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Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

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The decisions of just one single person can lead to the success of his civilization, or it can lead to the downfall. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies can be used to show the importance and effects of a leader’s choices. During a raging war, a plane filled with British schoolboys crashes into an uninhabited island and only the children survive. At first, the boys appoint Ralph, a charismatic boy, as chief and are excited at the thought of freedom. However, their feelings change when they attempt to overcome the challenges that come with the island. While the boys face the difficulty of building shelters, disagreements between group members, and the possibility of a beast lurking in the shadows of the island, their humanity and childlike innocence …show more content…

On the contrary, Ralph is a better chef because he cares about the welfare and safety of his followers and is completely focused on their desire to escape the island unlike Jack, who is selfish and leads the boys into making wrong decisions. When Jack induces the boys to forget their duty of lighting a signal fire, it causes them to lose sight of the only way they can survive, but Ralph reminds them that “[...] the smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do all of you see? [...] We’ve got to make smoke up there- or die” (Golding 81). He realizes that by lighting a fire to signal ships, the children can be saved and travel back to their home. By prioritizing the fire above everything else, Ralph is an intelligent chief because he is completely focused on everyone’s safety and understands that ultimately, the fire is more important for the boys than a fun hunting session. On the other hand, Jack only cares about hunting and killing pigs, not about saving other people’s lives. Commanders must be focused on their main goal and Jack does not even care about the boys’ main goal. The amount of supporters do not determine the quality of a leader, but the choices they make do; Jack does not make the right decisions. Therefore, there is no argument that Ralph is a more suitable to be leader than

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731 Words | 3 Pages

The book Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about leadership but at the same time there is a lot of drama. Jack sets his priorities of having fun and hunting pigs, but Ralph is the complete opposite. Ralph is the kind of leader that thinks about the people first for example, he wants to build shelters and keep a fire burning for a sign of rescue for nearby ships. Both Ralph and Jack make excellent leaders, but they have different styles and different priorities. Ralph displays useful human qualities as a leader by working towards the good in the boys society.

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1088 Words | 5 Pages

Ralph’s meaning of power is unique to that of Jack, Piggy, and the littluns, hence his escape from the island’s corruption despite the deaths of Piggy & Simon. His initial desire to start the fire is a representation of maintaining hope, ironically because the fire, which was created by Jack, allowed for their survival. Therefore, Jack’s attempt to defeat Ralph’s characteristic of integrity managed to only find the success of Ralph. It is evident that because of his strength, Ralph is

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1036 Words | 5 Pages

Now I say we got to decide on what can be done. And I think I could tell you what Ralph's going to say next. The most important thing on the island is the smoke and you can't have no smoke without a fire.” (Golding 185) 2. Quote analysis: Jack and his hunters let the fire die out, causing a ship to pass by without a smoke signal showing and allowing the group of boys to miss an opportunity of being rescued.

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813 Words | 4 Pages

Leadership Abuse in Lord of the Flies The famous 17th century poet Jean de la Fontaine once said “Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince, or one of the people.” When the children in Lord of the Flies find themselves stranded on a distant island with no adults to be found, they encounter many forms of power, hence encountering many forms of abuse of power as well. This power abuse can be organized by the two leaders who each ruled the island during their own periods. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding utilizes these leaders, Ralph and Jack, to illustrate how people in positions of power will abuse their power for personal gain when given the opportunity.

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683 Words | 3 Pages

They all come to an agreement that they have to have jobs assign to them and to keep themselves organize. After a few weeks or months on the island some of the boys start to lose civilization and start to become savages. There are many hidden symbols behind the story, like the castle rock, the fires that they build for rescue, and even the characters are also symbols.

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684 Words | 3 Pages

Ralph is an effective leader by planning to be rescued and doesn’t want to lead the group of boys into savagery. Ralph is young and naïve, but he has the determination of a leader chosen in a time of extreme circumstance he even states, “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things” (12). Jack the self-appointed leader likes to argue that the only reason Ralph was chosen as the leader is that he blew the conch; however, Jack just wants the title of the leader, to become a dictator. Ralph, unlike Jack, understands that being on the island is much more than gaining a fortune and having fun hunting. Although in the beginning, Ralph was easy to persuade into changing the rules, he eventually holds to the goal of being rescued and is determined to not let his leadership slip

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758 Words | 4 Pages

Jack is enthusiastic because eventually everyone is listening to him. However Ralph is still a better leader. All in all, Ralph is a better leader. Some reasons include, Ralph having an clear vision, having communication skills, and him being confident and dedicated to being an leader. However being a better leader is not about having the most power.

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575 Words | 3 Pages

In William Golding's classic novel "Lord of the Flies," the characters of Ralph, Piggy, and Jack navigate a harrowing tale of survival and societal breakdown on a deserted island. Among them, Ralph emerges as a character deeply rooted in specific values that shape not only his individual journey but also the overall narrative's themes and messages. Through his unwavering commitment to democracy, sense of responsibility, and enduring hope, Ralph embodies the complexities of human nature and the struggles inherent in maintaining order and civilization in the face of chaos. This essay aims to delve into Ralph's character, exploring how his top priorities contribute not only to his own development but also to the larger thematic exploration within "Lord of the Flies." Ralph's commitment to democracy is evident from the early stages of the story, when the boys first established rules and order on the island.

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1187 Words | 5 Pages

The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding takes us to an abandoned island, where there is a fight for leadership among boys. Jack and Ralph were friends but when civilization is tested. Jack turns to savagery. Ralph struggles to survive and bring back order and civilization.

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247 Words | 1 Pages

Passionately, the two leaders moreover contrast due to the dissimilarity in emotional stability and approach. Each of their leadership capabilities take account of using mindful or subliminal emotive influence to display that each boy is more proper for the position of chief. Ralph is generally concerned with keeping the fire on top of the mountain going; as he trusts that it is the only chance the boys have at being rescued from the island. To offer inspiration to those faithful to him, Ralph uses desire and desperation to assure those who’re dedicated that they must go home. Ralph himself is anxious to go home while his reminiscence on protection and ease during the course of the novel triggers his emotional wellbeing to weaken once he begins

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1073 Words | 5 Pages

Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding following a group of young boys as they are stranded on a deserted island. Golding includes several themes that relate to the group as they attempt to survive on the island such as loss of innocence, civilization versus savagery, and human nature. These themes are represented through some of the symbols that appear during the book. One theme in particular, however, directly influences the plot and is the driving force behind some of the most important events. Power/leadership styles is one of the first themes introduced in the book when Ralph is elected leader of the boys instead of Jack.

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908 Words | 4 Pages

Leadership: (noun) the action of taking a group of people and organizing them; being the leader of a group. A simple of a concept as it is, leadership has many, many branches that bifurcate many, many ways. Leader is an idea that can have many titles, for example dictator, emperor and even President falls under this. All of these names, all of these titles are down in history books next to people who were leaders at one point in their lives, which leads to the association of these titles with the word leader. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies the varying types of leaders are brought to life, but in the embodiment of young boys, no older than twelve.

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300 Words | 2 Pages

The author is describing how personalities can change when someone is suddenly put in a position to experience power over others. Likewise, leadership does not equal aggression and violence there are many other ways to lead people effectively. Uniquely William Golding used boys ages ranging from 5-12 to show the different maturity levels and ways of thinking. As well as Golding explaining that he used young boys to show a “scaled down version of society” (Golding CD). Still, this is a great way of explaining how we humans react and deal with situations like these.

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596 Words | 3 Pages

(pg 22) “There aren 't any grown ups. We 'll have to look after ourselves.” (pg 33) They realize that they will have to work together to survive without the help of adults. They are still innocent young boys when they arrive on the island, so their main concerns are getting rescued and having fun.

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991 Words | 4 Pages

Hunger for power is an ugly part of human nature. Ralph is voted chief and given power, but still uses his power in an ugly way. When Jack was in charge of keeping the signal fire going but let it go out Ralph was furious and used his power to yell and prove that Jack was wrong in what he did. Ralph yelled “I was chief, and you were going to do what I said”(70). Ralph was given power over Jack and when Jack didn't do what he was supposed to do Ralph wanted him to know he was in charge so he yelled at him in an ugly way.

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