Leadership In Lord Of The Flies Essay

“Where there is no vision, people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) Like this proverb the boys on the island start to perish when the leaders and their plans start to deteriorate. Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, presents two contrasting leadership styles, democracy and a dictatorship. The basic traits of a good leader are a good communicator, a fair and just judge and someone who can provide for their people. Both boys contribute greatly towards the island and both are strong leaders, but Ralph is far superior in communication. Jack also displays signs of being corrupt and selfish throughout the book, while Ralph wants what is best for the group. Ralph was also chosen by the boys, while Jack had to use petty words and empty promises …show more content…
He possess many traits of a true leader, but also has many flaws that in time contribute to the decay of his power. One of Ralph's best feats as a leader is that he is able to provide fire and shelter for the boys on the island. When Ralph is talking to the assembly he addresses how important the shelters are to the boys, how they keep the boys safe, and how he built them “You mostly sleep in the shelters. Tonight, except for Samneric up by the fire, you’ll all sleep there. Who built those shelters?” (Golding, 80) Another one of Ralph's strong suites is how he takes into other people's thoughts on the island no matter their status. Ralph shows this during assemblies when he lets the boy who bears the conch speak “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.”(Golding, 33) Ralph is keeping order on the island by establishing rules and is doing it in a way where everyone gets an opinion in matters. While Ralph can provide shelter, fire, order and a chance for everyone to bring up their concerns, he is also flawed. Ralph can be a bully, especially to Piggy, this is shown when Ralph says, “He’s not Fatty… his real name's Piggy!” (Goulding, 21) Ralph was told this in confidence and disregarded this fact in order to humiliate a boy who was different than

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