Each person has a different way of expressing their sense of leadership. Some are calm, while others may tend to be excited and loud. William Golding, the author of the novel Lord of the Flies, gave his main characters lots of determination, will power, courage and he certainly did not forget to give them a sense of leadership. In the following paragraphs, I will explain to you three different styles of leadership found in this novel, as well as a character to represent each different style.
To begin, one of the many different styles of leadership that was demonstrated in the book is the kind of leader everyone wants to be. The fierce, loyal and rational one. William Golding gave that style to Ralph. Ralphs main objective …show more content…
How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don't keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?"
He flung out his arm.
"Look at us! How many are we? And yet we can't keep a fire going to make smoke. Don't you understand? Can't you see we ought to--ought to die before we let the fire out?" (Golding 73)
Ralph also knows when to “take one for the team”. When the boys decide to go looking for the beast, no one really wants to go but Ralph steps up to the plate and volunteers to go. He decides to do something ~ that he does not want to do ~ because he knows it is what is needed from him. He feels that if being chief is what he wants, he has to do what is demanded for their safety and well-being even though it is not enjoyable.
Something deep in Ralph spoke for him.
"I'm chief. I'll go. Don't argue." (Golding 104)
Compared to Jack, Ralph manages to remain civilized, only slipping into savagery two or three times. Ralph always tries to respect the rules that they established at the beginning, and not stray away from them. By the end of the book, he had to embrace the savage part of him to hide from the boys who were hunting …show more content…
A chief!"
"I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp." (Golding 29)
Jack does not have a very good reaction when it comes to being told “no”. When the group voted for a leader and he lost, he was very unimpressed. He started taking his anger out on all of those who voted against him, especially Ralph and Piggy.
Jack's face swam near him.
"And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can't hunt, you can't sing—"
"Why should choosing make any difference? Just giving orders that don't make any sense—"(Golding 91)
Jack also manages to abuse his power. Instead of focusing on important goals for the boys’ survival, he does something like this:
Jack spoke.
"Give me a drink."
Henry brought him a shell and he drank, watching Piggy and Ralph over the jagged rim. Power lay in the brown swell of his forearms: authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear like an ape. (Golding 158)
In conclusion, William Golding added many different types of leadership in his novel. Though only three were explained there were many more that appeared throughout the novel. Ralph, Piggy and Jack illustrated what being a chief meant to them with the help of their individual leadership