Opposing Leaders In The Lord Of The Files
Leadership is a difficult job to maintain, but it’s desired among many. In William Golding’s book, Lord Of the Flies the main characters Jack and Ralph fight for power. The two of them are both leaders who rule with undeniable authority, but they have completely different styles of leadership. Ralph focuses on order and morality, while Jack focuses on manipulation and force. The personalities they hold represent the good and evil in all man-kind.
The theme of morality and order is first introduced through the symbol of the conch shell. Ralph is associated with the conch shell and is the first individual to blow the trumpet-like when calling an orderly assembly. It is quickly determined that Ralph is a better leader than Jack, who is described as just a contender. The crowd exclaims, “Ralph! Ralph! Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing” (Golding 22). To which Ralph replies, “I’m chief then” (Golding 23). This civilized leadership fades as the story progresses and the boys slowly turn towards Jack and his savagery in their fight for survival as they are stranded on a deserted island.
Another symbol of civilization and morality is Piggy’s glasses. His glasses are symbolic on many levels. The glasses represent the intelligence of Piggy and all of man-kind. Piggy is the brightest boy of the group. He realizes early on that “they’re all dead, an’ this is an island. Nobody don’t know we’re here” (Golding 14). The specs also enable the boys to start a signal fire which keeps them tied toward civilization and the hopes of being rescued from the deserted island. “Instantly the fire was alight, Piggy held out his hands and grabbed his glasses back” (Golding 73). The boys attempt at making a signal fires become more and more useless as the novel progresses. The intelligent behavior represented in the story is lost as Jack’s manipulation starts to take control.
Ralphs orderliness and civilized approach are slowly taken over by Jack’s savagery. The theme of this control and force is seen through the symbol of the beast, a pig’s head on a stick. Jack takes great pleasure in killing the pig as he almost sings, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (Golding 69). More of the boys begin to worship Jack after his evil act, while Ralph good near the end of the novel. The boys all turn into savages like Jack, and turn against Ralph. Ralph realizes his defeat when the biggest symbols of civilization are destroyed by the boys: Piggy, the glasses, the conch, and the signal fire. “The great rock that had killed Piggy” (Golding 192), left Ralph running alone for his life. Ironically, Jack sets a jungle fire to Kill Ralph, in one final act of savagery, but it is that very ‘evil’ fire that saves the boys. They are rescued at last, but they do not show great enthusiasm for that they have been changed forever.
Ralph and Jack are both leaders in The Lord Of The Flies, but have opposite styles. Ralph’s kinder approach with rules and order is more appreciated at the beginning of the novel when the boys all feel they will be saved and act with civility. Later in the novel as the boys act more savagely out of fear of never being saved, Jack’s evil control is more practical for survival like the animals in the wild they seem to have become. Golding demonstrates how both good and evil exist in man-kind, but how evil take over when survival is in question.
Works Cited
- Golding,William.Lord of the Flies.Penguin Books.2016
