In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Jack and Ralph foil each other by expressing a different form of leadership where Jack’s ruling emphasizes the necessity of adaptation and survival in chaotic circumstances. Ralph represented and spoke of the importance of respecting and maintaining law: “We’ll have to have ‘hands up’ like at school” (Golding, 33) reinforcing stability and order among the chaos. Ralph stood for duty and reason-- to protect the weak whereas Jack restlessly climbed for power with the belief of natural selection, where the strong triumphed over the weak and endorsed cruelty or tyranny instilling fear in those who opposed him. Jack’s reign was one paved with fire and blood, originating from relinquishing himself to his hunger …show more content…
Additionally, his leadership style can instill a sense of discipline and unity among the group, essential for survival in unpredictable circumstances. The thing is—fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream. There aren’t any beasts to be afraid of on this island." Upon hearing the boy's concerns Jack calmed the kids instantaneously, dismissing the myth opposed to entertaining the thought as Ralph did, showing his attempt to assert control, prioritizing practical and realistic survival concerns such as food. Ralph’s primary focus has always been holding out until they are rescued and can return home, foiling Jack’s realistic approach in learning to adapt to his environment and evolving to change. Jack demonstrated himself to be more practical and grounded in adopting animalistic behaviours by stalking prey in their environment on the island and embracing the reality of their situation to survive. This contrast, with Ralph's incessant need for housing and Jack's need to be stronger and hunt, highlights Ralph's longing for the familiar and his desire to return to civilization, while Jack's realism emphasizes the importance of adapting and thriving in the present circumstances. Jack surpasses Ralph for his authoritative leadership style, prioritizing instant response to action and survival, proving advantageous in times of
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.
Ralph is one of the few boys who realize that the only way to survive is through peace and order. Because he summons the boys at the beginning of the novel with the conch he and Piggy find, they look upon him as the most responsible of the boys and elect him as a chief over the humiliated Jack. Ralph creates a stable and peaceful society for the children to live; this significantly bothers Jack because he wants to have fun and do things that he never did back in the civilized society. Jack is eventually successful of pulling nearly all of the children out of Ralph’s control to form savages. Ralph represents the civilization, and Jack represents the primitive society.
Jack, William Golding’s antagonist in Lord of the Flies, reveals through his experience on the island that it is an individual’s assertiveness, manipulative abilities, and charisma which dictate who commandeers power and privilege over others, and that possessing these traits often negatively impacts the lives of the people leaders seek to control.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a story much like the true events of the totalitarian Soviet Union. The original leader in Lord of the Flies introduces himself simply as “Ralph”(Golding 8). Althought his priorities are good, his way of governing is certainly harsh: “ ‘You voted me chief. Now you do what I say ’ ”(115). Later in the book, power is switched to another leader of the group, Jack Merridew. Golding shows his style of rule as also very forceful. “‘There isn’t a tribe for you anymore… I’m chief!’” (261) Jack states. Although both of the leaders are very commanding, Ralph was elected, like a democracy, and Jack forced his way into power through false hope. The result ended up more like a dictatorship.
The techniques and symbols used to convey Jack and Ralph’s responses to different situations inform the reader on there different characteristics and personality’s. In William Golding’s novel ‘Lord of The Flies’ we come to a decision that Ralph demonstrates better leadership skills and responses to all situations positively, while Jack response to situations with a negative reaction.
Democratic power can be used to control a society, as well as to establish a closeness among civilians. To lose sight of this can mean the corruption of a civilization caused by the lack of order. One’s choice of independence over the reliance on others in order to better the chances of their survival requires complete dedication and willingness to take risks. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph loses his democratic power due to his failure to ensure survival and protect the boys as a leader. Ralph’s failure to lead the group is due to his inability to compete with Jack and gain followers, mostly because of Jack’s reign of fear. Ralph’s integrity enables a growing confidence in his ability to avoid reliance on leadership power in
In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, leadership is one of the main important qualities. If I had to choose between Jack and Ralph to follow in the story, I would choose Ralph. Although he ended up struggling near the end of the story, I still found him to be a good leader.
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others” (Welch). Leadership is inspiring others to learn more, do more, and become more. Ineffective fail to possess certain characteristics which effective leaders do. Willingness to help others, selflessness, and strictness; these are the qualities of a both good and effective leader. Without these qualities, leadership would fail and being a leader would mean nothing.
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are many leadership traits shown by two of the main characters, Jack and Ralph. Although they both have a role as some type of leader, they are not the same and have very different leadership views and styles. Ralph wants to do everything he can so that they can survive on the island, but Jack goes crazy and becomes a savage with a thirst for blood.
His concern for the individuals in the group is pertinent from the beginning: he conveys to Jack the necessity of shelters “as a sort of [home]”, upon noticing the distress of the younger children (pg. 58). It is seen that Ralph’s problems are not his own; he assumes the role of leader to bring orderly forces of civilization to all. By approaching circumstances with logistics rather than emotion, Ralph does not lose sight of himself in the face of adversity. Despite this, he is later forced to act irrationally in order to preserve his status. When confronted with the evidence of the beast, Ralph is hesitant to hunt it; he is only manipulated into doing so when Jack “[sneers]” and questions him if he is “frightened” (pg. 100). However, Ralph does not respond out of his spite or self-pride as he understands that he must retain his status among the boys. If he does not remain chief, Jack will secure the position, bearing the notion that there will always be individuals working against altruism for their own benefit. Ralph sacrifices his morals by becoming subservient to Jack’s ego, yet does so in order to preserve civility within the group. On the day of the boys’ rescue, Ralph understands that his efforts to preserve peace and order are all for naught. Man’s destructive forces overwhelm him as “[he weeps] for … the darkness of man’s
An individual by the name of Donald McGannon once said, “Leadership is an action, not a position.” In order for a leader to know what needs to be achieved and be able to relentlessly drive to complete it, they must exhibit different qualities and abilities that will be beneficial and vital to their success. This is important in view of the fact that it prompts and inspires others to be able to follow in their example. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, after a group of boys crash onto a deserted island, an example of this is seen through Ralph, who best exhibits good leadership qualities that will help bring the boys to safety and rescue. This is especially in comparison to the power-hungry Jack Merridew. The three main leadership qualities
There are always people who, in a group, come out with better qualities to be a leader than others. The strongest people however, become the greater influences which the others decide to follow. However, sometimes the strongest person is not the best choice. Authors often show how humans select this stronger person to give an understanding of the different powers that people can posses over others.
For years, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, has been a staple in college, high school, and even middle school classes. The eloquent story follows a group of young boys stranded on a jungle island. They are left thousands of miles away from civilization and are left to survive by themselves. Throughout the story, many insights in leadership are seen through the power struggle between Ralph and Jack. Both have extremely different styles of leadership with varying levels of success. Lord of the Flies teaches me about leadership in the initial selection of the leader, how they solve problems, and how they motivate others.
Contrasting Ralph and Jack in Lord of the Flies & nbsp;& nbsp; & nbsp; Ralph and Jack are both powerful and meaningful characters in William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies. Ralph is an excellent leader; responsible, and stands for all that is good. Jack is a destructive hunter, selfish, and represents evil. These two main characters can be compared by the actions they take as leaders, their personalities, and what they symbolize in the story. & nbsp; Ralph first takes on the position as leader at the beginning of the story, when the rest of the boys vote him in as chief.&nbs Rules and standards are set when Ralph is the chief. He orders the group to build the basic necessities of civilization, shelters, and most importantly to keep the fire going, in hope that they will be rescued and return to humanity. " But I tell you that smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one" (Golding 75). Jack, on the other hand, takes on the idea of every man for himself. He does not care about making homes, only about hunting. When Jack is the leader, evil takes over and all good is destroyed. Under Jack's power both Simon and Piggy are killed. & nbsp; Not only do the two character's decisions clash so do their personalities. Ralph is caring and considerate, being kinder to Piggy, making friends with him and constantly confid Ralph represents law, order, organized society and moral integrity. Throughout the novel he is constantly making common-sense rules for the boys to follow. Unlike Ralph, Jack is unkind, caring about no one
Is man inherently good, or inherently evil? This question has plagued the minds of scholars for hundreds of years, including famous names such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes. Rousseau argued that there is good inside the hearts of all men. In contrast, Hobbes believed the opposite—that man, in his rawest form, is evil. In his major literary work Lord of the Flies, William Golding takes the latter stance.