Lord Of The Flies And Leadership

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. This begins a spiral of events that eventually leads to the anarchy that occurs at the end of the

It is meant to represent order within the group and is used by Ralph to aid in calling the boys together and keeping things organized during their meetings. This is not only an example of Ralph’s leadership style, but also an example of how the shell slowly loses its meaning throughout the book. Near the end of the book the conch finally loses its power, as Jack states “You left it behind. See? Clever. And the conch doesn’t count at this end of the island.” (150). With this, Golding shows that even though Ralph tried to keep peace and create prosperity for the group, his style of leadership ultimately lost to Jack’s more aggressive and chaotic displays of power. After this change took place, the conch wasn’t done with its symbolism just yet. As Ralph’s group clashes with the rest of the boys once more it is finally destroyed after a rock is sent hurtling down the cliff, shattering the shell and taking Piggy along with it. This shows that Ralph has lost control completely, Jack’s style of leadership having won the rest of the boys over completely. The complete anarchy that the island is now in compared to what it once was when Ralph was first chosen to lead shows that the conch did play an important role in characterizing the theme of power/leadership

They are a symbol of the technology and innovation that the boys on the island needed but did not want. The only thing that the group did want was the ability to make fire. This went from them wanting to make a signal fire to creating fires that ended up spiraling out of control and eventually claiming a life. It was Jack’s idea to use the glasses to light the first signal fire. This is shown when Jack steals Piggy’s glasses off of his face after saying “His specs– use them as burning glasses!” (40). All throughout the book Jack uses Piggy’s glasses without his permission in order to create fire. If and when Ralph needed to use the glasses he would ask for them, which really represents both of their leadership styles. Ralph’s leadership worked by allowing the boys to choose. They were able to have a say in what went on, although Ralph did have the final decision. Jack on the other hand rules with an iron fist. He orders the boys around and doesn’t give them any choice in what they do as a group. These styles are both shown by how they handle Piggy’s glasses, which is why they play an important role in showing the theme in