Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

Leadership―an ability characterized by a person's capability to command, organize a plan of action, and recruit followers who will undertake these tasks. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, author William Golding illustrates this trait using two distinct characters with starkly different approaches to leadership: Ralph and Jack. When a plane crashed onto the island, a group of school-aged boys were found stranded, amid the destruction of war above. At first, there is a sense of concordance on how the island was to be run, as the wielder of the conch, Ralph was democratically elected. Ralph executes his orders with the objective of survival; he puts the boys on the island to work, making huts, scavenging the new territory, and hunting for food.

Golding exemplifies Ralph’s question by illustrating the conflict between civilized, democratic society and savage autocratic guidance on this secluded island. The boys are polarized by this conflict of human nature, and this is further showcased in the transference of leadership in the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Ralph represented the need for a structure which posed familiar to the society of which they were detached from. In the haze of uncertainty, Ralph reflected stability for the boys, assigning tasks and organizing meetings, mimicking the comfort of the law and order of the past. However, the satisfaction in his civilized society rapidly deteriorates, and Ralph can no longer uphold the civilization which provided security to the boys. The power struggle proceeds to chaos, an ethical war between the civil mindset in which these British boys were raised, and the savagery which lies within. Moreover, the island erodes the morals and principles of the boys to reveal the darkness of their intrinsic nature. The role of leadership therefore falls on Jack’s shoulders, as he provides an outlet for these boys to express this shift in their morality. His leadership is embraced by the boys, even Piggy and Ralph, who opposed his cruel and unusual leadership were “eager to take a place in this demented, but partly secure society.“ (pg.167). By feeding into the primitive nature of his followers

William Golding illustrated the capability of governorship under two different philosophies of human nature; a savage animalistic nature and a principled civilized character. The novel utilized Ralph and Jack’s conflict for authority to display the importance of leadership ability. Ralph attempted to assert himself and organize the island, and Golding described his strategies and decisions similar to those required in a game of chess“The only trouble was that he would never be a very good chess player." (Pg.128). Furthermore, Jack's assertiveness and cutthroat regime made it easier to comprehend the attributes necessary to lead. This novel was an excellent tool for interpreting the qualities found in successful