The Strive for Leadership Plays a Role in the Destruction of the Group – Lord of the Flies
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The author, William Golding uses the main characters of Ralph and Jack in The Lord of the Flies to portray how their desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise leads to the fall of their society. We see that there are many problems that cause the boys to break up into two separate groups with two separate thoughts of how to run a society. Jack offers protection to the boys from the beast but Ralph cannot offer the same. Ralph wants rules, democracy, fire and rescue and Jack wants to hunt and be the dictator. The boys are out of control for the reason that there is no parent authority to tell the boys what to do, so they take authority into their own hands and it all goes wrong. Jack and Ralph think completely different and you will see that Jacks way of running a society is dangerous and scary.
All the boys are scared of the beast even if they dont show it, but they are inside. No one actually knew if there was a beast, except Simon which the boys killed. As no one knew, the fear of the beast was always there. “They talk and scream. The Littluns. Even some of the others. As if the beastie, or the snake-thing, was real.” Every day the boys had to live with the fear that the beast could come out at any moment and they do not have any protection. A big reason why most of the boys went with Jacks group and did not stay with Ralphs was because they believed Jack could protect them from the beast. “Even if there is a beast we will hunt it and kill it.” The boys are so afraid of the beast that because Jack has said this statement they will believe whatever he says. This was Jacks first step in becoming a dictator of this group of boys. Only the rational Piggy and Samneric stayed with Ralph.
Jack and Ralph had two different ways they wanted to run the group so the groups were split. Ralph is always thinking about being rescued and the best for the long term. Jack is thinking about food and what he wants right now. “You and youre hunting! We mightve gone home!” “We needed meat.” “You didnt have to let the fire out!” This shows that Ralph and Piggy want to go home and be rescued but Jack couldnt care less and just wanted to get food. Everyone agreed early in the book that rules were essential. They decided that whoever was holding the conch was allowed to talk. “We have got to have rules and obey them.” We can see that Jack throughout the book is slowly slipping away from upholding the rules. “The rules!” “Youre breaking the rules!” “Who cares” “There the only thing we got” “Bollocks to the rules! Were strong-we hunt!” Jacks showing he does not want to be part of this democracy and he does not care for the rules at all.
Jack is the ruler of the Island and no one can stop him because he has all the power and everyone does what he says. As there are no parents on the