When Children Lead
[Attention Getter goes here]. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of English schoolboys crash on a deserted tropical island after fleeing from the war in the home country. With no adults surviving the crash, the children must band together to survive, get rescued, and resist the temptations of savagery. Ralph, Jack, and Piggy all represent different styles of leadership in a society at large. Ralph represents a potentially good leader who needs support to become that, Jack represents a corrupt dictator that needs to be tamed and controlled, and Piggy represents scientist who lack proper respect in society; all three of these characters are used to show how common people do not always choose the best people …show more content…
On page 22, it is even stated that, “None of the boys could have found good reason for [choosing Ralph]; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy while the most obvious leader was Jack.” The group of boys clearly thought that Ralph was not the best choice, saying Piggy was a better choice because he was smart and also that Jack was the most qualified to lead the group. Ralph is chosen, not really based on ability, but based on the item in his possession, “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out… yet most powerfully, there was the conch,” (p. 22). Ralph was chosen as leader because he held the conch, which is a symbol of power. This can be further verified on page 19 when Ralph is blowing the …show more content…
Even when the choir came marching to the first meeting, Jack showed off his leadership skills, “When [Jack’s] party was about ten yards from the platform he shouted and order and they halted, gasping, sweating, swaying in the fierce light,” (p. 20). Jack already portrayed an authoritative character early on in the book and had control over a group of people already, so it would have made sense for him to be the leader of their group. However, after later becoming the leader of his own tribe separate from that of Ralph’s, he shows a more dictatorial form of rule. Also, only a brief time into Jack’s rule, he already had himself on a throne. “Before the party had started a great log had been dragged into the center of the lawn and Jack, painted and garlanded, sat there like an idol. There were piles of meat on green leaves near him, and fruit, and coconut shells full of drink,” (p. 149). Jack already had himself being raised to a status above the other boys; he sat on a throne like a god with offerings beside him. Further into the novel, Jack uses his dictatorship to attempt to kill of anyone who opposes him. On page 188, SamnEric tell Ralph about Jack’s plans to get rid of him, “‘They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you.’ ‘They’re going to hunt you tomorrow.’ … ‘-and we’ve got to be careful and throw our spears like at a pig.’” Jack
[Attention Getter goes here]. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of English schoolboys crash on a deserted tropical island after fleeing from the war in the home country. With no adults surviving the crash, the children must band together to survive, get rescued, and resist the temptations of savagery. Ralph, Jack, and Piggy all represent different styles of leadership in a society at large. Ralph represents a potentially good leader who needs support to become that, Jack represents a corrupt dictator that needs to be tamed and controlled, and Piggy represents scientist who lack proper respect in society; all three of these characters are used to show how common people do not always choose the best people …show more content…
On page 22, it is even stated that, “None of the boys could have found good reason for [choosing Ralph]; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy while the most obvious leader was Jack.” The group of boys clearly thought that Ralph was not the best choice, saying Piggy was a better choice because he was smart and also that Jack was the most qualified to lead the group. Ralph is chosen, not really based on ability, but based on the item in his possession, “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out… yet most powerfully, there was the conch,” (p. 22). Ralph was chosen as leader because he held the conch, which is a symbol of power. This can be further verified on page 19 when Ralph is blowing the …show more content…
Even when the choir came marching to the first meeting, Jack showed off his leadership skills, “When [Jack’s] party was about ten yards from the platform he shouted and order and they halted, gasping, sweating, swaying in the fierce light,” (p. 20). Jack already portrayed an authoritative character early on in the book and had control over a group of people already, so it would have made sense for him to be the leader of their group. However, after later becoming the leader of his own tribe separate from that of Ralph’s, he shows a more dictatorial form of rule. Also, only a brief time into Jack’s rule, he already had himself on a throne. “Before the party had started a great log had been dragged into the center of the lawn and Jack, painted and garlanded, sat there like an idol. There were piles of meat on green leaves near him, and fruit, and coconut shells full of drink,” (p. 149). Jack already had himself being raised to a status above the other boys; he sat on a throne like a god with offerings beside him. Further into the novel, Jack uses his dictatorship to attempt to kill of anyone who opposes him. On page 188, SamnEric tell Ralph about Jack’s plans to get rid of him, “‘They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you.’ ‘They’re going to hunt you tomorrow.’ … ‘-and we’ve got to be careful and throw our spears like at a pig.’” Jack