William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Sow a Thought, Reap a Destiny

Harvard graduate and American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny” (Sow A Thought). William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, uses two young boys who both found themselves in the same situation and shows the different ways one can handle life threatening conflicts. Ralph, the fair-haired boy, was depicted as the number one leader, who had leadership capabilities, yet lacked experience while Jack Merridew yearned for power and affirmation from his peers but also lacked experience. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding highlights Ralph and Jack’s values,

Ralph’s leadership was centered completely around the fire. At times, he commanded others to be responsible for the fire instead of himself. He had a vision yet did not take initiative to complete the task himself. At one point in the novel, Ralph was overwhelmed by the fact that a boat had past and the fire was not lit. He had given the responsibility to Jack, but Jack had a no intention of fulfilling it because he had no interest in the fire. However, Ralph’s leadership evolved into humility because he learned from his mistakes and realized the job must be completed by him and him alone. Jack’s method of leadership revolved around taking the power from Ralph and killing to quench his thirst for power. Jack tore others down in order to elevate himself; “He’s not a hunter. He’d never have got us meat. He isn’t perfect and we don’t know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing” (126). At times, both methods were centered around their selfish desires. The difference was that Ralph matured because he learned from his mistakes and Jack drowned in his yearn for power through his method of

Ralph had loyal relationships because some found safety and wisdom in what he said and they saw the potential for greatness in him. Jack’s relationships lacked trust and loyalty and solely revolved around fear because he only valued the relationships for his selfish purposes. When Jack took Sam and Eric captive, they still felt allegiance to Ralph and his cause; “If it were light shame would burn them at admitting these things. But the night was dark” (188). Although they were apart of Jack’s group, they had concern for Ralph and wanted to help him. The only reason they were in his group was because they were forced. Through Ralph’s relationships, he found the importance of loyalty and grew into a better person because of it. One relationship that changed his self-confidence was Piggy. Piggy always looked up to Ralph and gave him the affirmation he needed. He matured because he felt value by how Piggy looked up to him. On the other hand, Jack had no true relationships so he did not find the affirmation he craved. He did not find what he valued in affirmation so he continued to look for it in killing. Ralph and Jack valued different things and therefore their relationships with others evolved