preview

Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

Decent Essays

Leadership: a quality that everyone possesses, but not everyone knows how to put it to action. It is a quality that is noteworthy in those that act upon it, and which plays a role in their life and the lives of others. However, leadership is a quality that has its own bearings and characteristics. Three characteristics that an effective leader ought to possess are effective communication skills, charisma, and a goal in mind accompanied by a plan to get there. With these three qualities, a leader can be successful in practically any endeavor. In any novel, there is one character or perhaps several characters that exemplify these characteristics of leadership. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Jack both portray the characteristics of a good leader. Although Jack is the antagonist of the novel, he possesses a charisma which far outweighs that of Ralph. Jack knew that in order to be followed by both the “biguns” and “littluns,” he would have to present a leadership worth following. He played on the juvenile tendencies of the boys, by luring them in with food and fun. This sense of charisma or knowing what it would take to gain a following, allowed …show more content…

Often times in society, people will analyze only the advantages in electing or choosing a certain leader, and will then make their decision. However, it can sometimes be seen that the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages and the wrong decision was made. Golding did a phenomenal job making this point in the novel when he contrasted the leadership of Ralph and Jack. Jack promised of food and fun, but he unintentionally provided the boys that followed him with a life of savagery. While they were young and essentially didn’t know any better, the boys poorly misjudged which leader would be most effective and beneficial. What cannot be seen can sometimes have the most detrimental

Get Access