Jack's Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

Since the beginning of Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, Ralph’s elected and claimed leadership is questioned and threatened multiple times throughout the beginning, the middle and the end of the story. Jack, another boy stranded on the island, believes he should be leader of the boys and makes it clear mainly towards the end of the story. As the story develops, this small conflict builds into one that results in a divide among the boys and almost leads to Ralph’s death.
In the beginning, the boys are off to a good start, as they decide and leader and figure out the necessary things. Starting from the beginning, while the boys are organizing themselves into having some sort of order, Jack states “with simple arrogance, ‘I ought
And I’ve got the conch-’”, to which Jack replies with “‘You haven’t got it with you. You left if behind. See, clever? And the conch doesn’t count at this end of the island-”(Golding 150). There is a clash between Ralph’s old leadership and Jack’s new leadership that does not allow Ralph to control effectively. When Jack mentions how the conch does not work on his side of the island, he is talking about how Ralph loses control over himself and the new tribe. This also brings up how the conch is a symbol of leadership and order. Later in the book, at Ralph and Piggy’s last attempt to have a formal meeting with Jack, after Piggy is murdered, Jack says victoriously, “‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone-’” (Golding 181). Ralph’s leadership is taken away from him in final event shown by the destruction of the conch that represented his order and leadership, and the death of the last person of his group. Had Ralph been more cautious and more assertive during his leadership, things would not have gotten this bad. In the very end of the book, where Ralph is being hunted by all the boys from Jack’s tribe, “He spoke aloud. ‘Think.’ What was the sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly for debate nor dignity of the conch” (Golding 196). Thinking about what to come next was not always something Ralph had to think about, since he had Piggy to do the thinking for him. Without Piggy there to help Ralph rationalize his thoughts, there was no mediator to tell him what is a good choice and what is a bad choice. Since the conch was similar to a decoration a soldier might have, without it Ralph is just another boy on the island that makes him no different than any of the other