The New Leader
Since the day that the boys were stranded on the island, it was shown that Ralph was the
Leader. Ralph was very focused on being rescued and staying safe. He stood up and explained what needed to be done to be saved. Although he had the courage and the leadership needed in taking on this role he wasn't’t the best fit in all of the boys minds. Ralph lacked basic knowledge and general strength. He focused more on the society that he had lived in back home. Not willing to kill pigs or hurt others. He tried to keep the boys apart of it as well but the boys started to drift in a different direction. The boys find leadership in Jack, they abandon Ralph, and they start to change their behavior. The boys of the Choir, also known as the hunters were like stray puppies to a new owner. They would do anything and everything that Jack throughout into thin air. If he asked them to kill, they’d kill. Jack was very focused on getting off the island whereas Ralph was focused about survival and the society. As their little society started to crumble so did Ralph's leadership and plans. The boys started doing their jobs, hunting. Jack took over control by leading his pack to raw meat and food. Killing any pig or animal that they could find.“Jack was in charge of the hunt… “ (Golding
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In reality Ralph never had full control of the choir in the first place. Jack knew the boys beforehand which gave him an advantage over control. It is not truly shown how much Jack feels like he needs the leadership role until the night of the hunt for the beast. Jack is so absorbed with finding the beast that as it gets later and later he feels like he cannot stop. The choir agrees with Jack as they trot forward, blind of what lurks ahead. This is a representation of Ralph disappearing from authority. As Ralph leaves control in the Choir’s lives you can start to see what they are willing to do to survive and get off the
Jack respects Ralph as a leader and another alpha, however deems himself the higher qualified to lead the group; bringing forth a vote for a chief. However, the choir boy followers weren’t strong enough in numbers to counter the seemingly endless supply of little kids that voted for Ralph. After this unexpected result, Jack develops an instant grudge towards his only competition for power. Ralph begins to form a democratic society solely focused on rescue; yet jack has other plans in agenda. Under Ralph’s seemingly boring command, Jack develops other outputs for his primal necessity of dominance. Jack begins focusing on the task of hunting animals and finding weaker beings to prey on. Jack even blatantly leaves the rescue fire to chase after a pig; had he not have done so, the group could have possibly been rescued by the boat passing by during the fire’s absence. Once Jack finally has enough of going in circles with Ralph, he makes the decision to shake off Ralph’s influence and create his own niche. Within Jack’s tribe, lifestyle is greatly different to that of one designed by Ralph. Jack and his followers seemingly devolve into primal beings, as Jack gets his fill of power. Control over others was all that Jack longed for, with a crazed and burning
Both of the boys change a lot during their stay on the island. Ralph begins the novel as a leader and role model to the other boys. But eventually, the group gives in to savage instincts and Ralph's position
Even though many supporters suggest that Ralph is a great leader, it is obvious that Jack is the best leader on the island. Since the boys set foot on the island, Jack was honest, and he never hesitated to express his feelings. “Human nature cannot be so irremediably bad if the arrival of one adult can immediately put everything to rights” (Reilly,10). This quote explains that when Jack was introduced on the island he was a great leader, and this made the boys realize they each have individual responsibilities in order to contribute to the group. While being honest, Jack demanded the group to do what he wanted, and the boys would obey him. “Jack at first demands to be called as at school, Merridew, the surname his mark of superior age and authority”(Oldsey 4). This quote illustrates that Jack immediately separated himself from the other boys on the island.
They should lead with actions as well as words. Ralph definitely shows this quality through his determination to be rescued from the island. Ralph is very focused on getting off the island and going home. Through his means of survival he shows great courage and determination to try and make that happen. When he volunteers to scope of unvisited land on the island, he is setting the right example for everyone. Since he is a biggun, he stands up to help everyone and encourage them to get through tough
Jack ordered that the boys put their head of the dead pig on a stick, but the boys follow him out of fear. Essentially, Ralph changes from leader to fugitive and Jack changes from choirboy to savage and leader.
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
“ “Shut up,” said Ralph absently. He lifted the couch. “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things around here.” (Chapter 1, Page 22) Ralph immediately notices the boys need some leadership his natural choice is to help guide these boys. He, however, lacks this responsibility. He doesn't continue to command respect from the boys. Ralph grows up faster in the book due to Jack. Later Jack breaks the tribe apart with his appealingly savage ways. Jack ended up establishing a hunting tribe. Once the tribe breaks Ralph tries to bring it back together, but since he didn’t have solid leadership skills even though he might have developed some compassion. He tries to convince Jack that he is still in charge and has power over the boys. The changes Ralph undergoes, from self-centered to group centered, doesn't reflect the island as a whole. They are all too elated to abandon the trappings of society.
By disobeying Ralph’s rules, Jack is trying to weaken the rules. Jack still has an effect on the boys, and his breaking of rules weakens the their will to follow them. In a later meeting, Jack claims that Ralph “isn’t a proper chief” and that “[he’s] going off by [himself].” Jack’s departure weakens Ralph’s tribe, since the choir has been with Jack before the crash on the island, and showed loyalty to him on the island. This results in a majority of the boys abandon Ralph for Jack. Some of the non-choir boys go off with Jack’s tribe, because of the beast they want protection from. They believe his hunters will supply that. Jack is no longer under control, but is now in control. Jack’s department of the tribe, and weakening of the boy’s opinion on Ralph leads to his desire for power being satisfied.
Jack also gains power over Ralph in that he can supply meat. He gets more followers by enticing the boys with the promise of meat. Due to this, most of Ralph’s “followers” desert him and flock to Jack and his food. As their leader, Jack acts very immaturely, saying that they will hunt, and won’t do anything to try to get off the island. The other boys quite like this, as they are also immature and do not want to work, they just want
Ralphs strong personality is one of the many things that helped him with being the leader. Ralph made himself sound confident even when he was not so sure himself. Having that confidence made everyone believe that they could be saved from the island,
Both Jack and Ralph were struggling for power. At first, Jack and Ralph had similar goals for what they should do on the island. They quickly retreated when Jack became obsessed with hunting for pigs on the island. Ralph thought that they should keep the signal fire going at all times. Jack started to see that he did not want to leave the island he like that there were no rules. Ralph on the other hand felt that they could not be here forever. Ralph wanted to be rescued from the island. They're very different opinion forces Jack to leave Ralph's group and start his own. Jack toke most of the other boys with him leaving Ralph with very few people. From all of this Ralph started to realize that leading a group of people was not easy. There would always be people like Jack that would disagree. Jack left feeling insulted from Ralph insulting his hunting he felt that Ralph had undermined him as a result Jack turned mean and
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
As one can see from the start, Jack's tribe changes their lifestyles to a primitive state, while Ralph's seeks the future in life. Ralph thus thinks on a more matured level by learning from past mistakes, while Jack only seeks the fun out of life. This is the main reason why Ralph's group, even though lonesome, still prevails. Ralph and Jack indeed set different rules under each other's turf. The two leaders follow different beliefs, and thus have different lives to live, and groups to lead.
(Pg19) Ralph was voted by the group as the leader, he gave the position to Jack.(Pg 23) Once the boys realized that they were the only ones on the island, they took it upon themselves to do what they had to in order to survive. Jack had his own type of approach to situations that came before him. He would pick what rules that applied to him and where they were implemented. "The conch doesn't count on top of the mountain." (Pg42) Ralph found it necessary to keep some kind of structure and order for the group, but Jack's only concern was who the more powerful group was.
No matter arguments to the alternative, Ralph is the true leader of this island. The reason that Ralph is the leader is because he shows more prominent leadership qualities. Ralph understands and has empathy for his group. He defends Piggy throughout the book on multiple occasions.