Is Ralph An Effective Leader In Lord Of The Flies

A leader is a person who commands and is followed. A good leader is a person who is selfless, flexible and smart among many other qualities. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the character Ralph has proven to be an effective leader by showing his ability to gain and show respect and prioritize what is important for everybody on the island. Respect is the feeling of admiration towards somebody for their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Ralph has managed to obtain the kids respect as well as transmit it. Respect is a very important quality and ability a leader must own. In the book Lord of the Flies, in chapter eight the following occurred, “Who thinks Ralph oughtn’t to be chief?” He [Jack] looked expectantly at the boys ranged round, who had frozen. Under the palms there was deadly silence.” In this scene Jack, one of the other main characters of the novel, tried to take the position of chief away from Ralph but failed miserably due to the respect the kids have towards Ralph. A good leader will always have loyal followers and this is demonstrated in this part of the story.

In the novel by Willian Golding, the character Ralph has shown to be able to prioritize important things that would not only help him but all the kids on the island to stay alive or even get recued. In chapter two, Fire on the Mountain, Ralph demonstrated his ability of prioritizing by saying the following, “There’s another thing. We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not see us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.” By Ralph telling the kids to make a fire, he was prioritizing the most important need at the moment that would benefit everybody and that not only shows how he is able to put the important things first but how he is willing to do something to help