Like most of the characters in Lord of the Flies, Ralph is provided no last name. Perhaps because a surname identifies a person as belonging to a particular family, Golding may have given Jack Merridew a last name in order to single him out from the others, since Jack is a powerful force for unlocking the innate evil in the boys. Only one other boy has a known last name: little Percival Wemys Madison, of...
Like most of the characters in Lord of the Flies, Ralph is provided no last name. Perhaps because a surname identifies a person as belonging to a particular family, Golding may have given Jack Merridew a last name in order to single him out from the others, since Jack is a powerful force for unlocking the innate evil in the boys. Only one other boy has a known last name: little Percival Wemys Madison, of the Vicarage, Harcourt St. Anthony, Hants. However, this last name carries a different significance. The recitation of his name accompanied by his address sadly serves to remind the little boy that he is lost and may never see his family. So, perhaps, by not giving the other boys last names, Golding disconnects them more from civilization. Such a disconnection is effective in eliminating distractions from Golding's thematic purpose, as the boys are removed from any traces of their past lives so that their basic savage instincts surface.
Interestingly, Ralph's first name carries enough significance that he really seems to need no last name. His name is from the Old Norse name of Radulfr or Rathuflr. This name is a combination of the elements rad or rath and ulfr, which mean counsel and wolf respectively. This name, then, befits the leader and counselor of the boys, who later becomes a "lone wolf," so to speak, as he is the last to strive for order.
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