Ralph's Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

In today’s society, there are some people never really understand the qualities of a good leader. They instead vote for the ones who make choices that they like, but doesn’t benefit society as a whole. William Golding symbolizes this idea in his novel, Lord of the Flies , when a group of young boys become trapped on an island and must form their own society. The children choose Ralph as their leader, who does his very best to maintain order. His authority is later threatened by Jack, a bloodthirsty individual who doesn’t care for rules. The boys then leave Ralph for Jacks more crude and savage-driven society. Ralph always maintained his mark, and cared for everyone else and their hopes of getting home. He has proven himself to be an
excellent leader. It seems to be a natural thing to him that was passed down from his father in the navy. Ralph will always be the best choice for these boys because he stands by his word and inspires the boys to be strong, even though the weight of carrying a small society weakens him later in the story.
Ralph shows that he wants things to be consistent in order for the boys to survive, so he makes hopeful promises that he's able to keep, even when he has no group to look after.
He first conveys this when he tells the younger boys, "'While we're waiting we can have a good time on this island'...'This is our island. It's a good island. Until the grown ups come to fetch us we'll have fun'" (Golding 34). By promising the boys this, he hopes they will be productive and have fun doing so. Ralph kept his promise of them having fun in the beginning as they played in the pools and sand, but it got too far when it came to hunting. After Ralph decides a fire must continue to burn as a signal, he gets angry when Jack lets it die out in order to hunt instead, and yells, "'You hunters! You can laugh! But I tell you the smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do you all see?'" (Goulding 81). This tells people that Ralph knows how to prioritize, and the lack of support from the hunters doesn't help him keep his word. He’s still keeping his promise of the adults getting the boys back home, which is why the fire is very important to Ralph. If they are found he has kept his promise, However, he still needs his group to contribute to a cause that he created, and without them he stands alone, which becomes a problem for him later. Especially after Jack and most of the tribe leave to the other side of the island to hunt, and Ralph reminds them, "'Your only hope is
keeping a fire going as long as there's light to see. Then maybe a ship'll notice the smoke and come and rescue us and take us home. But without smoke we've got to wait until a ship comes by accident. We might wait years; till we were old-'" (Golding 178). After all this time and losing most of his tribe, he still wants to help the boys because he knows it is a matter of life and death. He's trying to keep his promise even though everyone has gone because they’re still not home. Ralph knows what things must be done to survive, and keeping a promise to a group of young boys will make them want to stay and help. However, despite his very best efforts, part of the tribe leaves. This wasn't Ralphs choice, but of the individual boys who left for a boy who promised meat.
We can also see Ralph attempt to make his group stronger than they really are, especially when they mention the beast, so they are able to fend for themselves. He shows this in the very beginning with Piggy after the first assembly. Piggy complains that Ralph told the tribe his old nickname, and Ralph replies, “‘Better Piggy than Fatty,’ he said at last, with the directness of genuine leadership, ‘and anyway, I’m sorry if i made you feel like that. Now go back ,Piggy, and take names. That’s your job’” (Golding 25). This shows Ralph wants Piggy to understand that what he is called doesn't matter, and that he should be stronger than a name. He even apologizes for making him feel that way, and throughout the book Piggy never complained about his name again. The way he says it also affects how it is taken. Being stern and direct helps someone realize what is being said to him, while any other way could offend him. Another good example is when the tribe has an assembly discussing all of the problems that have arisen recently, and Ralph ends his speech by saying “‘We’ve got to talk about this fear and decide there’s nothing in it. I’m frightened myself sometimes...Then, when we’ve decided, we can start again and be careful about things like the fire...and be happy’” (Goulding 82). Tying back with Ralph doing his best to keep his promise of keeping the fire going, this also shows that Ralph wants his society to decide for themselves what is best. A bad leader will decide himself what is best without consulting the group, which may be disagreed upon them. He also admits his own fear, which makes him relatable and honest to his group, for a bad leader will cover his fear like Jack did with hunting. The boys still turned to Jack because he didn’t seem afraid, but in reality he was terrified and submitted his will to this beast by sacrificing food to it so he won’t be killed. He also became the thing he opposed to accommodate this fear, a savage. Ralph wants them to decide on this fear so they don’t have to become this way, but the twins, Sam and Eric, rekindle the terror when they claim they too have seen the beast. Later after Ralph, Jack, and Roger apparently see it for themselves, Piggy suggests the fire will stay near camp, and Ralph informs the others “‘Of course the smoke won’t show so much, not seen from far away. But we needn’t go near, near the-’ The other’s nodded in perfect comprehension. There would be no need to go near” (Golding 129). Many will see this as a sign of weakness towards Ralph because he isn't going back up the mountain to check if there really is, or he isn't making anyone else go up, but some will actually see this as a strength. He won't make anyone else do what he won't do, and as a twelve year old seeing a dark object similar to stories the littluns have told, it's hard to blame his decision. He's giving them a new angle, or sense of hope that they will be rescued, making them feel safer further away from the “beast”. Ralph tries to make these children stronger so they can be productive and brave on an island they don't really know, mimicking a world they used to live in and try to get back to. However, the children continue struggle, and we see Ralph begin to tire from this constant attempt to bring them back.
Ralph, a twelve year old adolescent, has to lead an entire group of little boys that even adults will agree is harder than it sounds. This weight causes him to act strange when he is lost in thought or daydreams of his old life. This behavior is first seen when he “Again he fell into the strange mood of speculation that was so foreign to him. If faces were different when lit, from above or below, what was a face? What was anything?” (Golding 78). Here he begins to drift off as an assembly is about to start. This assembly was meant to talk about all of the problems within their society, so it explains why Ralph seems so out of place as these pressures are just starting to get to him. We see this again when Ralph goes on another expedition to find the beast Sam and Eric saw, and Golding describes "Once more Ralph dreamed, letting his skillful feet deal with the difficulties of the path. Yet here his feet seemed less skillful than before" (116). Back at the beach everyone was terrified as the rumor of the beast seemed true, putting Ralph more out of place. As a leader, he is still only a child who misses his home, and he wants to distract himself from the now with his life before. It provides him comfort in a time where things seem to be falling apart. Finally, at the end of the book, after their society has fallen and the island was burned down, and Ralph was face to face with a naval officer, the boys witness "In the middle of them, with a filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy" (Golding 202). Ralph lets himself go at this point because as a leader who understands how the world truly works, he weeps at his lost childhood and the fact that things got too far. The weight that he has endured is lifted as he cries on the beach, but he knows that this battle will continue when he gets back home. These things don't make him a bad leader, because he is just a homesick child that is supporting a large group of young boys, and anyone in his shoes will grow weary of this endeavor.
As a great leader at such a young age, we can see how Ralph’s personality has the qualities of taking charge and keeping a close eye.
His attempts to make the boys tougher made things get done on the island, and inspired them to do better. His stand on right and wrong gave the tribe a clean look at how they were acting, and keeping his word had a great start, but turned against him, and he the weight of his people were slowing him down, until he weeped at the realization of corruption among each young boys heart. Ralphs society would have worked well had they not been so afraid. This fear drove the children mad and some of the older ones hostile. The boys didn’t leave Ralph because he was a bad leader, they left because Jack promised to kill whatever was out there at any cost, and cover their fear in paint. Ralph was the only one who didn’t become like this because he is brave, smart, and loyal to himself. He doesn’t let anyone take these qualities away from him for the sake of goodness. This type of leader is one we should each try to find, because things that are worthwhile might actually get done. The greatest problems faced by society can be solved, and the world can be whole. The boys were lucky to find their leader, so let's see if the people here can find one just like
him.