Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

Boys to Lead and an Island to Leave “Leadership is not a position or a title it is action and example,” (Cory Booker). In William Golding’s fiction novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Jack prove that leadership comes in many forms. In the writing, a group of young boys desperately search for a way to leave the island with which they are stranded on after their plane had been shot down. This happens around the 1950s when families sent their children out of Britain in fear of being bombed by the Nazi regime, consequently the boys were then free of rules and structure. Ralph and Jack were raised in contrasting environments. As a result the boys take upon different methods of leadership. Ralph, was raised in an ordinary fashion thus he is a natural

He exemplifies the actual government” (Olavarria). Ralph struggles to keep everything under control on the island and succeeds for the first few days by leading the boys with example and assigning them tasks. Despite the absence of adults on the island some boys learned to adjust to the new lifestyle and acquire new talents. Coincidentally, without any example these boys are following the footsteps of adults. Similar to adults children especially dream to live without rule, but these children had become so adapted to their past lifestyle that they had lost control of themselves the minute they crashed. Golding yet again hinders the question “Is human nature good or bad?” Regardless of the age of these boys, they are given certain traits that make them both good and bad but the difference is whichever side they choose. Ralph prefers good nature; helping others; and keeping the hope of leaving the island soon. While Jack prefers bad nature; totalitarianism; power. Ralph and Jack without knowing it arrange two governments which split the boys up. “Jack embodies both anarchy and a totalitarian state. From chaos comes the absolute order of a people under a dictator. Jack helps to create this chaos by urging the boys away from their obligations” (Olavarria). Jack uses propaganda then to repetitively discuss his achievements although he let the fire go out ruining their chance of being found. He won’t admit to his failures because yet again he

“ But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch” (Golding 22).Golding used the historical context and absence of adults from the setting to incorporate Ralph’s sophisticated personality by having the boys vote him to be their chief. Ralph is the oldest therefore the younger boys believe he has the most knowledge and choose him as their leader. Without anybody to guide him Ralph has to guess and hope he is doing what he can to benefit himself and everyone else. Having to lead a group of unmotivated boys is not something done with ease and Ralph’s young age did not benefit this. He needed the boys to work together but couldn’t ever get their attention much like their parents he struggled. Of course Jack didn’t understand the importance and difficulty of being a chief and he struggled more than Ralph. “‘I don’t know. He didn’t say. He got angry and made up tie Wilfred up’”(Golding 159). Jack wants to be a chief because he craves power. He plans to beat Wilfred, a friend and fellow choir boy, without explaining any clear reason for doing so. Regardless of adults Ralph and Jack become their own person and fight for what they