodness in men’s hearts has been trampled on.
Items: Nothing but his tattered clothes.
SAMPLES
Network Sample:
[TEXT]
I’ve been all over this ship, (It is a ship, not a plane, right? Even though we’re flying? I don’t get all this space stuff.) and I don’t know if all the rest of you have seen, but we’ve got these big cannons on front. Have we got a war going on? None of them people that brought me in said anything about one, and there wasn’t nothing in that paper they had me sign either. But why else would we have those? So if there’s a war, and this is a gunship, and we’re all her crew I want to know who we’re fighting. Don’t you?
Prose/Action Sample: http://thisavrou-ooc.dreamwidth.org/52080.html?thread=9967728#cmt9967728
