Compare And Contrast Jack And Ralph In Lord Of The Flies

901 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is the comparison between ralph and jack

In many situations, distinct individuals emerge from ordinary people to become leaders as their supremacy rises and lead people towards their goal. In order for effective leaders to rule wisely and civilly, leaders must embody qualities that aid them while they have the role of being a leader. In Lord of the Flies, a young-adult fiction book by William Golding, Ralph the protagonist, comprises the true qualities of being a competent ruler. He is a sophisticated, mature leader who works for the common good; although, Jack is more confident in himself and is more assertive as a leader. Initially, Ralph is a very sophisticated leader despite his immaturity at the beginning of the first chapter. Before the boys agreed to choose Ralph as the …show more content…

Nearing the end of chapter five, Ralph displays hesitance when Piggy urges him to blow the conch to call the boys. “If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.” (Chapter 5) Piggy encourages Ralph to blow the conch to control the wild boys during the assembly, but he becomes hesitant and doubts his role as chief when he confides with Simon and Piggy. “I ought to give up being chief. Hear em’.” (Chapter 5) These instances determine that Ralph is not confident, in contrast to Jack’s assertiveness. “Tomorrow,” went on the chief, “we shall hunt again.” He pointed at this savage and that with his spear. “Some of you will stay here to improve the cave and defend the gate. I shall take a few hunters with me and bring back meat. The defenders of the gate will see that the others don’t sneak in.” Jack’s assertiveness truly affects the boys that chose to affiliate Jack’s tribe. His supremacy causes the children to not interrupt or upset him. Although Jack is quite haughty, Jack does display confidence as the leader in his tribe. Jack’s firmness displays that he is quite the leader, being effective and causing the children to stay intact while keeping them

Show More
Related

  • Leader In Lord Of The Flies

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leadership is a trait that many people have naturally and others try to obtain. Many people consider themselves a good leader when they fail to carry out the characteristics leadership require. In the book, “Lord of the Flies”, Ralph is a better leader than Jack because of the traits he possesses. That is why certain skills are necessary to be considered a successful leader.

    Read More

  • Assertiveness In Lord Of The Flies

    467 Words  | 1 Pages

    They often obey his destructive orders just to avoid being punished. Jack tells Ralph, after Roger kills Piggy, “ ‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone—’ -He ran forward, stooping- ‘I’m chief!’ ” (Golding 181) Jack threatens Ralph and the boys by reminding them of the consequences of not succumbing to his authority. They are physically and emotionally tormented, forced to participate in Jack’s violent acts. As time goes by, they willingly join in on Jack’s brutal endeavors, such as hunting Ralph down in an attempt to sacrifice him to the beast. He

    Read More

  • Ralph And Jack Change In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    How Ralph and Jack Change William Golding wrote the story "Lord of the flies". It is about a large group of schoolboys whose plane has crashed. They get stranded on a desert island. The story is about their survival and how they run their everyday lives. The two main characters Jack and Ralph are both from upper class

    Read More

  • Ralph Lord Of The Flies Leadership Analysis

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, leadership is one of the main important qualities. If I had to choose between Jack and Ralph to follow in the story, I would choose Ralph. Although he ended up struggling near the end of the story, I still found him to be a good leader.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies

    1578 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ralph was introduced as a fair and likeable boy. His interaction with Piggy demonstrated his kind nature as he did not call him names with hateful intentions as Jack had. His good looks allowed him to be well accepted among his peers, and this gave him enough confidence. His handsome features and the conch as a symbol of power and order made him stand out from the crowd of boys and led to his being proclaimed Chief: "There was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerful, there was the conch" (p. 24). From the quick decisions he made as Chief near the beginning of the novel, it could be seen that Ralph was well-organized. Gradually, Ralph became confused and began to lose realness in his thoughts and speeches: "Ralph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come down." (p. 156) He started to feel lost as the boys, with the exception of Piggy, began to change and adapt to their freedom.. He was more influenced by Piggy than by Jack.

    Read More

  • Exploring Leadership in 'Lord of the Flies'

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    For years, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, has been a staple in college, high school, and even middle school classes. The eloquent story follows a group of young boys stranded on a jungle island. They are left thousands of miles away from civilization and are left to survive by themselves. Throughout the story, many insights in leadership are seen through the power struggle between Ralph and Jack. Both have extremely different styles of leadership with varying levels of success. Lord of the Flies teaches me about leadership in the initial selection of the leader, how they solve problems, and how they motivate others.

    Read More

  • Essay On Lord Of The Flies Ralph And Jack's Relationship

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the midst of World War 2, a group of English schoolboys find themselves stranded on a deserted island after their evacuation plane is shot down. With no adult survivors, the boys try to maintain civility by forming a government and electing a leader while they wait for rescue. Conflict immediately arises as Ralph, our protagonist is pitted against another boy named Jack in a fight for power.

    Read More

  • Ralph is the Best Leader in Lord of the Flies

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    While the boys are under Jack's control, they quickly went back into how they started when they first got there. However, Ralph was able to keep the boys under control by holding meetings. At the meetings, a sense of order is instilled because the boys are not allowed to speak unless they have the conch shell. "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (p. 31) By making this rule, he gains respect from the boys and becomes for confident as a leader. Ralph uses his power to tries to make the boys better people. He shows his by building them shelters. "They talk and scream. The littuns. Even some of the others." (p. 53) Ralph is saying that the boys need the shelters because they are afraid and the shelters will help the boys feel more secure. This shows he has better knowledge of people making him a better leader than Jack who does not understand this. Jack does not realize that the boys need to feel secure and need someone in control.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies essay

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ralph shows that he has a better understanding of the boys than Jack. He knows that the boys need some sort of order on the island in order for them to survive. He starts a simple form of government and sets a few rules for them. Even though they don’t last very long, the fact that he tried to help the group is what makes him a better leader. Ralph’s wisdom and ability to look toward the future also has an advantage over Jack. He has a sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. When the fire goes out, Ralph gets upset because the chance to be rescued was gone as well. Ralph enforces his role of leadership as he gives the boys a sense of stability of an authority figure. He keeps the boys in pretty good order at the meeting by making a rule that they can only speak if they have the conch. Ralph knows that the littleuns are afraid and they need shelter to feel more secure. They work together for a while, but as the time goes on the smaller boys want to go play. They slowly lose all their help until Simon and Ralph are the only ones left to work on them. Ralph knows that this is a necessity and keeps bringing it up at the meetings. Jack, on the other hand, is doing nothing but causing chaos.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jack’s use of propaganda augmented his assets and facilitated his rise to power. For instance, Jack compared Ralph to a weaker character by stating, “He’s like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief... He’s a coward himself...” (115). This comparison of Ralph to Piggy portrayed Ralph as a weak, derided character, especially since Piggy was constantly ridiculed and abhorred for his corpulent appearance. As a result of this anti-Ralph propaganda, the boys looked to Jack as their leader because of Ralph’s lowered prestige and ostensible cowardliness. Jack additionally used propaganda against Ralph by explaining how Ralph allegedly thought that the others were cowards, “running away from the boar and the beast” (115). By conveying this misinformation with the tribe members, Jack gave himself more support, since he created more hatred towards Ralph. Furthermore, this rising hatred dem...

    Read More

  • lord of the flies essay part 2

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ralph has several positive characteristics but he also has several crucial weaknesses that prevent him from being the perfect leader. In chapter one the boys decide who they want to be leader. The boys decide on Ralph, “”Vote for a chief!”…every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air.” (Golding 18-19). From the very beginning Ralph is seen as the leader. He becomes the one the boys look up to and depend on to make decisions in their best interest. Ralph has natural leadership skills. Landing on the island with no adults to take control, the boys chose to follow the one boy who seems to be doing something productive, Ralph. An example of Ralph being purposeful and productive is when he blows the conch to get the attention of all the boys on the island and bring them together for a meeting. When Jack and his choir find the other boys gathered he asks where the man with the trumpet is, Ralph replies, “There’s no man with a trumpet. We’re having a meeting. Want to join?” (Golding 16). Ralph asks Jack and the choir boys to join the meeting because he wants all the boys to work together so they can be rescued as soon as possible. Other than his leadership and purposeful qualities, Ralph is also hard working. When tasks are given out to the boys, such as building shelters, hunting, gathering food, the hard work of most boys turns into play and exploration leaving Ralph to do most of the work by himself with little help from others. When the other boys gave up on their tasks Ralph continued working, this proves his hard work. Leadership, purposeful, and hard working are all positive qualities that helped Ralph succeed in the novel, but Ralph also had some majo...

    Read More

  • Control In Lord Of The Flies

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies there is an ever-present conflict between two characters. Ralph's character combines common sense with a strong desire for civilized life. Jack, however, is an antagonist with savage instincts, which he cannot control. Ralph's goals to achieve a team unit with organization are destroyed by Jack's actions and words that are openly displayed to the boys. The two leaders try to convince the boys that their way of survival is correct.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Leadership in Lord of the Flies

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    Under Jack's rule, the boys become uncivilized savages.  They have no discipline.  Ralph, however, keeps the boys under order through the meetings which he holds.  At these meetings a sense of order is instilled because the boys have to wait until they hold the conch to speak.  When Ralph says, "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak.  He can hold it when he's speaking."  (Golding 36) he enforces his role of leader by making rules and gives the boys the stability of an authority figure, mainly himself.  By doing this he wins the boys respect and confidence in his leadership abilities.  Ralph uses his authority to try to improve the boys' society.  By building shelters he demonstrates his knowledge of the boys' needs.  When he says to Jack, "They talk and scream.  The littluns.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of Ralph’s best character traits is his leadership. Good leadership is an important part of keeping a civilization in order.  Ralph demonstrates his strong leadership early on in the novel.  He knows if the island does not have rules and order it will be completely ch...

    Read More

  • Contrasting Ralph and Jack in Lord of the Flies

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ralph first takes on the position as leader at the beginning of the story, when the rest of the boys vote him in as chief.  He carries this position until Jack and his fellow hunters break away from the group.  Ralph makes it his job to set out the rules to organize a society.  Ralph always thinks of what is best for everyone and how they will all benefit from his decisions. Rules and standards are set when Ralph is the chief.  He orders the group to build the basic necessities of civilization, shelters, and most importantly to keep the fire going, in hope that they will be rescued and return to humanity. "But I tell you that smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one" (Golding 75).  Jack, on the other hand, takes on the idea of every man for himself. He does not care about making homes, only about hunting.  When Jack is the leader, evil takes over and all good is destroyed.  Under Jack's power both Simon and Piggy are killed.

    Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Jack And Ralph In Lord Of The Flies

Open Document