Lord Of The Flies Ralph Leadership Analysis

Leadership is something that stands out in people; the ability to show courage, initiative, responsibility, and determination. Within a group, people tend to look for an individual with these traits to follow. The main protagonist in William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, Ralph who was immediately elected leader by a group of schoolboys who were stranded on the uninhabited island due to a plane crash, strives to recreate a civilized society to which he was accustomed to previously and apply it to the group of adolescents that accompany him. The qualities of leadership Ralph possess deemed him to be a fitted leader as they are demonstrated throughout the course of the novel by keeping order among the group, appearing confident in his leadership

role, and having the sense to keep his focus on getting rescued.
A leader needs to function in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty. They are someone people look to during times of uncertainty and unfamiliarity to find reassurance and security when they portray confidence and a positive demeanor. Ralph brings order to the chaos on the island and manages to keep the boys under control by holding meetings, using the conch he suggests that,"if we have a signal going, they'll come and take us off. And another thing. we ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that's a meeting. The same up here as down here" (Golding 42). By enforcing this sense of order, he gains respect from the boys and becomes more confident as a leader. Later on, as Ralph uses his power to try and improve the boys’ civilization, he demonstrates his knowledge and understanding of the littluns’ necessities by building shelters. When Ralph says, “they talk and scream. The littluns. Even some of the others” (52), he is referring to the fact that the boys need the shelters because they are petrified and the shelters will help the boys feel more secure.
Another characteristic of being a good leader that Ralph portrays is his confidence.

In order to lead and set direction, a leader needs to appear confident as a person and in the leadership role. Upon arrival, when the boys were appointing a leader, without hesitation, saw that "there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out… most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch… The being that had blown that… was set apart" (22). This quote reveals that although one can have a great vision and good ideas regarding the change, if one is not confident, then the action will not occur. Without action, there is no change. With this being said, Ralph knew that they had to take action considering that if they did nothing, the predicament would remain the same and then proceeded to blow the conch to signal for any fellow survivors. Ralph’s connection with the conch allows him to appear confident in the eyes of the littluns since the conch is what brought them all together. It was as if a hidden personality within Ralph had taken control saying, “‘I’m chief. I’ll go. Don’t argue’”(104). Ralph is not the one agreeing to go look for the beast; it is the chief inside of him. He knows that the littluns are depending on him to guide them, and he takes that responsibility into consideration when making it

move.
Finally, a good leader is able to think analytically as well as keeping the main goal in focus. Not only does a good leader view a situation as a whole, but is able to break it down into sub parts for closer inspection. Ralph's common sense and ability to recognize what is best for the group as a whole further demonstrates his exceptional leadership skills. His main focus is keeping the fire going and getting rescued. He puts much stress on this when he says, “‘the fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don't keep the fire going’” (88)? He instructs the boys to make a fire and to keep it burning as a distress signal. Ralph's determination to get rescued is not for purely selfish reasons, but rather, for the best interest of the group. When the boys do not share his enthusiasm for getting rescued, he becomes exasperated. This is seen when the group was close to being rescued but Jack and his group of hunters are careless about keeping the fire going and the smoke diminishes. Ralph says infuriatingly, “I said before, the fire is the main thing… Hasn’t anyone got any sense? We’ve got to relight that fire… Or don’t any of you want to be rescued” (102)? The hunters’ carelessness angers Ralph because it is putting the rest of the boys on a path of hopelessness, in which they succumb to the nature of the island, and he knows that they would be in a much better position mentally if they never give up on being saved.
Ralph was able to display his qualities of leadership within his role as he developed and strengthened them as well throughout the novel. He was able to think in an orderly and purposeful manner in times of uncertainty, focus on the primary objective and stick to it, and lastly having confidence in what he says and does as a leader. Ralph symbolizes a leadership based on order and respect of others when he created rules, protecting each other's rights, and pursuing activities of an intellectual and scientific nature. From Ralph’s leadership, these boys were able to begin constructing a democracy on the island in an attempt to maintain order and civilization.