Ralph And Jack's Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

Without a brilliant, strong, and considerate leader, society will crumble. In William Golding’s allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of young schoolboys are left stranded on a deserted island after their plane is shot down. Almost immediately, the boys elect the charismatic Ralph to lead, and Jack, a choirmaster, to be the lead hunter. Ralph and Jack constantly battle for power of the island, and ultimately, two separate tribes form. Leading a clan of savages, Jack barbarically kills and tortures others to achieve his goals, while Ralph uses sensible rationale to help his group survive. With his strong authority and intelligence, Ralph is the most suitable boy to lead the island.

Ralph is focused on helping every boy on the island survive, and his main priority is setting a signal fire. He knows that the boys will never be saved unless they set a fire because “‘the fire is the most

important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don't keep a fire going?’” (Golding 86). If a passing ship sees smoke, the captain will be alerted of the human presence on the island. Ralph understands that the boys will die if they are not rescued soon, and he assigns Jack and his choir boys the job of keeping the fire going. However, Jack would rather hunt and kill pigs than be rescued. He is designated to tend to the fire, but he lets it go out several times. So focused on hunting, “Jack had to think for a moment before he could remember what rescue was. ‘Rescue? Yes, of course! All the same, I'd like to catch a pig first’” (Golding 53). Not concerned about the lives of others, Jack momentarily forgets about being saved. Although Ralph looks out for the greater good of the community, Jack manipulates others to accomplish his personal goals. He only cares about hunting, and unlike Ralph, Jack acts selfishly .
On the other hand, Ralph possess all of the positive characteristics that make a great leader.

Courage, integrity, modesty, and focus are all important qualities that a leader must have in order to be successful (Tracy). Ralph stands up to Jack and his savage tribe, strives to make the most humane decisions, sacrifices himself to keep others safe, asks for help when he needs it, and concentrates on his goals. However, Jack is selfish, egotistical, and disorganized, does not possess vital leadership qualities, and only acts in the interest of himself. To show his dominance, Jack decides who is given pig meat to eat at feasts. He does not give Piggy, a young, overweight intelectual, food in attempt to assert his authority and prove the power he holds over others. (Golding 74). Instead of trying to better society and help the boys thrive, Jack acts narcissitically by holding back food from the hungry Piggy. While Ralph works to improve the quality of life on the island, Jack’s goal is to make others suffer. He does not have good intentions, and his actions do not benefit

society.
Based on his faithful followers that execute everything Jack orders, critics argue that Jack is a more qualified leader. However, they are incorrect because Jack gains support through acts of terror and violence, similar to Adolf Hitler, a German dictator in the 1940s. Hitler created laws and rules to “terrorize political opponents [...] and beat or kill persons they deemed to be opponents” (Nazi Terror Begins). Although Hitler was able to get an entire country of people to support him, under his leadership, around six million people died. Similarly, people join Jack’s tribe, but his atrocious deeds are not justified. Under his leadership, two boys are ruthlessly murdered, the island is burned down, and a child is beaten and tortured. Jack gained support through savagery and brutality, but Ralph was a great leader based on his positive attitude and kindness.
Ralph is a far better leader than Jack. He aims to help the school boys survive and thrive on the island, and he has outstanding leadership qualities. With intelligence and kindness, he is able to bring the boys together, despite the frightening plane crash. Ralph manages to achieve his goals, delegate his tasks, and be kind to the other children, while Jack has to resort to violence to acquire supporters. In the end, Ralph was the only person qualified enough to lead the island successfully.