William Golding’s Lord of The Flies is an adventurous story about schoolboys stranded on an island without an adult. When they realize they need a leader, they elect one of the boys as chief to be in charge of them as they find a way off the island. Jack and Ralph, two characters described as bigguns, wanted to be leader. They had to consider many things when they vote for a chief. The two boys had different qualities and abilities. Jack and Ralph are both good leaders for different reasons, but Ralph is the best option. Ralph received the most votes because he would be the better captain, but what makes a good leader? A good leader should care about the people he is in charge of. “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands” (Golding 56). The author describes to the reader when the littluns, the younger boys, were crying as they lugged him toward the trees. If a foreman, does not prioritize the safeness and health of their …show more content…
people like Ralph did, they are not a good leader. A leader is not a cinch either, one should have to make sacrifices to manage the group. “I was chief, and you were going to do as I said” (Golding 71). Ralph says to Jack after he disobeyed him and ruined the chances of the boys going home. This is a very important skill a leader must have. If the leader is not able to keep everything under control, he/she will not be taken seriously and chaos will set about. Although Jack was not chosen to be leader, he had some characteristics of a leader. In the story, the author says, “He looked at Piggy, at the hunters, at Ralph. ‘I'm sorry. About the fire, I mean. There. I-’ He drew himself up ‘I apologize’” (Golding 72). Jack apologizes for letting the fire go out. Jack knew that the boys needed meat so he went out to hunt a pig thinking it was a great opportunity to make an action of leadership. He was conscious of his mistake and apologized as a respectful leader would. “‘I cut the pig's throat,” said Jack, proudly, and yet twitched as he said it”(Golding 69). Jack shows the ability of hunting which is very important to the boys. If the master cannot hunt it will be harder to collect food for the group. Therefore, Jack shows strong leadership when he goes out for food and apologizes for his mistake. Ralph has many qualities that earned him the position as the leader.
Ralph defends Piggy, one of the boys, which is good administration. “‘You’re talking too much,” said Jack Merridew. Shut up, Fatty.’ Laughter Rose. ‘He's not Fatty,’ cried Ralph, ‘his real name's Piggy’” (Golding 21). This is a good characteristic to have because he is preventing harassment toward his people. He needs everyone to work together to leave the island. Later in the story, Ralph strengthens his ability to be leader by managing the group once again. “‘I'm chief. We've got to make certain. Can't you see the mountain? There's no signal showing. There may be a ship out there’” (Golding 108). The boys were silent after and listened to the chief as they followed Jack across the bridge. Ralph incessantly needs to yell at them to listen to him so they can work together. As expressed, Ralph shows the ability to be a leader continuously throughout the
story. Jack and Ralph both show weakness at times, but Ralph is the best option. Why is Ralph a better leader? “‘I ought to be chief...because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp” (Golding 22). By saying this, Jack reveals to the reader that he is too arrogant for the position. Jack fails to impress the boys again when he chooses to be aggressive. “This from Piggy, and the wails of agreement from some of the hunters drove Jack to violence...Ralph made a step forward and Jack smacked Piggy's head. Piggy's glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks. Piggy cried out in terror”(Golding 71). By condoning violence, Jack is setting a bad example for the boys. If he was put in the position, the boys would have repeated his behavior. Therefore, his flaws reflect poorly of him and leaves Ralph as best fit for the job. In conclusion, the boy that cares for their people their surrounded by and is able to set order and keep everything under control should be leader. Jack and Ralph are great options. Jack has many weaknesses that make it apparent that he is not fit for the position. He also strengths such as remorse. Ralph’s strengths are protecting the boys and managing the group. Jack and Ralph are both fantastic leaders, but Ralph is the best choice.
Ralph is enthusiastic and energetic; he frequently grins, stands on his head, and says 'wizard' when excited. He is also a good leader; he listens to everyone's opinions during island meetings, prioritizes the needs of the tribe (a signal fire, shelter, enforcement of lavatory rocks), and tries to be diplomatic with the other boys (giving the hunters to Jack). Even after Jack has created a violent band of the island's boys and become enemies with Ralph, Ralph still tries to reason with him. He goes to Jack to ask for Piggy's glasses back peacefully and only becomes violent when he is left with no other option. Ralph serves as the chief of the first tribe formed on the island, the only true friend of Piggy, a voice of reason for the island, a source of animosity for power-hungry Jack, and a homesick boy stranded on an island. The quote that best reveals Ralph's character is from chapter
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...
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 of keeping 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 as an authority figure.
In the book, Ralph is not known to be the strongest boy on the island, but he shows a better understanding of people than Jack, which is a very important trait for a leader to have. Ralph applies these useful qualities by working towards the problems that need to be solved. He knows that the boys need order and an organized plan if they want to survive on the island. With this in mind, he creates something like a government, with rules and him voted as leader by the boys on the island. Ralph knows that in order for things to work and for the boys to follow him, he needs to show them respect and must treat them all equally. This makes him a good leader and proves that he is able to ...
Firstly, a notable trait that distinguishes Ralph from the other children on the island is his ability to think more rationally. As the boys become influenced by Jack’s rule, they regress into uncivilized savages that lack discipline. Whereas, Ralph is wisely able to keep the boys under order, which is particularly apparent through the meetings that he regularly holds. It is in those meetings that circumstances can be confronted with rationality and equanimity. For example, Ralph instructs the boys with, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking,” (Golding 36). By saying this, Ralph enforces his role of a leader by making rules for the boys on the island to
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.
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.
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.
Ralph is chosen as leader because in the story Lord of the Flies, he symbolizes every good quality necessary to return home. The qualities are leadership, kindness, benevolence, and most of all, friendship.
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.
Ralph evolves as a leader throughout the book due to the challenges that he faced, having to deal with constant fighting with Jack. The beast, and eventually having to deal with savages. Ralph starts out nonchalant and wanted to have fun on the island since there were no parents but due to Jack he had to make some changes. Jack and his hunters were in charge
After Ralph officially became the chief, all the boys applauded for Ralph, but Jack felt embarrassed and sat down. Ralph saw Jack’s embarrassed face, then decided to give him back the status of being the leader of the choir boys. Jack became excited again, and his embarrassment face vanishes, Ralph had successfully did what he anticipated. Ralph was trying to make Jack feel better, belonged to the group. Jack was the former leader of the choir boys after all, losing the election would have some level of indignity. If Ralph didn’t give him back his position and gain his status again, Jack wouldn’t be that aggressive in the story. That’ why Ralph is respectful as a leader, and it’s a positive character trait. Ralph is also conscious. In chapter five, Ralph calls for a meeting to discuss the problems that they are facing. He said to boys that they aren’t doing anything that was planned. They refuse to build the shelters, He also said, “And another thing. We nearly set the whole island on fire. And we waste time, rolling rocks, and making little
In the “Lord of The Flies,” written by author William Golding, a British aeroplane crashes on or near an island located in the Pacific Ocean, with the only survivors being in their preteens or preadolescence. The main protagonist of the story, Ralph, becomes the leader of the group of the remaining survivors due to his outstanding feats, such as his leadership skills and knowledge of the world around them. While Ralph is the leader of the boys during the first-half of the story, the second-half of the story has his leadership falling apart when Jack and the other hunters leave Ralph, becoming two separate groups. After this, chaos begins to erupt between the two groups, examples of this being Simon’s death, Jack’s tyranny, the destruction
In Golding’s fictional novel, the Lord of the Flies, characters exert leadership qualities of confidence and focus.
and he is the person who first tries to create an order on the island. In some ways Ralph's motivation for being a good, powerful leader is his longing for home. Ralph's relationship with another boy on the island, Jack is very important also. From the beginning of the book Ralph takes charge over his newly acquainted companion Piggy. When he calls the other boys together he takes control over the entire group and