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In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph is the boy you want to root for, right? He’s charismatic—and a born leader. And you’d rather Ralph have the victory than evil Jack, king of the savages, wouldn’t you? But is Ralph really a hero? Check out this video for the secret William Golding’s protagonist.

Video Transcription:

What’s that?

Oh, that’s just me taking a closer look at our protagonist.

Hint: he’s not really a hero.

You know the feeling. You want a character you can root for. Often, that character is the protagonist.

So here’s something to remember about Ralph, the protagonist in Lord of the Flies. He’s a complicated hero. In fact, he might not be a hero at all.

Ralph is charismatic, athletic, and a born leader. He does try to build a society and to protect the littluns. In spite of some of his treatment of Piggy, he is generally committed to morality.

But here’s where things get a little fuzzy.

Lit critics will tell you that the moment Ralph tosses the Lord of the Flies on the ground and takes up the stake to fight against Jack and his tribe of savages is Ralph’s moment of moral victory.

Really?

Ultimately, Ralph is helpless to triumph over savagery and immorality. He relies on adult society for rescue. He survives not because of some innate goodness of his own; he survives because the navy shows up.

I think we root for Ralph because we have no one else to root for. Is that enough to make a hero? You decide.