Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

Through out history, leadership has been a very important part in civilization. Leaders help organize others into systems that are beneficial to the whole of society. The group of people, or society, need leaders to help guide them to a better way of living life. Also, even though it may seem strange, leaders need the people in the society. Without people to lead, a leader cannot lead. This can be shown in the novel The Lord of the Flies. The main characters, Jack and Ralph, both are natural leaders but have different ideas of running their society. As the novel progresses the leader changes because the boys choose to follow Jack and abandon Ralph. By observing each of the main characters leadership characteristics, the boys choose the leader

that seems more fit to lead them to their survival.
In the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the reader can see that there are three main leaders. The three main leaders are Ralph, Jack, and Piggy. Ralph shows he is a leader by calling all the boys at the beginning of the novel and and being elected chief. Jack shows he is a leader by being the leader of the choir, and eventually the hunters. Also, Jack shows his want for a leadership position just like Ralph. Lastly, the third leader in the novel is Piggy. Piggy, even though he is not a major leader in comparison to Ralph and Jack, shows he is a leader by constantly reminding everyone about the rules.
Throughout the novel, the reader can see that Ralph is a natural leader.

He has fair hair, is thin, and seems like the perfect person to be a chief. When Ralph brought all the boys together by blowing into a conch, he showed himself as a leader to the other boys. Also, he reassures the boys that they will be rescued by saying, “My father’s in the Navy. He said there are not any unknown islands left. He says the queen has a big room full of maps and all the islands in the world are drawn there, So the Queen’s got a picture of this island” (Golding 37). Here the reader can infer that Ralph has some leadership because his father is in the navy. Ralph also stays positive throughout the novel. This positivity makes him more friendly and more like a natural leader than Jack. When Ralph states that the boys are not on an unknown island, the boys smile because they have hope that they might be found soon. The characteristics that Ralph shows as chief, are great leadership

characteristics.
Although there are many great things about Ralph, he does have some characteristics that may not seem good for a leader to have. One example of his poor judgement. This is expressed in the following quotation; “They found another pig-run parallel to the first and Jacked raced away. Ralph was full of fright and apprehension and pride. ‘I hit him didn’t you see’... Ralph talked on, excitedly”(Golding 113) Here the reader can observe that Ralph is excited about hitting and killing his first pig. He feels great and wanted everyone to know his great accomplishment. This bragging about hitting a poor defenseless animal is not good. Killing a living thing can damage the mind of a person, especially when it is a young boy. Even though hunting is a necessary skill on the island, Ralph has lost his innocence and he shows the boys a little bit of his dark side. This is a side no good leader should show.
As the novel progresses, the reader can see that Ralph is not the only natural leader on the island. Jack, the leader of the hunters also has the characteristics to be a leader. It is known that he works hard for the group by the following quotation: “Jack took up a coconut shell that brimmed with fresh water from among a group that was arranged in the shade and dark. The water splashed over his chin and neck and chest. He breathed noisily when he had finished”(Golding 50). Here the reader can see, Jack is very tired and thirsty prior to finding the coconut. The reader can understand that the work he was doing before his encounter with the coconut was very tiresome. Also, Jack gave all his effort into doing this work because he knew that the outcome would eventually be beneficial to the tribe. What Jack and the other boys were doing was hunting. The reader can understand that Jack is smart. He understands that water and juices are produced by fruits, so he takes and drinks the water of the coconut. Jack, who is the leader of the hunters, has the responsibility to provide food to all the boys. This is an important characteristic because food is a necessity for life. Being smart, having hunting skills, and giving one hundred percent to anything you do for the team are characteristics that every good leader should have.
Along with Jack’s good characteristics, comes his bad ones. His bad characteristics include disobeying the rules and mocking others. This is shown in the following quotation: “ ‘I don’t believe in any ghosts - ever!’ said Piggy. Jack was up too, unaccountably angry. ‘Who cares what you believe - Fatty! stated Jack” (Golding 90). Here the reader can see that the discussion is taking place during the meeting in which all the boys talk about the belief in beasts and ghosts. Piggy, who has the conch, states he does not believe in ghosts. Jack, who does not have the conch and therefore must not be talking, interrupts Piggy and insults him. By interrupting Piggy, the reader notices that Jack does not care for the significance of the conch and believes himself to be above its rule. Also, by insulting Piggy, Jack indirectly states that he feels superior to him in every way. By telling Piggy that no one cares what he thinks, Jack insults Piggy’s intelligence. Also, by calling Piggy a “Fatty”, Jack insults Piggy’s physical appearance. This inequality that Jack shows is seen by the other boys at the meeting. The feeling of superiority over the conch and insulting other tribe members are two bad characteristics that good leaders should not have.
Another leader in the novel is the Piggy. Even though he is not as big of a leader as Jack and Ralph, Piggy is equally as important. Piggy is Ralph’s second in command and is also the voice of reason and order in this novel. Although Piggy is overweight, asthmatic, and dependent on specs to see, he is gifted in his knowledge. Piggy is a good leader because he is consistent. Piggy, who believes in being rescued as soon as possible, constantly tells the boys about the rules and remains as a person to rely on when someone does not know what to do. In one of the scenes, Piggy yells at the boys and states, “I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach. It wasn't half could down there in the night… How can you expect to be rescued if you don't put first thing first and act proper?”(Golding 45). Here the reader may notice that Piggy really wants to go home. One reason for this is because the boys, especially Jack, make fun of him for his weight. Piggy really does not like that. To get back at them, Piggy scolds the kids for not working and then tells them what they should do. Piggy has a right to do this because he is the second in Command after Ralph. Also, what he tells the children is true. WHat they are doing is nothing productive; they are just playing around. Also, Piggy provides them with a solution that will result in a positive outcome. Also, Piggy constantly reminds everyone about the rule of the conch; whoever has the conch has the right to speak and everyone else should stay quiet. Piggy is seen by the reader as a symbol of order and consistency, but is unfortunately seen by the boys differently. The characteristics that piggy shows are important characteristic that every good leader should have.
Even though it may not seem that Piggy has any bad characteristics, he does have one very important bad characteristics.

Piggy’s bad characteristic is being too dependent. Piggy, as the reader knows well, is Ralph’s second in command. Piggy gives his ideas to Ralph, but will not do anything unless is given the “okay” by Ralph. The following quotation is an example of this. “Piggy touched Ralph’s wrist. ‘Come away. There’s going to be trouble. And we’ve had our meat’ ”(Golding 151). Here the reader can see that Piggy is advising Ralph to leave the discussion that Ralph is having with Jack. Ralph does not listen to Piggy, who is the voice of reason. Piggy understands that the discussion will soon lead to a fight and someone will be harmed, but Piggy will not leave if Ralph will not leave. This is a grave mistake because right after their discussion, all of the boys accidentally kill Simon. Piggy, who knew something bad was going to happen, did not leave because he is dependent on Ralph. Another example of his dependency is when Jack takes Piggy’s glasses. Piggy only goes to retrieve his specs if Ralph goes with him. Even though it is good to be sometimes dependent on others, a good leader should mostly rely on his skills and characteristics. They should be mostly independent for others are dependent of

them.
At the beginning of the novel, the boys pick Ralph as their chief. They do this because he seems like a natural leader. Ralph brought them all together by sounding the conch, gave them rules to follow, and made Jack in charge of the Hunters. As the story progresses the boys notice both the good and bad characteristics of each of the leaders of the tribe, Ralph, Jack, and Piggy. The boys notice that Jack has hunting skills that are great for bringing food. Jack is the leader of the hunters, who are all in the choir with Jack, and are all loyal to him. This is shown when Jack leaves Ralph’s tribe and all of the hunters leave with him. Eventually, all the boys do the same. The boys do this because they realize they have a better chance of staying alive with Jack’s tribe than with Ralph’s. They believe this because Jack has the hunting skills and Ralph does not. Through their reasoning, the boys decide to go with the leader they think can keep them alive, Even though Jack’s bad characteristics are worse than Ralph’s, his good characteristics are what is most important.