Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
How was leadership a role in lord of the flies
Ralph in the lord of the flies character analysis
Give a character sketch of Ralph in the novel the Lord of the Flies summary
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: How was leadership a role in lord of the flies
What would you do if you were to become chief of a society torn from a microcosm to a savage ridden island? This is the undertaking which Ralph, Protagonist of The Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, took the liberty to maintain the self conscious and values withheld within a civilized society. Ralph’s character is introduced early within the book characterized as a 12 year old boy washed upon an uncharted island (Pacific) which, vacant at first, features a fellow group of British boys, mainly younger than Ralph, which is a precursor to Ralph being elected as the leader of this tribe after their first meeting. The author portrays him as a valiant, rational, and understanding being who, provided the circumstances, is supportive of
However, Ralph's inability to work under the pressure of many variables is a weak point in which he would struggle with. Therefore, an assumption can be made for Ralphs future to possibly feature CEO. Ralph, being known to organize his peers, calls forth a meeting upon the center mountain on the island and mentions “If we have a signal going they'll come and take us off” (Golding 42). Ralph being older is more mature in his decisions and for the future he envisages hope upon the people, within a CEO position you must also must be aware of group goals and resources with an optimistic mindset. Ralph further expresses his value for CEO during the conflict regarding the fire and the maintainance in which Ralph discusses “We'll have to make a new list of who's to look after the fire” (Golding 131). Ralph in a time of needs is maintaining division of the workforce in order to work efficiently. From the text we can be sure that Ralph will pursue a communication based leadership, because he always is there to talk to regarding personal or tribal matters. However, After the division of the tribe Ralph breaks down under pressure feeling wrong and in particular “ [Ralph] was vexed to find how little he thought like a grownup and sighed again, the island was getting worse and worse” (Golding 153). Following his episodic thoughts a conclusion can be drawn that Ralph can crack when the stakes are high, which is counter productive for a CEO. However, Ralph uses this as fuel for an ever stronger comeback which is important in their survival, and later their escape from the uncharted island. Overall, Ralph displays many traits of which demonstrate his ability to lead as an CEO during his
On the Keirsey Temperament’s website, it listed some personality traits of a Supervisor, “Supervisors like to take charge of groups and are comfortable issuing orders” (Keirsey.com). Ralph has been able to establish the meeting spot, the huts and the fire with little to no help from anybody else. His main goal is to keep the boys focused on the hope of rescue and he will work vigilantly to do so. After the whole group was chaotically speaking over one another, Ralph established another rule when he said, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (Golding 33). Once Ralph says this, the boys begin to get very excited over the thought of rules, “Whee-oh!..Wacco!..Bong!..Doink!” (Golding 33). Everybody, even Jack at this point, have accepted Ralph as the trusting leader and they look up to him as a diplomat. Though, later on in the novel, he begins to lose his power to Jack. Yet, this occasion does not stop Ralph from the goal of rescue because he then demonstrates his skills of a conceptual thinker when in a group by himself. After nearly avoiding death by savages, Ralph ends up running into a naval officer who asks, “Who’s boss here?” (Golding 201), when Ralph proudly responds, “I am” (Golding 201). The fact that three people have been killed under his watch and his whole group have turned into wild
Ralph has several positive characteristics but he also has several crucial weaknesses that prevent him from being the perfect leader. In chapter one the boys decide who they want to be leader. The boys decide on Ralph, “”Vote for a chief!”…every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air.” (Golding 18-19). From the very beginning Ralph is seen as the leader. He becomes the one the boys look up to and depend on to make decisions in their best interest. Ralph has natural leadership skills. Landing on the island with no adults to take control, the boys chose to follow the one boy who seems to be doing something productive, Ralph. An example of Ralph being purposeful and productive is when he blows the conch to get the attention of all the boys on the island and bring them together for a meeting. When Jack and his choir find the other boys gathered he asks where the man with the trumpet is, Ralph replies, “There’s no man with a trumpet. We’re having a meeting. Want to join?” (Golding 16). Ralph asks Jack and the choir boys to join the meeting because he wants all the boys to work together so they can be rescued as soon as possible. Other than his leadership and purposeful qualities, Ralph is also hard working. When tasks are given out to the boys, such as building shelters, hunting, gathering food, the hard work of most boys turns into play and exploration leaving Ralph to do most of the work by himself with little help from others. When the other boys gave up on their tasks Ralph continued working, this proves his hard work. Leadership, purposeful, and hard working are all positive qualities that helped Ralph succeed in the novel, but Ralph also had some majo...
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel about human nature and the functions of society. One of the main characters in this novel is Ralph, who is chosen to be the leader of a group of boys. He assigns tasks to the boys and tries to keep them accountable for it. However, the boys begin to slack because they can no longer see the point of these tasks and rules. As a result of the constant slacking the boys soon turned into savages. Ralph’s struggle to maintain order amongst the boys shows how without rules it is human nature to descend into savagery due to the avoidance of authority.
The novel, Lord of the Flies, is a compelling story displaying the metamorphosis of an individual when faced with external and internal conflicts. Ralph is the first character to be introduced in the book. He is the most likeable as he is charming, athletic, and displays strong leadership qualities. However, as the novel progresses, Ralph loses his sense of civilization and undergoes a change in character discovering the evil man is capable of. Ralph’s metamorphosis is captivating and displays the inevitable loss of innocence.
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.
In literature, as in life, people struggle with the principles and beliefs they hold. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Ralph represents order, civilization, and leadership. On the island, Ralph is conflicted with his principles and beliefs that he has acquired over the years of living in a civilized and humane world and is caught between holding on to them or submitting to the barbarism that seems to have taken over the other boys.
After the plane crashes and the boys find each other, they are scared and helpless. However, after establishing rule and living on the island for some, the boys transform into blood thirsty savages. Because Ralph found and blew into the conch, all surviving members of the plane crash are able to come to one place. The boys call for a vote and Ralph is elected leader. Then Jack, Ralph, and Simon go up to the mountain top to search for a way off. However, on the way back, they find a piglet but Jack can 't bring himself to kill it (Page 23). For this reason, the boys still remember what it’s like to be a civilized kid and this shows how innocence is still present inside the boys. Later, Jack tracks a pig through the forest, but it escapes. Afterwards,
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
In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies Ralph though not the stronger person, demonstrates a better understanding of people than Jack which gives him better leadership qualities. Ralph displays these useful human qualities as a leader by working towards the betterment of the boys' society. He knows the boys need stability and order if they are to survive on the island. He creates rules and a simple form of government to achieve this order. Jack does not treat the boys with dignity as Ralph does. Ralph understands that the boys, particularly Piggy, have to be given respect and must be treated as equals. This makes Ralph a better leader as he is able to acknowledge that he was not superior to any of the other boys. Ralph's wisdom and ability to look to the future also make him a superior leader. Ralph has the sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. He insists on keeping the fire burning as a distress signal. Ralph's leadership provides peace and order to the island while Jack's leadership makes chaos.
In the midst of World War 2, a group of English schoolboys find themselves stranded on a deserted island after their evacuation plane is shot down. With no adult survivors, the boys try to maintain civility by forming a government and electing a leader while they wait for rescue. Conflict immediately arises as Ralph, our protagonist is pitted against another boy named Jack in a fight for power.
Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, took place on an isolated tropical island. There were many symbolic items within the story, and their meanings changed as the story developed. The fire was the symbol of hope and civilization at the beginning of the novel, but at the end it had become a fire of destruction. Ralph, in the beginning of the book, stood for leadership and almost perfection, however as the story progresses, he was nothing more than a normal human. The beast, upon its first appearance, symbolized fear, but soon, it represented the savagery within them. The different symbolic figures within the book, such as the fire, Ralph, and the beast, shifted in meaning as the story develops.
The very first time Ralph is introduced to the reader, one can see his sense of observation even in the first sentence that he says: "This is an island, at least I think it's an island. That's a reef out in the sea. Perhaps there aren't any grownups anywhere." As everyone knows, a good sense of observation is essential for a leader. He was chosen as a leader by the other boys, which shows the civilized instinct with humans. Ralph represents order and discipline in this chaotic world without grownups, which is shown by his character and composure during the first meeting. He almost defines himself with his first speech, "Listen everybody. I've got to have time to think things out. I can't decide what to do straight off. If this isn't an island, we might be rescued straight away. So we've got to decide if this is an island or not. Everybody must stay around here and wait and not go away. Three of us-if we take more, we'd get all mixed, and lose each other-three of us will go on an expedition and find out. I'll go, and Jack, and, and...." (p.23-24) Ralph wastes no time in bringing order to the group. He shows intelligence and self-control by not jumping into conclusions and by wanting "time to think things out." That displays to the reader he is cautious . Surely the other boys recognized this also, for he had earned the title, chief.
My name is Piggy the first day I met Ralph I thought I was going to have a best friend. Come to find out he is the complete opposite of what I expected. The first thing he does is call me Piggy, a name that I got from being teased in school. Then I showed Ralph how to use the sea shell as a conch and he does not even say thank you. When Ralph finally got the hang of the conch he blew it so loud that all the birds flew into the air. Next thing we know tons and tons of children start to come out of the woods. Once we noticed that there were no more children coming, there needed to be order. Since I taught Ralph how to use the conch everyone thought he should be leader which he gladly accepted. After that we met a kid named Jack and his choir boy's. He was very mean to me and picked on me all the time. Jack and I might not become good friends but it looks like Ralph and him get along that's all that matters, that everyone can get along. I have to go now because some children are coming over I will try to write back as soon as I can bye.
... Ralph has proven to have a much better understanding of people and their needs and this makes him a much better leader than Jack. With Ralph's understanding of the need for order and rules, he improves the condition where the boys are living in. Jack's condition was horrible. Also, Jack treated the boys very badly and like he better. Ralph, on the other hand treated the boys all equally and with respect. Ralph's priority to get off the island shows his wisdom and ability to make good decisions. Although Jack was popular on the island for the short amount of time the boys were there, he would not have been popular for much longer. He does not have any of the qualities that a good leader should have and turned himself and the rest of the boys into complete losers. Jack's plan would have soon faded but if Ralph had become leader, his wisdom would last much longer.
This is illustrated when he says "There was a ship… you said you'd keep the smoke going". Ralph's leadership is what keeps the order among the boys on the island. Ralph's desire for home is what drives him to lead the group of boys and to keep an orderly society on the island. Creating the signal fire was Ralph's only way to get home and it is clear he knows this when he tells Jack "No fire, no smoke, no rescue.