Ralph's Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

A leader to one may not be a leader to all, but a respected leader is recognized as the best. A group of boys stranded on an island starts the tale of Lord of Flies by William Golding leading to an adventurous tale. This takes place in World War II surrounding the life of young British Boys. The boys on the island vote to decide on a chief among themselves and Ralph comes out victorious. Although Ralph is not the oldest or strongest, the little ones follow him endlessly through the well-earned respect that shines in his leadership. He does not take his victory lightly as he exemplifies a ruler through responsibility, determination, and courage. Ralph stands against the odds and perseveres to help the boys adjust to their new life despite the

Ralph finds the conch along the beach and is fascinated by its workings. The conch starts Ralph’s reign as he blows it, grabbing the island boys’ attention. As they gather together and speak their business of who they are they decide a need for a leader. The boys see Ralph as their new chief as they believe he is the fittest. Their prying eyes focus on Ralph as he commends them on how to survive. Studying the boys around him, Ralph instructs, “We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there… and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off. And another thing. We ought to have more rules ”(42). Ralph understands that rules are beneficial to survival and takes responsibility for enforcing them. He oversees a plan to help them escape their entrapment on the island, while still being a child himself. He does not shift management because of the difficult position the boys and him have found themselves in. Ralph conducts a way to persevere through hardship no matter the challenge. Ralph ultimately steps up to the chief role and proves he is the greatest suit for the upcoming

Ralph sets rules for the boys to follow, but as they are young boys they do not listen. A big job assigned is to keep the fire going to be rescued. After a few days, two boys are in charge of keeping the fire going. The boys fail to keep a lasting fire and a ship passes by leaving the boys to go unnoticed, continuing to be stranded. This enrages Ralph knowing they may have had a chance to escape. Instead of giving up on the boys he is determined to keep going in his new system. He gathers the boys and tells them, “Look at us!...And yet we can’t keep a fire going to make smoke… Can’t you see we ought to – out to die before we let the fire out?”(81). The system crumbles under Ralph, yet it does deteriorate Ralph from his goal. It fuels him to achieve more and increases his determination to help the boys. He starts a new meeting and continues to enforce the new rules in the hope to help them create a sustainable life or leave the island. This constant push to encourage the boys to work together and have a home helps earn respect between the boys on the island. Ralph exhibits this trait due to him being the best chief out there for the boys to rely