Leadership In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Over time there have been many leaders of countries, groups and societies that are believed to be the “best” or what someone could only dream of. However what if a perfect leader doesn’t exist? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies Ralph’s sense of leadership declines throughout the novel. So what if he doesn’t actually possess the skills the boys had hoped he for.

In society, there are often people who acquire strong leadership qualities and understand what it means to be a favorable leader. Other times, there are people who have strong qualities to lead, but they do not understand how to be a favorable leader and create a safe and comfortable environment for those following them. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the characters of Ralph and Jack arise as two different leaders who bear strong characteristics and they both seek power on the island. The boys become leaders in their own ways, creating individual environments that prioritize different matters, all while trying to work towards their rescue off the island.

It takes a lot to be a leader. It takes experience, communication, positivity, passion, and much more to be an effective leader. Communication, positivity, and passion are the three most important characteristics to me. I represent all three of these with great pride. I communicate effectively whether it be in the classroom, on

Humans are a sophisticated and advanced race, one which possess the ability to affect their environment, and one another, in significant and often destructive ways. War is a catastrophic event created by humans, who upon creating it neglect to comprehend its far-reaching effects. The novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, places a group of prepubescent males into one of these situations. After an evacuation aircraft crash-lands, the boys are left upon a deserted island to manage and fend for themselves. As Golding details the trials and tribulations of the young men on the island, it becomes increasingly apparent that the children respect authority and require an organized leadership. The failure to manifest such a system will result in a de-evolution into savagery.

The boys don’t want to be told what to do. This is not only true in the book but is a simple fact of adolescence. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that, “From time to time most children defy the wishes of their parents. This is a part of growing up and testing adult guidelines and expectations. It is one way for children to learn about and discover their own selves, express their individuality, and achieve a sense of autonomy.” (American Academy of Pediatrics) The same goes for Lord of the Flies. The reader can think of Ralph as the parent who has the best interest for his son/daughter and Jack as his/her’s disobedient troubled friend. In Lord of the Flies the boys are at a stage where the disobedient troubled friend has a significant pull compared to the knowledgeable parent. The friend’s opinion can trump the parent’s in real life and does in Lord of the Flies when in chapter 8 some boys leave Ralph for Jack. This is concerning and is one of the main conflicts in Lord of the Flies. The loss of leadership was inevitable for Ralph because the boys are at a point in their life where they cannot exercise good judgement. For example, Jack is over the moon telling Ralph and the boys about how he killed a pig. Ralph who has better judgement has to remind Jack and say, “There was a ship-” (Golding, 75) This shows that Jack and the hunters do not have a good sense of judgement because they don’t do the most

One of the main leaders in Lord of the Flies is Ralph. Since the start of the story Ralph had shown some great leadership qualities. He was able to keep a level head and win support in a small vote to be leader. He proves to be very supportive and caring in many times in the story. “And I work all day with nothing but Simon and you come back and don't even notice the huts” (Golding 54). Proving that he can make the sacrifice of working all day to provide a needed structure to survive on the island. The huts him and Simon build brought much needed calm to the little kids stranded on the island with them. Ralph also shows his ability to think for the best of the group and listen to his group members. An example of this would be when Piggy suggested to move the signal fire to the beach, due to how far the top of the mountain was. With many of the kids that were scared to climb up the mountain he was reasonably able to decide to move the fire to the beach.

In the Lord of the Flies, the boys are challenged when their plane crashes and they have to survive on a deserted island. To survive the boy’s find it necessary to establish a leader in the beginning. The boys face many of challenges throughout the whole book because of their lack of respect for their leader. Ralph, the stories leader, struggles to lead because of Jack, who opposes Ralph’s view of what needs to be in order to survive. Jack in turn, reverts to savagery and only wants to hunt and have fun. Whether the leader is good or evil, he or she needs to be assertive, be able to take action, and think about the “long-term”.

“‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You’re breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?’ Ralph summoned his wits: ‘Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!’” (91). In Lord of the Flies, Ralph says this to Jack at one of their assemblies, after having berated the boys for neglecting the shelter building and the signal fires. Ralph’s leadership is built on these rules, and Jack’s breaking of them causes an ideological conflict between them which eventually leads to Ralph’s loss of power among the group. He tries to create a just and orderly society to fulfill their needs and allow them to be rescued, but the boys eventually find Jack’s churlish lethargy and excess to be more desirable. Desirable, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, can be

What are the most important qualities an effective leader should have? The willingness to listen others ideas and implement them with their own interpersonal skills. A leader must be willing to accept their own faults and learn from them. An active leader is willing to change their methods of leadership in order to grow as a person. A leader puts themselves on the same level as their followers because that way, people are able to share their own opinions without the fear of rejection. There is courage, as well as the resolution to move forward. Leaders have the characteristic that give the people around them the will to succeed. As a teacher, I understand that some people want to whole heartedly improve, and as an educator I must be willing to do everything I can to push that

Meckenzie Weichelt Period 4 English 1 Mr. Patrick 3/20/18 Have you ever wanted to be a leader? Do you think you could handle it? In “Lord of the flies” wrote by William Golding. It talks about kids who are stranded on a island. In “Lord of the flies I think Ralph is the best leader because Ralph's common sense and ability to recognize what is best for the group and what is best for him as a individual also shows his excellent leadership skills personally I really think he is very outgoing so that may or may not have an affect on how he becomes so powerful .

Why are leaders so necessary in our world? A good leader helps create an organized society with structure and thinks of others before themselves. In the novel, “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, the boys are faced with many obstacles regarding leadership. There is no adult to play that role meaning they must figure out who can endorse that role effectively. Out of all of the boys, Ralph possess the skills to be a good leader for all of the boys on the island.

Leadership is the key to survival. It means the position or work of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group. In the classic novel, ‘Lord of the Flies,’ by William Golding, leadership plays a large role in how the boys create law and order on the island. Three of the main characters are Ralph, Jack, and Piggy, who represent leaders in society. The well-known Autocratic, Democratic, and Laissez-faire leadership styles are expressed through the authors’ tale requiring leaders for prosperity.

Due to the continuing corruption of their civilization, the boys become more violent and barbaric, similar to Jack at the beginning of the story. His strange pleasure in killing steadily grows until it becomes chaotically out of hand as he begins hunting for the pigs “dog-like, uncomfortably on all fours” (48). He tells himself that that they need the meat, when in reality, food is not as issue on the island. Still, he believes hunting is more important than keeping the fire going. He revolts against Ralph’s ideas of civility. He and the choir boys left the fire unattended to “kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in,” but little did Jack know that this mistake caused them to miss an opportunity of being rescued (75). Soon after, the peak of the chaos occurs. Jack throws a feast that ends in the brutal murder of Simon. Jack and his men rationalize this act by saying the beast disguised himself in an attempt to alleviate their guilt. On other occasions as leader, Jack demands Samneric to join his tribe, like a tyrant, and tortures them as well as anyone who dares crossing him. Toward the end of the book he viciously plans on murdering Ralph and posting his head onto a stick and into the ground. Through each of these instances, Jack symbolizes the violence, savagery, and chaos of the society over time as their tribe falls into an immoral, wild

Now it’s time to discuss a few of the characters of Lord of the Flies, and why they fall into these leadership tropes. Many would contest that Ralph is a good leader. He demonstrates the ability to be charismatic. He is also well spoken, and has a good public opinion. He is able to remain calm, despite the predicament they are in, and make strong, well-rounded decisions that benefit the entire group of boys on the island. For these reasons, I believe that Ralph would have also been the most effective leader in society as well.

So, first and foremost quality of a leader is not only to see at high things but also make the people see and strive for the same thing. For this purpose, they have to monitor even minor things by making people feel valued and inspired. A good