Ralph as a Leader in Lord of the Flies by William Golding Essay

German journalist John Zenger once stated, “Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths”. When one is forced into a situation where a leader is necessary, a person that displays the fundamental attributes will successfully guide the society. Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, the boys on the island represent various aspects of leadership, characterized by differing strengths. However, the protagonist’s, Ralph, leadership undoubtedly triumph over the other boys because his attributes allow him to be a powerful leader on the island. Throughout William Golding’s novel, he clearly depicts Ralph as an effective leader through his desire for the survival of all of the boys, his adamant

Ralph possesses the leadership skill of responsibility. Responsibility is being accountable for something or someone. In the first chapter of Lord of the Flies Ralph takes on the responsibility of being the leader on the island and the responsibility of setting rules. “We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there…and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off. And another thing. We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s a meeting. The same up here as down there.” (Golding, pg.42) This quote shows how Ralph was taking on the responsibility of being the leader and of setting more rules. He establishes the rules and arranges meetings with his group to make sure everything is running smooth. Ralph also tries to make the “littluns” feel safe from the beast. Ralph tries to make sure that everyone on the island feels like they are safe

Ralph represents law, order, organized society and moral integrity. Throughout the novel he is constantly making common-sense rules for the boys to follow. Unlike Ralph, Jack is unkind, caring about no one but himself and how he can benefit.   Jack simply wants to hunt and have a good time.  He makes fun of Piggy, humiliating him, making him feel small and unworthy.  "You would, would you? Fatty.... and Jack smacked Piggy's head" (Golding 78). Jack is a lost boy who begins to discover the evil within him.  When he proposes to the group that he should be the new chief, they do not respond in his favor, and Jack runs away, hurt and rejected.  He swallows his hurt ego and throws all of his energy into the only thing he seems to know how to do - hunting.  He puts on face paint and hides his conscience.  This changes him into a savage, an evil, violent monster. The colorful mask allows Jack to forget everything he was taught back in England.  "The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness" (Golding

Imagine a world without order. A world with no leadership—no rationality whatsoever. Take Ralph's character away from the equation and William Golding's Lord of the Flies would be just that—chaos. Being the protagonist of the novel, Ralph is the major representative of civilization, order, and productive leadership. If it weren't for Ralph's coordination, determination, and logical thinking, the boys would never be rescued, and would eventually die. As the novel progresses, Ralph's self-confidence is gradually chipped away, leaving him only enough strength to fight for the one person who should matter most—himself.

Being a leader is making sure that everything goes smoothly and knowing what's best for the group. I feel like Ralph is capable to do all of this. Ralph had everyone's best interest and not just himself. He listens to what the boys have to say and actually cares about their opinion. Leaders also have to be intelligent. Ralph is indubitably smart. We know this because he had the idea of starting a fire to get rescued for ‘The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going?’(pg. 80). The boys are really petrified and Ralph knew that the only thing that would make them maintained is if they make shelter and he proposes ‘So, we need shelters as a sort of— Home’(pg. 52) This also shows that Ralph knows what is in need of priority. He is able to make the boys all listen to him due to the conche shell. Ralph basically formed a type of orderly government to make sure that everything is going the right way ‘We’ll have to have ’Hands up’ like at school’(pg. 33). This shows that he is natural leader and knows to get things done. Ralph thinks that all the boys should be treated equally especially Piggy since he gets pick on a lot ‘Ralph, looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed...Better Piggy

Ralph made sure all the older kids on the island had a key job role to ensure safety and survival by setting things straight. Ralph orders the hunters to keep the fire going because it produced smoke which could signal the ships nearby securing their rescue. Ralph spotted ships and knew there shouldn’t be any fooling around because it is up to them if the fire stays lit or not. He, himself, was focused on providing everyone with shelter and was determined to do it by himself if he had to, whether the hunters did their job or not. Unlike Ralph, who is doing his job, the Jack’s choir ignores the fire and goes out hunting. When the fire goes out, the hunters aren’t really upset with the fire going out while Ralph saw that the situation could’ve been their rescue saying, “There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out” (70)! If he had the same attitude as the other boys nothing would likely get done and he would remain the same as before and not care about the aftermath, but he continues to act mature and not this incident stop him from trying to seek rescue. This shows his change because of how he sees the priority of being rescued and keeping the fire lit expressing his maturity and showing his understanding of life not just about having fun like most adults

In the novel “Lord of the Flies” there are two kinds of leaders that are being loved or feared which is Ralph and Jack. From a leader’s perspective, the two boys are both infectious and full of authority. However, I cherish the belief that as a leader it is better to be loved than to be feared, and this lead to a further and deeper discussion.

In the book Lord of the Flies, a plane leaving England to get away from the war is shot down. The only people who survived were the children. They are all stranded on an island by themselves with no supervision from any adults. Golding created many different characters with many different personalities but Ralph stood out the most. Ralph had a strong personality, was a good group leader, he was also a positive thinker. All three of those characteristics show the signs of a good group leader.

Ralph's common sense and ability to recognize what is best for the group also shows his excellent leadership skills. His main focus throughout the book is getting rescued and tells the boys to make a fire and to keep it burning to make a signal. However, the boys do not listen and he becomes angry. "The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don't keep the fire going?" (p. 86) Ralph's determination to get rescued is not only for himself, but for everyone else

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.

In the novel there are many decisions that Ralph makes that are for the better of the group. Some examples of these choices Ralph made are made specific spots for the boys to use the restroom, building the shelters, and many more. One quotation that is used in the novel that shows Ralph’s concern for the group is when he states, “You let the fire go out.” (page 69) This quote was directed toward Jack when he was supposed to be watching the fire; but instead, Jack decided that he wanted to go

To further illustrate, in “Lord of the Flies” the character, Ralph, is a round and dynamic character. Ralph can be classified as this type of character because of the changes he undergoes as the story unfolds. To explain, at the beginning of the story, Ralph is confident and optimistic when himself and multiple boys crash on an island. He takes control and earns the trust if the group. Ralph conducts assemblies and his words are determined and civilized, “All at once he found he could talk fluently and explain what he had to say… ‘we want to be rescued; and of course, we shall be rescued…we must make a fire”’ (Golding 32-38). Ralph’s words and actions show his boldness to take control and his strong belief in being rescued. However, as the story continues, the system and trust Ralph establish begins to diminish, resulting in two separate groups. The one group contains Ralph and very few civilized boys, and the second group is made up Jack and the savages. Although the groups are at peace at first, multiple fights and Piggy’s stolen glasses causes Ralph to partially change. This change is revealed to the readers when Ralph and Piggy go to the saves to retrieve the glasses, “Truculently they squared up to each other but kept just out of fighting distance… ‘Ralph-remember what we came for. The fire. My specs”’ (Golding 177). During this mission, the once civilized Ralph begins to fight with the savages and he acted barbaric himself. Ralph’s and actions and Piggy’s words show the reader how Ralph transformed the course of the book from being civilized and confident with his word; however, Ralph is now becoming a savage and loses his optimistic attitude. Piggy’s words to Ralph, shows how Ralph is forgetting the idea of being civilized because Piggy must constantly remind Ralph of their mission, but Ralph seems to just want to fight. Ralph’s shift in personality shows the reader that he is a dynamic and round character. Therefore, Ralph’s character undergoes development; however, Brutus in “Julius Ceaser” changes in an equivalent way.

I believe that Ralph is the best possible leader for the group of boys. I think that Ralph would definitely be a better option compared to Jack as well as all the other boys.

However while Ralph seems like an obvious choice he does come across as immature. For example, when he sounded the conch and the noise which came out sounded like a 'fart' Ralph and Piggy were both very 'amused'. This thus makes him appear to not be mature enough to handle being a leader especially in such a terrifying situation like this. While his optimism will definitely be useful when leading it on the other hand also shows his immaturity as when asked about how his father knew they were he though 'because, because'. We can infer from this that he may be in denial about their situation which is not a good quality for a leader because his decisions may be slightly blinded by his optimism which could lead to him not doing what is best for the

He knew that shelter was important, so he tried to build shelters, but none of the boys helped, except Simon. The shelters did get completed and helped the boys stay cool and rested. Ralph knew that the only way the boys would get off the island was if they had a signal fire.