I'm a little unsure what you're referring to here, but I don't think it's scratches. Piggy's the one who got all scratched up as he climbed through the brambles and thorns; Ralph appears to be immune to such mundane things, at least in the beginning.
I'm guessing you mean this passage: "All the shadows on Ralph's face were reversed; green above, bright below from the lagoon. A blur of sunlight was crawling across his hair." If so, it's a fairly simple observation. This is a relatively allegorical novel, meaning the characters and events are relatively symbolic. Ralph is the character who most represents physicality--he's an athlete, and when he gets excited he stands on his head. He has difficulty collecting his thoughts, but he can swim and dive quite well and is envied for his abilities by the least physical character, Piggy.
Now back to his face. Notice the essential elements of earth (green), water and sky (with fire soon to come, of course). These are the physical components which represent Ralph.
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