Leadership In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

This quote illustrates that the boys respect and listen to Ralph, and the possession of the conch cements the idea of Ralph keeping the boys sane. Later on, Ralph becomes extremely emotional when the boys were rescued. “Ralph, weeping for the end of innocence and the darkness of man’s heart, is weeping for all men, the officer and his crew included” (Reilly, 10). This quote supports the fact that numerous contradicting emotions go through his head, once the group is rescued. To clarify, Jack is a better leader than Ralph, but some people can argue that this is not a true statement.

First Ralph was voted to be the leader or chief on the island for the time being. During the vote for chief Golding points out the fact that Ralph shows the qualities of a leader out of all the boys. “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out. . . and most obscurely yet most powerfully there was the conch” (Golding 22). Ralph was seen as the best fit for the new role based the current circumstances. After all isn’t a leader supposed to create a sense of unity? Once the so called “beast” has been discussed, Ralph to restate the plan to be rescued. During a meeting that is then called, Golding talks about how Ralph has to actually wave the conch to grasp everyone’s attention. “The simple statement, unbacked by any proof but the weight of Ralph’s new aurhority, brought light and happiness. He had to wave the conch before he could make them hear him” (Golding 37). The conch has shown much more power of leadership and control than Ralph. If he were to call a meeting without the conch little to nothing would happen, but more frustration of Ralph. Coincidentally this starts to happen when new

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.

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.

At the beginning of the novel, Golding depicts Ralph as the natural leader. However his only claim to leadership is his good looks, and that he, first blew the conch. From the start of the novel Ralph is forced to take responsibility through the symbolic conch, being voted “chief”, and possessing a natural propensity for leadership as he is confident, eloquent and attractive. Additionally, on page 31 Ralph progresses to the realisation that the boys need order. ‘There aren’t any grown-ups. We shall look after ourselves…We’ll have to have ‘hands up’ like at

Ralph is regarded as a democratic and charismatic leader. He would base any decision on majority votes and he is all about getting a job done effectively and efficiently. For example, he would crack his head to build shelter and figure out ways to get themselves for being rescued. Eventually, majority of the group members become undisciplined and disobey Ralph’s commands and leave to join jack’s group. Consequently, Ralph, piggy and the twins are left on their own to be hunted by Jack’s tribe. Ralph is also a sensible leader; he only keens on being rescued rather than spending unnecessary time to go for hunting. As the novel progresses, Ralph witnesses the beating of Robert and finds it bizarre in chapter 7. Ralph is forced to hunt a boar for

First of all, the most important trait that makes Ralph the best leader is his rational mind. I personally think that a leader should be a respectable and organized person. Ralph demonstrates his leading ability very well by the way he treats

Ralph is a character that represents Goodness. Though he does have some rough patches, Ralph is often the one fighting for the good of the group and trying to maintain the delicate balance of order. He is also assigned the leader of the group, and many times his plans and motives conflict with Jack’s.

“‘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

Nicole smith writes in her article, “What Ralph represents symbolically is more meaningful to the boys at this point than his actual skills,” (smith). This is true, even though the kids were not told that ralph was supposed to symbolize leadership, order, and responsibility, they saw somehow that he was made up of those things. This idea is supported in the novel where it says, “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority,” (Golding 59). The kids see Ralph as a natural leader. He keeps order and is organized. The kids are satisfied that ralphs is responsible about doing his job as a proper

In the beginning of the book, Ralph is described as “fair”(Golding 7) and seems to be really happy as he says, “No grownups!” (8). As he gets ahold of the conch, he becomes chief of everyone and gets started right away to try to create shelters and a fire. Ralph sets up rules for each person and this symbolizes that Ralph is somewhat in a powerful position.

The grapple for power begins at the beginning of the novel when Ralph becomes chief via a democratic election in which he gets more votes than Jack. Ralph begins delegating duties and attempts to create a set of rules to establish order. In the first half of the book the conch is used as a way for everyone to participate in assemblies, speak their minds about things happening and most importantly to hold the chief accountable. So, Ralph’s power does not come from divine right or coercion but rather from the boys he governs. This elevation of the man above the state is not just a fictitious idea found in Golding's novel. It is rather the reality and core principle that democratic nations are founded on.

Ralph is the first character the readers are introduced too. He is seen as a cool and outgoing person. He then meets Piggy who then finds the conch. His first example of leadership is when he blows the conch, which brings the group together. This is one of numerous examples of Ralph being a leader in the first three chapters, Ralph is the one who starts up the meetings and commences them in an orderly fashion. “Ralph spoke to his back ‘no. We’re having a meeting. Come join in’”(20). The quote displays Ralph’s matureness as he sets the example for the other boys. There are no adults on the Island, so he quickly realizes that there will be a lot of commotion due to kids being on an Island by themselves. He steps up to the plate and calls a meeting which ultimately calms the boys down. Ralph is seen as a symbol of unity because he brings the boys together and has calm discussions with them, which allows the group to progress as the attempt to be rescued.

Over time, Ralph gets more mature and becomes better prepared for his role as chief. He represents a democratic society ruled by one leader. His leadership style, uses power for the prosperity of his fellow boys and law and order. Throughout the novel, Ralph tries his best to create a society based on survival and the hope of being rescued. Ralph attempts to keep the fire as the base for his group. He knows that fire and smoke is their best

The theme of leadership is uncovered by the symbol of the conch. As the connection grows between the protagonist and the conch, outer forces break the bond in attempt to take the position as leader. Ralph along with other boys in Lord of the Flies by William Golding are trapped on an island due to the crash of their airplane. With no adults on the island to discipline the boys, one must step up and take on this role. The discovery of the conch encourages Ralph to become chief, Ralph has the ability to use the conch to enforce his rules, but the unfortunate shattering of the conch breaks Ralphs hold on to leadership.