Preview

Ralph As A Leader Analysis

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
933 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ralph As A Leader Analysis
In many situations, distinct individuals emerge from ordinary people to become leaders as their supremacy rises and lead people towards their goal. In order for effective leaders to rule wisely and civilly, leaders must embody qualities that aid them while they have the role of being a leader. In Lord of the Flies, a young-adult fiction book by William Golding, Ralph the protagonist, comprises the true qualities of being a competent ruler. He is a sophisticated, mature leader who works for the common good; although, Jack is more confident in himself and is more assertive as a leader. Initially, Ralph is a very sophisticated leader despite his immaturity at the beginning of the first chapter. Before the boys agreed to choose Ralph as the …show more content…
Nearing the end of chapter five, Ralph displays hesitance when Piggy urges him to blow the conch to call the boys. “If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.” (Chapter 5) Piggy encourages Ralph to blow the conch to control the wild boys during the assembly, but he becomes hesitant and doubts his role as chief when he confides with Simon and Piggy. “I ought to give up being chief. Hear em’.” (Chapter 5) These instances determine that Ralph is not confident, in contrast to Jack’s assertiveness. “Tomorrow,” went on the chief, “we shall hunt again.” He pointed at this savage and that with his spear. “Some of you will stay here to improve the cave and defend the gate. I shall take a few hunters with me and bring back meat. The defenders of the gate will see that the others don’t sneak in.” Jack’s assertiveness truly affects the boys that chose to affiliate Jack’s tribe. His supremacy causes the children to not interrupt or upset him. Although Jack is quite haughty, Jack does display confidence as the leader in his tribe. Jack’s firmness shows that he is quite the leader, being effective and causing the children to stay intact while keeping them …show more content…
Deciding on leaders are challenging because they all have special qualities that are called for certain situations which can either cause their followers to agree or disagree. Lord of the Flies was a perfect example of leaders having different qualities for different types of instances and followers. However, how do people choose who is the better leader between two individuals? Are leaders chosen by how effective they are or their ideas that are quick and reasonable? William Golding portrays events on why and how leaders are chosen during drastic times and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ralph was the only civil guy left in the end. Although savagery came sometimes to him, he managed to stay civilized for the most part, even though the others became more savage. He is a reasonable leader, but lacks the experience and the knowledge to lead. Jack is an example of a leader, as he can easily get the bigger, more knowledgeable boys to go with him, while Ralph ends up with Simon, Piggy, and the litte’uns.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of the many boys stuck on the island in Lord of the Flies, only one was the protagonist of the story. This boy was Ralph. In the first chapter, Ralph was the one who found the conch with Piggy and called an assembly to unite the boys and see who all was on the island. In this assembly, Ralph gets voted leader most likely because he just assumes the responsibility of the leader right off the bat and the fact that he has the conch. Ralph has several main things that are important to him that he tries to get the boys to do including building shelters and keeping the fire going. Jack has very opposing viewpoints to Ralph because Jack just wants to hunt and have fun.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When a group of British school boys land on a deserted island someone has to step up and lead. A leader should have many noble traits. In the book Ralph is elected leader, in the beginning he was not much of a standout but later in the book we found Ralph has great leadership skills: he tries to keep the peace, was stern when he needed to be, and held everyone accountable for their work.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loyalty: Strong Leadership Quality Loyalty is one of the strongest traits of a leader. From the Lord of the Flies, Ralph is the leader of the group of kids on the island. One piece of evidence to support the claim is, “He bound himself together with his will, fused his fear and loathing into a hatred, and stood up”(Golding 123). That quote helps to show that he was able to be loyal and stand up to face the beast, which everyone on the island is afraid of.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph’s leadership ability is revealed from the very first time he encounters Piggy on the island, until the end when he has no one left to lead. One clear example of Ralph’s leadership occurred at the beginning of the novel when elected leader by the group. After being elected, Ralph immediately delegates power as shown in the quote “I’m chief then. The circle of boys broke into applause… The choir belongs to you of course. They could be the army or hunters” (William Golding 23). Another display of Ralph's leadership occurs when Ralph discovers the unlit fire shortly after seeing a ship pass in the distance. Realizing this lapse, Ralph uses his leadership to crack down on some of the lazy hunters and reiterates that the signal fire should be their first priority. In order to maintain order on the island, Ralph use his leadership position and ability to set up a list of rules that the boys on the island should follow, for instance bringing order to meetings by requiring all to remain quiet except for the boy holding the conch. Without the strong leadership skills shown by Ralph, the boys of the island might not have survived. David Bender talks about Ralph's leadership skills when he states “He is everything a leader should be, handsome with fair hair, good build and a natural ability to command” (David Bender 32). This quote furthers my position that Ralph exhibited…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine a world without leadership and order. One that wasn’t civilized, had no control. Such a world would be classified as savage at the very least. Ralph represents this leadership and order in the boys’ new world on the island. When he loses his ability to stay sane and keep order, everything turns for worse. Golding portrays the importance in control and advantageous leadership through the protagonist, Ralph in the novel Lord of The Flies by illustrating him as a natural leader, then having him shift into an uncivilized animal whose losing control.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, Ralph would be a good leader because he is very well-respected, especially when he’s angry. For example, when the boys are having a meeting and Ralph tells the boys that his dad is in the Navy and he will rescue them all the boys get happy and excited,because of this “ the assembly was lifted towards safety by his words. They now like and respected him” (pg.37). Ralph has such a way with words that the boys trust him enough to believe that his dad really is coming to save them. Another time Ralph is well respected is when Jack comes back from killing a pig and Ralph says to him “ You talk.…

    • 161 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the book, Lord of the Flies by: William Golding Ralph shows the most leadership throughout the novel. Ralph is the leader because he is direct and knows his priorities. He knows what is best for the group. Ralph always makes the best decisions and plans throughout the book. That is why he is the leader in this novel.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When chaos strikes a group of people they look for a person. Not just a person, they look for a leader. They look for someone who can inspire the masses. The definition of a leader is the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. There are many great leaders in the country’s history that took charger during the challenging times. Leader like Abraham Lincoln during the civil war or Ronald Regan during the Cold War. The same sense of a need of a leader in our history is the same feeling in the book the Lord of the Flies. A group of boys are stranded on an island and no one knows where they are. This challenge causes a need for a leader. The group decided on one leader but there are three different people who display different types of successful leadership.…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel, Lord of the Flies draws in realistic political views in relation to the author, William Golding’s concept. Golding adopts contrasting views of leadership and quarrels between leaders to attempt to properly represent the national government leadership. The United States government leader, President Obama once said “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” (Brain Quotes 1). He instilled a concept of self production, hands-on leadership and not to wait for change. The exact same concept was expressed in depth in Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding uses a deep inner character contrast in order to reveal their individual style of governing. The author customizes his writing to show the power within Ralph and Jack which are driven by inner moral and reasoning for Ralph, and for Jack a sense of dictatorship and holding utter control. All in all, Golding approaches the concept of leadership from an angle perceived by the reader to be an honorable way of living--Ralph and an unfit…

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With leadership comes power; some use their power for the greater good and some abuse it. Many people want to be the leader of a group, but may underestimate the amount of responsibility it actually takes. Although everyone is capable of using their power for the greater good, it is easy for someone to get caught up in power and abuse it. In Golding's novel “Lord of the Flies” Ralph, one of the main characters, shows how people are capable of using their power for good. The plane Ralph, and a group of other british schoolboys are on, crashes on a tropical island. Right away the boys call a meeting by using a conch shell blown by Ralph, and declare him as the leader. However not everyone likes Ralph as the leader. Throughout the book Jack, another boy on the island, tries to prove he is worthy of being the leader. The boys slowly but surely leave Ralph’s group to join Jack’s. Soon Ralph barely has anyone on his side, and he is watching all the other boys turn savage under Jacks power. In WIlliam Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies” the characters learn the…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Good leadership can be found in an individual that is persevering, does not give up, and encourages others to reach their goals. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Ralph and Jack are both given the chance to become leaders. However, both of them display negative qualities that reflect onto the rest of the group. Respect, a given human right, leads to a group disagreeing and falling apart when not upheld. When leaders fail to uphold democratic rights, society falters.…

    • 1454 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When life throws scary and dire situations at you, some believe it is a test to see a person's true colors, and how that person reacts under extreme pressure and conflict. In situations like these, leaders are born. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph becomes a frontrunner as the “chief”, or leader in the story. Ralph struggles to maintain a civil relationship between all the boys, but still remains the more appropriate leader, including his civility, his conflicts, and his purpose.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lord of the flies

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The book, “Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, contains many characters that each symbolize something, one of them being Ralph who symbolizes structure and government. In the beginning of the book, Ralph was leader and everything was organized. Once Ralph’s position declines and Jack’s’ position rises, the children begin to become savages. Ralph is the most important character because once structure and government is lost, humans become savages and beasts.…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy's Leadership

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages

    An effective leader is a crucial piece to a society’s success because they will help the society reach it’s fullest potential, Without one, the society will become violent and unstable jeopardizing all lives within it. In the book Lord Of the Flies, a group of young boys deserted on an island together, so they resolve to building a society and electing a leader to help themselves function correctly. A majority of the boys choose Ralph as their leader, but he is not an appropriate leader. While in command, he manages to lose a full human being, and then stay in denial about the loss. Afterwards, he sees Jack and Piggy in a conflict, and instead of terminating it, he favors Jack. In one situation, he seems entertained by Piggy's humiliation.…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays