Lord Of The Flies Ralph Leadership Analysis Example

A famous German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, once said, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” By fighting monsters, it would invariably expose someone to the dark side of the world. Spending a lot of time envisioning a particular situation becomes a clash in how someone can behave, think, and feel. Challenging these monsters forces someone to stare into the abyss; staring back at these evils only can corrupt them, creating a person into a monster themselves. As life on the island seems to be getting worse and worse by the day, with the inclusion of a “monster” terrorizing the boys in Lord of the Flies, there needs a leader who can help handle and take control of the group. Two boys, Ralph and Jack, have stood out and taken the initiative to lead the islanders. Even though Jack could be a stronger leader, through his authoritative leadership, the islanders should choose Ralph because of his selflessness, resilience, and vision toward the group and its goals. 

Ralph’s demonstration of selflessness for the boys when he builds the shelters alone serves as a judgment for a better leader. After Ralph has a crucial meeting about getting work done, he gets straight to work building the shelters with Simon while the rest go out to play. When he shows frustration, Ralph, “... flung himself down at Jack’s feet. Simon remained, looking out of the hole in the shelter. Once down, Ralph explained. ‘Been working for days now. And look!’ Two shelters were in position, but shaky. This one was a ruin. ‘And they keep running off. You remember the meeting? How was everyone going to work hard until the shelters were finished?’ ‘Except me and my hunters—’ ‘Except the hunters. Well, the littluns are—’ He gesticulated, sought for a word. ‘They’re hopeless. The older ones aren’t much better. D’you see? All day I’ve been working with Simon. No one else. They’re off bathing, or eating, or playing’ ” (50). Ralph is trying his best to help the group out. He has a long meeting where he tries to lay out instructions for the group to be organized, but the boys still don’t listen. Instead of going out to play, he stays back and helps build a shelter for the boy’s safety. This quality of selflessness in a leader is important because a good leader knows the group’s needs and what is best for them, even if it means devoting their own time to help them and not help only themselves.  

A large red flag that can quickly be spotted as Jack rises to power, is his influence on the group, which promotes savagery. As Simon returns from his chat with The Lord of the Flies, to say that there is no beast, he is suddenly viciously attacked and killed by all the boys. On page 152 it states, “Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill. ‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood’ The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed. The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise, something about a body on the hill… At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore”. Jack's promotion of savagery causes all the boys to become blind. Jack, most likely knew there was no “beast” in the first place, but he uses the “beast” and his violence to induce fear into the group, keeping him in control of the tribe. No leader should be corrupt because it will only benefit the one who is in charge.  Had Jack’s corruption and savagery not been present, Simon could have still been alive.

Some may say that Jack did have some good qualities to him such as being authoritative, making him a better leader.  Jack’s role of being the hunter is very important for the islanders’ survival.  Also, Jack uses his confidence and when he argues with Ralph about the rules they follow to encourage the other boys to follow in his footsteps. This is shown on page 91 when Jack says, “ ‘Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat -’ ” Since the boys are already lazy, Jack’s bold tone saying “we’re strong” and reassurance that they don’t need rules gain control over the group.  While Jack’s ideas of freedom and hunting may sound better, it does not achieve the complete priorities of the group. Ralph still believes in order and civilized behavior when he says, “‘You hunters! You can laugh! But I tell you smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do all of you see?’ He spread his arms wide and turned to the whole triangle. ‘We’ve got to make smoke up there – or die’ ” ( 86-87). Ralph tries to set goals for the boys to follow, as he prepares practical plans that will help the boys get rescued. 

He is trying to tell them what to do to help save them so they will not die. Jack’s hunting isn’t the most important and is only a small chunk of what is needed for them to survive long enough to be rescued. Jack may seem like the better leader on the surface, but his ideas and morals cannot sustain the group for long periods of time. Ralph on the other hand looks out for everybody and is determined to save the boys. 

Ralph is a great leader due to his selflessness, and resilience to help the group survive. While Jack showed real control over the group, Ralph's determination to organize and create order shows the true qualities of a good leader. Just like Friedrich Nietzsche said, Jack's battle against the beast turned him into one. Golding warns that only the leaders and their followers who are truly concerned about the norms they follow will have success in their society.