Lord Of The Flies Comments

Lord Of The Flies Comments

Background:
British schoolboys are stranded on a tropical island after a plane crash. In an attempt to recreate the culture they left behind, they elect Ralph to lead, with the intellectual Piggy as counselor. But Jack wants to lead, too, and one-by-one, he lures the boys from civility and reason to the savage survivalist of primeval hunters.

Leaders: Ralph's leadership, thought-out way of leading and decision-making. His actions usually benefit his people as a whole. Ralph signifies democracy, he emphasized civilization. Ralph symbolizes innocence, and what is good, while under Jacks command the boys become evil and savage. He was always focused on their ultimate goal, which is to get them rescued. Though not the stronger person, he demonstrates a better understanding of people than Jack, which gives him better leadership qualities.

Ralph’s style with the support of Piggy served the situation well at the beginning. The focus on survival and the need for maintaining a fire was clearly established.   Ralph stands for the good hearted but not entirely effective leader of a democratic state, a ruler who wants to rule by law derived from the common consent. Ralph feels he needs to establish rules in order to ensure order and stability. Ralph was chosen to be chief and he continues to tell the others what they need to do in order to survive. However most boys disagree and think of Ralph as demanding, bossy, and an ineffective leader. Ralph did not have the flexibility nor the persuasive communication skills needed to incorporate the needs of Jack and his first group of followers. Although Ralph’s leadership style was favorable for leading, he was immature and did not fully understand how to create a high task structure so that task would be performed by specific people at specific times and in specific ways.  

Jack’s Leadership: Jack is the militant choir leader turned savage hunter. Jack signifies dictatorship, he is angry about losing the election to...