Leadership In Niccolo Machiavelli's Lord Of The Flies

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There are two different types of leaders: one who is loved by the people while acts responsibly and one who is feared by the people while being respected. These forms of leadership are shown throughout Lord of the Flies with Ralph and Jack. Niccolò Machiavelli uses The Prince to discuss how a leader should act and what leadership style is the most effective. Machiavelli clearly illustrates the types of leaders Ralph and Jack are by providing examples from ancient history. At the start of Lord of the Flies, Ralph is put into power quickly. He accepts the responsibility of being the leader and focuses on getting rescued from the island. Machiavelli describes a historical figure that can be compared to Ralph. Machiavelli wrote, “...the example …show more content…

Jack wanted to hunt pigs and have more fun than Ralph did. The boys started to respect him and they agreed with Jack’s style of leadership. Machiavelli uses a different leader from history to show what is an effective way of leading an army. Machiavelli wrote, “[Hannibal] never allowed them to fight among themselves or to rise against him, whether his fortune was good or bad. The reason for this could only be his inhuman cruelty, which, along with his countless other talents, made him an object of awe and terror to his soldiers, and without the cruelty, his other qualities would never have sufficed” (Machiavelli 462). Hannibal proved himself as a terrifying leader and one who does not punish lightly. That is how his armies won so many battles and never dared to revolt against him. Jack can be compared almost identically to Hannibal. Jack showed off his strength initially by brutally killing a pig. The boys noticed his savage-like instincts and began to fear him. They did not want Jack to get angry with them and murder them the same way. The boys started to mindlessly follow him and they listened to all of his commands. If any of them tried to go against Jack, he will surely deal with them in a severe way. This is what happened with Simon, Piggy, and almost to Ralph. Jack’s form of leadership proved successful as he had most of the boys respect

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