In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of British boys become stranded on an island without any adults there to govern them. Two boys are quickly established among them as leaders of the group. Ralph’s style of leadership is very democratic, listening to input from the other boys, making everyone equal, as well as trying to do what is best for them. In contrast, Jack has a dictator like way of ruling, discounting anyone else’s input, aiming for absolute power, and putting his desires ahead of more important tasks. Both leaders have advantages and disadvantages however. In the struggle for power, Jack and Ralph use two very different leadership styles, giving deeper insight into their motivations and personalities.
Ralph’s …show more content…
He acts as more of a dictator, a vicious, imposing leader, giving no one else the right to speak freely unlike Ralph. Jack uses lots of constraints when speaking to the other boys, shouting out orders for them to be quiet or stand still. This demonstrates his very demanding and intimidating nature. When he first meets the other boys he states that he ‘ought to be chief’ showing that he thinks he is better than everyone else. It also shows that he does not care for the input of the other boys. When Jack loses the vote for leader to Ralph, he becomes in control of hunting and maintaining the signal fire. He quickly develops an obsession with hunting however, and fails to do the one job he was assigned to by Ralph. The signal fire extinguished when unattended and was therefore unable to alert a passing plane. This shows the different set of priorities that Jack has. He excludes himself from some of the more tedious jobs such as this and does only what he wants. In meetings, he is very dismissive of the ideas of the other boys. He never lets anything get in his way of having the total power over the people that he wants without anyone else’s opinion. “We don’t need the conch anymore” he says, “We know who ought to say things.” Even though Jack has no organization, he has complete control over those who follow him. His rebellious personality makes him a very violent leader with unfair ways of ruling. It is possible however, …show more content…
The negatives of Ralph’s leadership are that not everyone is always going to be satisfied with the ruler and their decisions. The hunters are an example of people who rebelled from Ralph, taking Jack’s side. Advantages are that there is much less room for corruption and abuse of the immense power the leader has, as well as freedom of speech. Jack’s leadership has all of the decision making lie with him and him alone. Although this allows decisions to be made much faster as there is no need to argue, the leader as in Jack’s case, can be corrupt and take advantage of their power. This also provides less consideration to the people’s opinions and needs. The main difference between Jack and Ralph’s leadership however lies with their motivation. Ralph wants to be a true leader and perform to his greatest ability, doing what is best for all the boys. Jack however, is merely hungry for power, and seeks to be chief merely to gain adoration. Jack’s attitude toward the rules reveals him to be self-centered, concerned with only his own
Ralph’s …show more content…
He acts as more of a dictator, a vicious, imposing leader, giving no one else the right to speak freely unlike Ralph. Jack uses lots of constraints when speaking to the other boys, shouting out orders for them to be quiet or stand still. This demonstrates his very demanding and intimidating nature. When he first meets the other boys he states that he ‘ought to be chief’ showing that he thinks he is better than everyone else. It also shows that he does not care for the input of the other boys. When Jack loses the vote for leader to Ralph, he becomes in control of hunting and maintaining the signal fire. He quickly develops an obsession with hunting however, and fails to do the one job he was assigned to by Ralph. The signal fire extinguished when unattended and was therefore unable to alert a passing plane. This shows the different set of priorities that Jack has. He excludes himself from some of the more tedious jobs such as this and does only what he wants. In meetings, he is very dismissive of the ideas of the other boys. He never lets anything get in his way of having the total power over the people that he wants without anyone else’s opinion. “We don’t need the conch anymore” he says, “We know who ought to say things.” Even though Jack has no organization, he has complete control over those who follow him. His rebellious personality makes him a very violent leader with unfair ways of ruling. It is possible however, …show more content…
The negatives of Ralph’s leadership are that not everyone is always going to be satisfied with the ruler and their decisions. The hunters are an example of people who rebelled from Ralph, taking Jack’s side. Advantages are that there is much less room for corruption and abuse of the immense power the leader has, as well as freedom of speech. Jack’s leadership has all of the decision making lie with him and him alone. Although this allows decisions to be made much faster as there is no need to argue, the leader as in Jack’s case, can be corrupt and take advantage of their power. This also provides less consideration to the people’s opinions and needs. The main difference between Jack and Ralph’s leadership however lies with their motivation. Ralph wants to be a true leader and perform to his greatest ability, doing what is best for all the boys. Jack however, is merely hungry for power, and seeks to be chief merely to gain adoration. Jack’s attitude toward the rules reveals him to be self-centered, concerned with only his own