Lord of the Flies
John C. Maxwell once said, “People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision”. Maxwell would have greatly appreciated Jack’s leadership style on the island in Lord of the Flies by William Golding.While Jack might not have the more promising or logical concepts of survival on this deserted island, he is a strong leader with very visible leadership qualities. Because of these qualities, the boys on the island are inclined to listen to his speeches and ideas. The two leaders on the island are Jack and Ralph. Ralph is a more passive-aggressive leader that rules on democracy, while Jack is a very aggressive leader who uses fear and instills his dominance. Despite the belief that Ralph is the better leader because he
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calls law and order to the island, Jack is the better leader on the island because he is able to get things done while being respected and feared by all the boys. The most obvious leader on the island is Jack because he knows how to accomplish important chores on the island efficiently. In order for someone to accomplish tasks in any situation, someone needs to gather the group as a whole and make them be productive. On the island, Jack broke off and made his own tribe because he felt that Ralph wasn’t being a good leader and he could do a better job himself. When Jack broke off, he was instantly successful by instilling his dominance as the leader, unlike Ralph. Jack ordered the little kids around and made them do tasks to get things done like hunting, stealing Piggy’s glasses to build a fire, and keeping that fire alive. Jack ordered the little kids around and made them do tasks to get things done like hunting, stealing Piggy’s glasses to build a fire, and keeping that fire alive. In the novel, Jack says, ‘We’ll raid them and take fire. There must be four of you; Henry and you, Robert and Maurice. We’ll put on pain and sneak up; Roger can snatch a branch while I say what I want. The rest of you can get this back to where we were…’ “(Jack 136). Jack took his role as the leader and made sure business was being taken care of. He knew that he needed to assign roles and duties for people to do to get things done. One major important thing that is needed for survival is fire, and Jack knew that so he assigned kids to go with him to go get the fire. Even if it was not the most moral way to get fire, he still was successful in doing so. That clearly shows that Jack knows how to get duties done, and that is a strong leadership characteristic in order to survive. He may be aggressive, but that should not be the reason he does not classify as a good, strong leader. Therefore, Jack is the true leader on the island because he took charge when he was needed and assigned important roles to the kids to get things done. When Ralph tried to take charge people would not listen to him because he was too passive while Jack, on the other hand, displayed his dominance right away. It could be argued that Ralph is the better leader on the island because he establishes law and order to the island.
When the boys first came onto the island they were crazy and all over the place. They were away from their parents and Ralph, one of the older kids, decided that they needed some rules to keep everyone in their place. In order to have a successful survival, you need to have everyone get along on the island to prevent any tension between others. Ralph installed rules for the kids to follow so nothing bad would happen, and to keep the boys in line. Ralph says, “There aren’t any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves...We can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have ‘Hands up’ like at school...I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak...And he won’t be interrupted…”(Golding 33). Ralph instills a rule where the boys can only talk when they have the conch in their hand. That created order on the island to keep them close to society for a little while. This could seem convincing, but in reality, his actions failed in the long run. If Ralph really set law and order into the island Jack wouldn’t have gone against Ralph’s rules. Jack and Ralph got into an argument and Ralph tried to tell Jack that everything he did was against the rules and that he couldn’t continue his behavior, but Jack refused. Jack says, “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong---we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat--”(Golding 91). Jack completely goes against Ralph and his rules of the island. If Ralph was the best leader then people would not have retaliated against him, a good leader knows how to show their dominance and control everyone. Therefore, Jack is the best leader on the
island. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph could be argued the best leader because he called law and order to the island, but Jack is the best leader on the island because he gets things done by instilling fear and is respected. A few things that make an effective leader are being respected and getting things done. When you are respected you have power, and having power as a leader is a huge requirement to be successful. In society, there are three different kinds of people: passive, passive aggressive, and aggressive. Aggressive people tend to get things done more efficiently, often instilling fear, and that could be the most effective way of accomplishment but it also is not the most moral way.
According to Peter Drucker, he claims, “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.” Leadership is a commitment that is meant to be kept and done accurately. Leading a group or a society can lead to dreadful obstacles, but it’s your responsibility to have a solution to end. Ralph and Jack as a leader cause a majority of downhill for the boys. Affecting themselves and their surroundings to abruptly fall into pieces. Which lead to a mass destruction of the island, Lord of the Flies. The devastating events on this island lead to the massive chaos of Lord of the Flies, blaming Ralph and Jack for denial, lack of cooperation and inefficient leadership.
The Lord of the Flies is a gruesome story about young boys stranded on an island, who underwent a transformation from polite British choir boys to savage hooligans. One of the main difficulties the boys face during their adventures upon the island, is their method of government, they either follow the path of Ralph, the democratic leader whose main focus is to escape the despairing island; or Jack a power-hungry monarchical leader who won't ever take no for an answer. The two boys are constantly bickering and arguing over who deserves the leader-position. We all understand Ralph wants to be leader so that he can ensure that the boys will return back home, but in Jack's case, it is a constant mystery to us about why he wants power over the other children. But we do get much small hints from the author, William Golding, that Jack's biggest fear among the other children on the island is public humiliation. This becomes more and more evident the farther on into the book, and his fear seems to be what persuades him to reach for a powerful position.
is far too much for them. They are in fear of him as they obey his
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, has four very important dynamic characters. A dynamic character is a character that develops and grows during the course of the story. Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon are four dynamic characters in Lord of the Flies that adapt to their new lifestyles in different ways. Jack is a very important dynamic character in Lord of the Flies because he goes through the most changes during the novel. While on the island, Jack has many life experiences that change him forever. Jack never thought he would live his life the way he is living his life in the island. Jack’s authoritative figure, savage-like/instinctual behavior, and violence are three qualities that make Jack a dynamic character.
Society and organization in William Goldin’s Lord of the Flies decayed and deteriorated similarly to a severed pig’s head in the story given the same name. A group of boys is stranded on an island; at first, their society flourishes. Sadly, conflicts quickly arose, weakening the society’s structure. In the earliest part of the book, a boy named Ralph and a boy named Piggy find a conch shell which, when blown, allows every other boy to find them. Jack, a harsh character and leader of a choir, is immediately brought to attention by attempting to ignore Simon, a member of his group who had fainted. Jack proceeded to degrade Piggy for his overweight condition. He then ran against Ralph for leadership on the island. One must not look hard to connect
As Jack hunts his “frustration seemed bolting and nearly mad” which shines in his slowly deranging eyes (Golding 67). In Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, stranded boys struggle to find order and civilization on an island with no other humans. After their plane crash lands, a few boys, such as Ralph and Piggy, are quick to set up standard rules. But, not everyone agrees that rules and rescue are what is most important. Jack, a boy who cares more about hunting, disrupts the goodness and order that remains in the boys. When a simulated hunting influenced and led by Jack goes awry, the boys kill Simon. The now deceased Simon is the purest and kindest of the boys. Jack leads the elimination of the only good left on their island. Whether it is his intention to kill him or not, Jack should be held responsible for Simon’s demise because he leads the group to kill him, regardless of his age.
Ralph gives everyone on the island equal rights and freedoms. Ralph makes everyone feel worthy but Jack makes almost everyone feel useless. Firstly, Ralph lets everyone on the island have a say. They can express their opinion or idea as long as they have the conch. “ I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak,” (Golding 31) says Ralph during an assembly. He is giving everyone an equal chance to talk. On the other hand, Jack just wants the “important” people to talk. Jack says to piggy, ” Who cares about what you believe-fatty,” (97). This shows that Jack doesn’t want Piggy to talk and that is not fair. Nextly, Ralph also assigns everyone equal work and does a lot of work himself. Ralph builds the huts with Simon and he also assigned different people times to watch the fire. Ralph is also very caring towards the lilun’s. He gives them positive motivation towards getting rescued while Jack just ignores them. Therefore, Ralph makes everyone feel worthy by listening to their opinions and assigning equal work among the boys unlike Jack.
Golding's motives for choosing the island setting for the novel, Lord of the Flies was to have the characters isolated, where the laws of their governments could not reach them. The boys on the island represented a microcosm of world society. Golding chose children because they have not yet been fully conditioned by society to understand right from wrong, and thus are guided by their instinct and what is inherent within them. Golding uses a great deal of symbolism throughout the novel. Different characters provide different symbols. Jack is a symbol of savagery and anarchy. Golding relates the inherent evil with Jack to the evil and cruelty of the larger world, which we all share.
Jack’s disregard for the conch shows his growing distaste for laws and civilization. He also challenges Ralph's authority by implying he should be in charge of decisions taken for the group. After some time, Ralph is only left with Piggy, Samneric, and some littles on his side of the island.
Ralph shows that he has a better understanding of the boys than Jack. He knows that the boys need some sort of order on the island in order for them to survive. He starts a simple form of government and sets a few rules for them. Even though they don’t last very long, the fact that he tried to help the group is what makes him a better leader. Ralph’s wisdom and ability to look toward the future also has an advantage over Jack. He has a sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. When the fire goes out, Ralph gets upset because the chance to be rescued was gone as well. Ralph enforces his role of leadership as he gives the boys a sense of stability of an authority figure. He keeps the boys in pretty good order at the meeting by making a rule that they can only speak if they have the conch. Ralph knows that the littleuns are afraid and they need shelter to feel more secure. They work together for a while, but as the time goes on the smaller boys want to go play. They slowly lose all their help until Simon and Ralph are the only ones left to work on them. Ralph knows that this is a necessity and keeps bringing it up at the meetings. Jack, on the other hand, is doing nothing but causing chaos.
Jack Merridew is the devil-like figure in the story, Lord of the Flies. Jack is wicked in nature having no feelings for any living creature. His appearance and behavior intimidates the others from their first encounter. The leading savage, Jack leans more towards hunting and killing and is the main reason behind the splitting of the boys. It has been said that Jack represents the evilness of human nature; but in the end, Jack is almost a hero. With his totalitarian leadership, he was able to organize the group of boys into a useful and productive society
In William Golding’s novel, the Lord of the Flies, even though Ralph became chief of the stranded boys, Jack eventually rose to power through scare tactics, confidence, determination, and control. When Jack demonstrated his leadership skills, it was evident that he was superior to Ralph and would use his sense of Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest) and his oratory skills to surpass and isolate Ralph completely. Regardless of Ralph’s strengths, such as his conch, democratic maneuvers, firm motives, and kind demeanor, Jack’s mere presence ousted Ralph’s chances of taking effective leadership. By using propaganda against Ralph, gaining support from his partisan tribe members, and overpowering Ralph through his persuasive techniques and appearance, Jack clearly demonstrated how his leadership of the island was inevitable.
Under Jack's rule, the boys become uncivilized savages. They have no discipline. Ralph, however, keeps the boys under order through the meetings which he holds. At these meetings a sense of order is instilled because the boys have to wait until they hold the conch to speak. When Ralph says, "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (Golding 36) he enforces his role of leader by making rules and gives the boys the stability of an authority figure, mainly himself. By doing this he wins the boys respect and confidence in his leadership abilities. Ralph uses his authority to try to improve the boys' society. By building shelters he demonstrates his knowledge of the boys' needs. When he says to Jack, "They talk and scream. The littluns.
While the boys are under Jack's control, they quickly went back into how they started when they first got there. However, Ralph was able to keep the boys under control by holding meetings. At the meetings, a sense of order is instilled because the boys are not allowed to speak unless they have the conch shell. "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (p. 31) By making this rule, he gains respect from the boys and becomes for confident as a leader. Ralph uses his power to tries to make the boys better people. He shows his by building them shelters. "They talk and scream. The littuns. Even some of the others." (p. 53) Ralph is saying that the boys need the shelters because they are afraid and the shelters will help the boys feel more secure. This shows he has better knowledge of people making him a better leader than Jack who does not understand this. Jack does not realize that the boys need to feel secure and need someone in control.
Rules are put in place so groups in a society have a sense of order, obedience and the prevention of unlawful actions. Most of the time adults do not apply to common rules because they have been under their parent's influence since they were children. Not until you are an adult with your own children do people truly understand why we have rules. This is one reason why the boys struggle with following rules on the island, resulting in them missing a bypassing ship that could have rescued them. Ralph was the elected leader of the boys on the island and he was in charge of assigning each group of boys a duty on the island. Ralph designated Jack and his follower to be the hunters, but he got so caught up in the role that he cared only about hunting the island pigs that he passed up an opportunity to