Leadership in Lord of the Flies
Leadership in Lord of the Flies There are always people who come out with better qualities to be a leader than others. The strongest people however, usually become the greater influences in which the others decide to follow. However, sometimes the strongest person is not the best choice. In William Golding's novel, “Lord of the Flies” Ralph though not the stronger person, shows better leadership qualities than Jack. Ralph displays these useful qualities as a leader by working towards building a manageable life on the island between them. He knows the boys need order so he creates rules, in order so they survive and can get along on the island. On the other hand, Jack does not treat the boys with respect and equality as Ralph does. Ralph understands that the boys have to be given respect and must be treated equally. This makes Ralph a better leader as he is able to see that he is not superior to any of the other boys. Ralph's wisdom and ability to look to the future also make him a superior leader. Ralph’s main focus is on getting off the island. He insists on keeping the fire burning as a distress signal. Ralph's leadership provides peace and order to the island while Jack's leadership makes chaos. Under Jack's rule, the boys become uncivilized savages. They have no discipline. Ralph, however, keeps the boys under order through the meetings he holds. At these meetings a sense of order is shown because the boys have to wait until they hold the conch to speak. When Ralph says, "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (Pg. 36) he enforces his role of leader by making rules and gives the boys a sense of power, so they can speak, while holding the conch, everybody listens and waits for their turn. By doing this he wins the boys respect and confidence, with this going on you can see his leadership abilities in giving the boys a sense of empowerment when holding the conch. By building shelters he