Although Ralph is just an ordinary boy, he has "greatness thrust upon him" when the boys vote for him to be chief. He rises to the occasion and shows outstanding courage on several occasions. The first time he shows inner courage is when he faces down Jack and confronts him with his grave error when Jack has allowed the fire to go out just as a ship was passing. He refuses to give in to the euphoria of the hunters over having killed their first pig. He commands Jack to light the fire again, and then remains silent, requiring the boys to work around him:
"No one, not even Jack, would ask him to move and in the end they had to build the fire three yards away and in a place not really as convenient. So Ralph asserted his chieftainship and could not have chosen a better way if he had thought for days."
At one point, Ralph displays courage in honestly voicing his fear rather than using false bravado like Jack does. After Samneric see the "beast" in person, Jack sneers at Ralph when Ralph suggests wooden spears are not enough to slay such a formidable creature. "Frightened?" Jack asks. Ralph replies, "'Course I'm frightened. Who wouldn't be?"
Ralph and Jack take a party to go search for the beast. Jack gets distracted by the Castle Rock area that he later makes into his "wizard fort." Ralph insists they must continue their search: "I say we'll go on! ... We've got to make certain. We'll go now." He asserts authority over the rebellious boys again and leads them onward.
Although Ralph is very afraid to go up the mountain in the dark to find the beast, he keeps going. At one point, however, Roger and Jack pass by him when they get very near the dead paratrooper. Still, Ralph does show courage; despite being so afraid that his teeth are chattering, he "bound himself together with his will, fused his fear and loathing into a hatred and stood up. He took two leaden steps forward."
In chapter 11 when Piggy wants Ralph to help him get his glasses back, Ralph agrees, even though he knows Jack has become dangerous. When Samneric say they should paint themselves because Jack and his tribe will be painted, Ralph insists, "Well, we won't be painted ... because we aren't savages." He has the courage to face Jack in their true condition. Ralph confronts Jack courageously, clearly calling him out on his wrong behavior: "You played a dirty trick--we'd have given you fire if you'd asked for it. ... You came sneaking up like a thief and stole Piggy's glasses!"
Despite Ralph's courage during this confrontation, he ends up running for his life after Piggy's murder. He has the courage to sneak up to Samneric and ask them what Jack intends to do, and when he learns that Jack intends to kill him, he uses good sense in hiding and fleeing from the boys.
Although Ralph does not always display perfect bravery, overall he displays a great deal of courage in the novel.
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