Leadership In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

Everyone has been a leader at some point in their life, whether a large role or a small one, and can imagine how challenging it can be at times. When a leader's power is questioned or overthrown, things can unravel easily. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows what happens when a leader is overpowered by someone who is ungrounded and out of control. Ralph starts out as a strong leader with all the boys' support. He works tirelessly to keep the boys safe, get them rescued, and stay attached to his humanity. As their time on the island passes, Jack, an evil boy who only cares about having fun, starts manipulating the boys into following him. In the novel Ralph is a better leader than Jack because he works hard to stay true to his morals

He keeps his morals and ignores the savagery that other boys have turned to, which proves to be difficult at some points. When Piggy and Ralph realize what they have done to Simon, they try to convince themselves that they had no part in it. Ralph says to Piggy in a horror, “I'm frightened. Of us. I want to go home. Oh God, I want to go home” (Golding, 157). Golding's use of the words, “I'm frightened. Of us” demonstrate how truly terrified Ralph is by who he has become in his time on the island, and the remorse he feels for what he has done as well as the fact he is able to pull himself back into reality and ignore the cruel behavior that has taken over the rest of the boys. Additionally when Ralph says, “I want to go home,” it proves how desperate he is to get back to a normal, civilized life where boys are not murdering each other without a second thought, how desperate he is to get back to humanity. Even when all the boys give into their violent thoughts, Ralph is determined to stay civilized and

He is attached to the idea of being saved by a signal fire. Ralph works tirelessly while the other boys slack. His biggest concern is the fire, which brings the hope of being rescued. Jack says he can keep the fire going but he lets out, sending Ralph into rage, “Ralph brought his arm down, fist clenched, and his voice shook. ‘There was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out!’ He took a step toward Jack, who turned and faced him” (Golding, 70). When Ralph is yelling at Jack and says, “There was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out!” It is apparent how important the fire is to Ralph and how little it means to Jack. Golding writes, “Ralph brought his arm down, fist clenched, and his voice shook,” showing how upset and angry he is over Jack letting the fire go out and how being rescued is at the top of his priorities, and will remain at the top of his priorities. Ralph wants to get back to his old, civilized life with order and protection, he works tirelessly to get the boys rescued even while the others are careless and ignore their