Functional Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

What is a society without leadership? Disorganized and dysfunctional. When clear, working leadership is not in place, a society struggles to prosper. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the lack of functional leadership is what prevents society from flourishing on the island. Ralph’s lack of confidence and disagreement with others on the correct way to lead, creates dysfunctionality on the island and shows Golding’s feelings on the way society operates. It is clear that the author feels people need to work together well to construct a flourishing society.
Lack of functional leadership is the reason why society could not flourish on the island in Lord of the Flies. Functional leadership consists of a leadership system where the members of the society work together and agree on their priorities. In the novel, Jack, the head hunter, and Ralph, the elected leader, lead a hunt to find the “beastie”. The beastie is a creature that the boys believe to be terrorizing them. On their journey, the boys start to get irritable. They can not agree on where to find the beastie. Jack believes they should look on the mountain, and Ralph believes it is too dark to do that. The narrator states, “Ralph sighed, sensing the rising antagonism, understanding that this was …show more content…
In the story, when the boys are going on a hunt to find the beastie, the narrator describes Ralph’s feelings. The narrator states, “Ralph walked in the rear, thankful to have escaped responsibility for a time” (116). The fact that even the elected leader wants to escape from his duties, shows that something is seriously wrong with the society they are trying to create. Golding’s use of situations such as this in the book, show his negative feelings towards society in the real world. He believes that lack of organization and togetherness is what can deter a society from