How Does Golding Present Ralph's Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

Ralph’s character clearly represents an effectual leader compared to all of the other boys because his superior execution of guiding the boys. Therefore, Golding develops an evident leader in his novel by characterizing the protagonist, Ralph, with imperative strengths that a leader must have in order to successfully command a group of

Leadership is a very important characteristic which consists of several unique qualities. It can be found in families, among friends, at work, and within everyday activities. Good leadership can be very productive and can create a positive atmosphere. There are several qualities that one possesses to be a great leader. In the book, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Ralph is the best leader. Throughout the novel Ralph shows initiative, determination, and responsibility in a way that makes him the best leader

Ralph, shyly admits that had lost several honourable friends due to the actions made by the group. It was first the death of Simon, when Ralph realized that the group was capable of almost anything. Simon, being mistaken for a ‘beast’, was killed in the boy’s mob mentality to kill whatever they were afraid of. “It was dark no one could see him, it was an accident, I don’t believe anybody meant to harm anyone, but it was still… murder” says Ralph.

A leader must possess leadership skills, whether good or evil. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph possesses three good leadership skills. Three leadership skills a leader needs to have is responsibility, determination, and initiative.

In a group, there are always people who prove to have better leadership skills then others. The strongest of these people can often influence the weaker people into following them. However, the strongest person is not necessarily the best leader as it is proven in William Golding's book, The Lord of the Flies. Although Ralph is the weaker person, he is still able to show a better understanding of people than Jack who is stronger. Ralph demonstrates his excellent leadership skills throughout the book by keeping the group in line, treating everyone with respect, and staying focused on getting rescued.

Ralph is not only a leader, but a voice of reason within the group. Ralph’s main priority throughout the novel is to be rescued, even when it did not seem as important to the other boys in the group. Ralph creates a signal fire and consistently reminds the boys that it is imperative to their survival. Ralph explains, “Don’t you understand? Can’t you see we ought to--ought to die before we let the fire out?” (Golding 81). Ralph’s scolding to the hunters is well deserved considering that they wasted a possible opportunity to be rescued after letting the signal fire go out. As time went on, Jack and his hunters become more and more consumed with hunting and order began to turn into chaos. The hunters chant, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in” (Golding 75). Ralph refuses to join the boys and viciously murder pigs. The boys’ hygiene habits were also worsening, to the point that the boys were defecating in the wrong areas. Ralph tries to address it at a meeting, but the boys’ find their animal-like behavior amusing. Throughout the loss of civility and order, Ralph always keeps a persistent effort to keep the signal fire going and keep order within the group. Ralph’s attitude towards the entire situation drops, however he never completely lost hope.

Many times throughout the book, Piggy is the voice of reason and helps to guide Ralph along that same road if he loses his way. After scolding Samneric for being pessimistic about their fate, Ralph momentarily forgets the reasons why the signal fire is so important. "He tried to remember. Smoke, he said, we want smoke. Course we have. Cos the smoke's a signal and we can't be rescued if we don't have smoke. I knew that! Shouted Ralph" (Golding 172). Ralph begins to lose his initial cheerfulness and enthusiasm and replaces it with disinterest and pessimism. Piggy and Ralph separate themselves from Jack and his tribe and continue to maintain their "government". However, when Jack and his tribe kill a pig and invite Ralph and Piggy to join their feast, the two accept and cannot resist the temptation of the meat. Later on in the celebration, Jack and his tribe perform a ritualistic dance, in which Piggy and Ralph later join. "Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society" (Golding 152). They realize that the dance fueled the boys to murder Simon, and later deny their participance in it. "We left early, said Piggy quickly, because we were tired" (Golding 158). Ralph and Piggy recognize the evil in the dance, and know that if the others found out about their participance in it, then the boys would claim that Piggy and Ralph would be

Secondly, Ralph is not only a rational leader but also a moral person, who cleverly keeps the fairness in his group. “Ralph, looking more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. He hovered between the two courses of apology or further insult ‘Better Piggy than Fatty” (25). Ralph is sincere and considerate for other people. He apparently understand their feeling and particularly shows his sympathy for Piggy. Ralph is sensible enough to realize that everyone deserves to be respected. He believes no one should have to put up with being tormented. Ralph gently gains others’ support by treating them equally, showing his compassion and ability to empathize with them. Opposite to Ralph, Jack is immoral, violent and condescending. “He’s going to beat Wilfred” (159). He does not care or understand the natural equality of

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of British boys that were on a plane and they got shot down onto a deserted island. The boys are alone on the island without any adult supervision because the pilot died during the crash. The boys split up into two groups focusing on different aspects, specifically shelter and hunting. During their survival, they face many obstacles such as the beast and the pigs. In the end, they get rescued by a ship passing by.

He begins to have the urge to hunt and has an adrenaline rush when he finally hits a boar, "Ralph was full of fright and apprehension and pride. ' I hit him! The spear stuck in—'" (p.124). This is demonstrated in chapter 9 as he actively participates in the chanting and killing of Simon, "[e]ven in the rain they could see how small a beast it was; and already its blood was staining the sand" (p.169). He then realises the horror that is brought upon by this event and he still has the civility to change.

This is where both Ralph and society’s perception of personal responsibility skews wrong. Golding explores broadly the inherent savagery prescient in all of the boys, even Ralph, and yet also assumes the former’s idea of society is the only morally good way to go about human civilization. However, concerning our world at large, morals need to take a backseat to practicality. Clearly, Ralph’s governance wasn’t very good, since it burned out just like his signal fire. He failed

Afterwards, Jack publically called Ralph a coward, and this led to Ralph slipping into a depression. Ralph’s rule on the island came to an end when Jack became the more trusted leader. This took its toll and Ralph’s self esteem and confidence, and he slowly had to figure out how to avoid the others instead of simply surviving. This all was caused by Jack’s confirmation that the beast exists. Ralph was unsure of what to do; how can he keep his civil mindset when they are so terrified of the beast? He was faced with both internal and external struggles throughout the entire book, but most importantly here. With the rest of the boys on a search for blood, Ralph’s in particular, he must choose whether to continue running from certain doom, or give in to the savagery. By agreeing to go get food from Jack, he unknowingly subjected himself to the beast. One of the boys, Simon, paid the price of their wild and childish ways with his life. Ralph tried to convince himself and others that the murder was an accident, and they were still good, innocent people. But the beast that was present inside each and every boy, including Ralph, had emerged. Since earlier in the novel Ralph had given himself the job of the reasonable, trustworthy one, “He was vexed to find how little he thought like a grown-up...” (Golding). After their rescue from the island, “Ralph wept

While arguing, “Ralph hit Jack in the stomach and made him grunt. Then they were facing each other panting and furious, but unnerved by each other’s ferocity.” Ralph losses sight of his own civility, causing him to drastically act out in savagery. Jack does not take the act of defiance lightly. Giving him yet another reason to have his tribe turn against Ralph. Next, Ralph again loses his civility in a moment of savagery thus contributing to the killing of Simon. Ralph who is leading his tribe into a better civilization turns into a savage with his group closely following his lead. They murder Simon, this being significant because he showed the most civility and was only trying to help when he approached the group of savages. Instead the, “memory of the dance that none of them attended shook all 4 boys convulsively.” All the boys in Ralph’s tribe deny their involvement because they can’t come to terms with what they did to one of their friends. Ralph may have stood on the outside and never stabbed Simon, but he also never attempts to stop the dance. As the leader he should have intervened. This act has a predominant effect on

Jack and Ralph have been at odds through out the story but it really comes to a head when they argue over voting Ralph out of power. Ralph tries to restore order but Jack runs off and requests that his “hunters” join him. Throughout the day, most of the tribe goes off to join Jack. Jack seems to make the most sense, he was the one that was able to catch the food and Ralph didn’t. The unruly order of the group gets out of control during a feast when the boys are overcome with violent tendencies. Simon is coming back from the mountain after he had passed out and wants to tell the rest of the boys what he has seen. The tribe is in a crazy state of mind and they see a figure come out of the woods and pounce on him thinking that it was the beast on the mountains. Simon ends up dead, at the hands of the rest of the tribe members. The only boys that seem to care about Simon’s death

Humane and moral characteristics manifest when proper emotional development is acquired by an individual. Therefore, being able to rationalize and make wise decisions for the good of everyone, not just for self-gratitude, especially in destructive situations. I do agree, that environmental factors influence and enhance immoral behavior, especially in the matter of survival. At such a young age, Ralph displayed greater mental development growth than most the other boys. For example Jack stated, “I agree with Ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things” (Golding 42). This statement clearly shows the maturity of Ralph’s thinking and acknowledgement by his peers that he only desires to form an assembly and create goals that will result in the group being rescued. At the same time maintaining peace and cooperation amongst the