The Intertwining of Leadership and Morals in Lord of the Flies by William Golding through Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development Leadership; Leadership is a manner of persuasion in which rulers prompt others to shadow his or her objectives or intentions. In order to be a great leader one must possess certain attributes and qualities. Throughout the course of the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Simon, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack all exhibit certain attributes of a leader as the story progresses. Each of the characters morals affects their actions and behaviors. Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development classifies people into three diverse levels of moral reasoning with two sub stages. Golding incorporates Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development …show more content…
In the story the boys are stranded on an island after their plane had crashed. A boy known as Jack challenges Ralph from the beginning and throughout the entire novel. Jack proclaims “I ought to be chief because I’m chorister and head boy” (Golding 22). Tensions are very high and Jack is displeased about not being elected as their chief. Ralph still offers Jack to be the leader of the hunters group. This later proves to bring even more tension. “Listen all of you…Me and my hunters, we’re living along the beach by a flat rock. We hunt and feast and have fun. If you want to join my tribe come and see us. Perhaps I’ll let you join. Perhaps not” (Golding 140). Jack thinks like a child and has poor morals. He thinks rashly alike to the littleuns. All he thinks about is killing and power. He does not think about what is best for all the boys as a whole. Golding wants to show how Jack is operating at the lower level of Kohlberg’s theory. Jack proves to be Level One, Stage Two which is Instrumental Exchange in Kohlberg’s theory. This is described as “right behavior means acting in one's own best interests” (Barger 1). Level One justly defines Jack because Jack sees the boys as a weapon and he does not tolerate softness. He only does things for his own good. The pig can represent Jack pig is all the Jack craves. Jack desires killing and control. The small amount of …show more content…
“You could see now that he might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil”(Golding 10). Ralph was born a leader and thus is why he is elected. Throughout the novel, Ralph endures and endeavors for society that abides by the rules and laws. He urges, “We need an assembly. Not for fun. Not for laughing or falling off the log, not for making jokes, or for cleverness. Not for these things. But to put things straight” (Golding 79). Ralph has good morals and worthy intentions in being that he wants to help for the good of society. This law abiding mentality categorizes Ralph within Kohlberg’s Level Two, Stage Three of Developmental Stages. In this level of Kohlberg’s theory, a person is “oriented to abiding by the law and responding to the obligations of duty.” According to literary critic S.J. Boyd, “One of Ralph's problems as chief is that the boys fail to abide by the rule” (Boyd). This is true because even though rules are needed for a functioning society a good leader should be able to control his people. Ralph represents the conch in the story because the conch is what brought the boys together and Ralph symbolizes law, order, and authority” (Barger 1). Ralph is a noble leader and tries his best to help all the boys as a whole unlike Jack. Ralph had morals, but he emphasized
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Show MoreWhen Ralph blows the conch, Jack is introduced to the reader for the first time. He is represented as an audacious and selfish boy who likes to order others around when he says "I ought to be chief, because I'm chapter chorister and head boy"(Goldberg p.22). It also confirms his hunger for power and wanting control over everything. His choleric and petulant personality can be seen when he says "Shut up, Fatty."(p.23), also revealing that he is rude and inconsiderate of others. Despite his obnoxious personality, his conscious of civilization keeps him from killing the first pig they see. He even recommends that the boys should have rules to keep things in order.
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others” (Welch). Leadership is inspiring others to learn more, do more, and become more. Ineffective fail to possess certain characteristics which effective leaders do. Willingness to help others, selflessness, and strictness; these are the qualities of a both good and effective leader. Without these qualities, leadership would fail and being a leader would mean nothing.
According to Peter Drucker, he claims, “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.” Leadership is a commitment that is meant to be kept and done accurately. Leading a group or a society can lead to dreadful obstacles, but it’s your responsibility to have a solution to end. Ralph and Jack as a leader cause a majority of downhill for the boys. Affecting themselves and their surroundings to abruptly fall into pieces. Which lead to a mass destruction of the island, Lord of the Flies. The devastating events on this island lead to the massive chaos of Lord of the Flies, blaming Ralph and Jack for denial, lack of cooperation and inefficient leadership.
Ralph is one of the few boys who realize that the only way to survive is through peace and order. Because he summons the boys at the beginning of the novel with the conch he and Piggy find, they look upon him as the most responsible of the boys and elect him as a chief over the humiliated Jack. Ralph creates a stable and peaceful society for the children to live; this significantly bothers Jack because he wants to have fun and do things that he never did back in the civilized society. Jack is eventually successful of pulling nearly all of the children out of Ralph’s control to form savages. Ralph represents the civilization, and Jack represents the primitive society.
At first the meetings were the things that brought them together. Meeting had rules and order in them. Jack was the boy that started the unraveling of civility. He wanted to be the chief and ended up being in charge of the hunters. He resented the power that Ralph had. Jack hated Piggy because he was always on Ralph’s side. The rule at meetings was a boy could only speak if he had the conch shell. While Piggy was talking, Jack interrupted him and tried to take away the shell. Ralph yelled out “The rules! You’re breaking the rules!” Jack shouted “Who cares?” Ralph exclaims “Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!”( pg 91) Ralph was the one who tried to keep everyone together and Jack did every thing to turn the other boys away from Ralph.
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are many leadership traits shown by two of the main characters, Jack and Ralph. Although they both have a role as some type of leader, they are not the same and have very different leadership views and styles. Ralph wants to do everything he can so that they can survive on the island, but Jack goes crazy and becomes a savage with a thirst for blood.
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.
An influential government requires a strong group of leaders and equality for all its citizens. In William Golding 's Lord of the Flies, a group of British school boys find themselves stranded on island, with no adults or provisions to help themselves. They form a “government” which lacks both these crucial traits of a successful government. The boys on the island fail to govern themselves due to the lack of two essential components of an effective government; equality and strong leadership.
However, at the end of the book, he simply stood for a common human being. In the beginning of the story, before a formal introduction, Ralph was described simply as “a fair boy.” This already sets him out in a favorable light. Then it further describes how he is apparently good-looking and has the natural air of leadership. Of course, the conch played a big role when the kids voted him for leader, but his appearance played a large role as well. For the good first part of the book, Ralph has always symbolized leadership. As the story progresses and the kids became more and more distant from the idea of civilization, Ralph became more like a representation of common sense. Golding wrote, “‘I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can’t even build huts-then you go off hunting and let the fire-’ He turned away, silent for a moment. Then his voice came again on a peak of feeling. ‘There was a ship-’” At this part, Ralph criticized Jack for not doing the necessary civilized things in favor of quenching his thirst for a hunt. As more and more of the kids become more and more uncivilized, Ralph became one of the last voices of common sense. When Simon and Piggy died, Ralph was the last one who retained that common sense and yearned for civilization. He had no leadership powers left anymore, and he stood for nothing more than a
“Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.” (Plato) No democracy can be successful; they will always transmute to autocracy. It may seem as though a society where everyone is treated equally and has the same amount of power to influence others would be ideal, however this type of government is not effective. A legitimately effective leader can never allow decisions to fall into the hands of others, and must retain power over others at all costs. In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, Jack Merridew is an evident example of a leader that is truly effective, as he possesses a variety of aspects that can be
In a group, there are always people who prove to have better leadership skills then others. The strongest of these people can often influence the weaker people into following them. However, the strongest person is not necessarily the best leader as it is proven in William Golding's book, The Lord of the Flies. Although Ralph is the weaker person, he is still able to show a better understanding of people than Jack who is stronger. Ralph demonstrates his excellent leadership skills throughout the book by keeping the group in line, treating everyone with respect, and staying focused on getting rescued.
Leadership is something that stands out in people. In a group, people tend to look to the strongest person to follow. However, the strongest person may not be the best choice to follow. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph and Jack each have leadership qualities. Jack is probably the stronger of the two; however, Ralph is a better leader. He has a better understanding for the boys. He also has more common sense and treats the boys better than Jack.
There are many aspects that determine how humans behave around one another. This is shown throughout William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies. This book is about a group of British boys that are stranded on an island without any adults due to a plane crash. At first, all goes well; the boys cooperate in attempting to maintain the fire signal, gather food and making shelters. However, human nature takes over and their democracy that they have created fails. This leads to the majority of the boys becoming complete savages when the evil within them takes over. Different qualities help determine whether a person is a good or a bad leader. Although, Piggy and Jack have some leadership qualities, Ralph is the best leader.
In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies Ralph though not the stronger person, demonstrates a better understanding of people than Jack which gives him better leadership qualities. Ralph displays these useful human qualities as a leader by working towards the betterment of the boys' society. He knows the boys need stability and order if they are to survive on the island. He creates rules and a simple form of government to achieve this order. Jack does not treat the boys with dignity as Ralph does. Ralph understands that the boys, particularly Piggy, have to be given respect and must be treated as equals. This makes Ralph a better leader as he is able to acknowledge that he was not superior to any of the other boys. Ralph's wisdom and ability to look to the future also make him a superior leader. Ralph has the sense to keep his focus on getting off the island. He insists on keeping the fire burning as a distress signal. Ralph's leadership provides peace and order to the island while Jack's leadership makes chaos.
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.