Is Ralph An Effective Leader In Lord Of The Flies

An effective leader is a crucial part to a society’s success because they will help the society reach it’s fullest potential, Without an effective leader, the society will become violent and unstable jeopardizing all lives within it. In the book Lord Of the Flies, a group of young boys are on a deserted island together, and they decided to build a society and elect a leader to help themselves function correctly. A majority of the boys choose Ralph as their leader, but he is not an effective leader. While he is in command, he manages to lose a full human being, and then stay in denial about the loss. Afterwards, he sees Piggy and Jack in a conflict, and instead of stopping it, he does nothing. Lastly, Ralph is impatient, and he screams at the

If Ralph was an effective leader, he could have been able to make sure none of the boys were lost, even if he did not do this personally, but by finding someone who is mature enough to take care of little children, not someone like Piggy. On page 46, the book says, “That little ‘un… him with the mark on his face. Where is he now... I tell you I don’t’ see him.” When Piggy says, “Where is he now?.” Ralph realizes that a child is missing, but if he was an effective leader, he would have been able to prevent this loss. The “little un” is a younger child that is under Ralph’s protection because he is leader. An effective leader's job is to control the society, and since Ralph couldn't control the boys enough to make sure none get lost, he isn't really effective. Now, while the child is missing, Ralph stays in denial about this. If Ralph was an effective leader, he would have sent out a search party for the boy, but instead Ralph made up excuses. On page 47, the book says, “Perhaps he went back to the, the.” Ralph chooses to ignore the problem by making up an excuse about how the boy might have “went back” somewhere and is safe. Ralph also stutters the words “the, the,” which demonstrates that he is stalling and saying that the boy is safe. This emphasises that Ralph doesn't have control in the situation because he is trying to stay in denial about it, instead of trying to do something about it. An effective leader helps things move forward, while stalling and ignoring things are qualities of a poor and ineffective