Lord of the Flies Essay
Marybeth Barnes
English 2-2/W
20 October 2013
Maybe He’s Born With It
Lao Tzu once said, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” The existence of mankind on earth relies on various factors. The basic needs for us humans to survive are food, water, shelter etc. These though, are only the physical needs of man. Humans also have social and mental needs. These needs require us humans to have law and order to be able to coexist peacefully with ourselves, nature and the environment. The only way that law and order can be achieved in human society is by a higher authority, or some form of government and/or leader. William Golding tries to touch on some of these aspects of our civilization through the various characters he creates in his novel, The Lord of the Flies. Leadership plays a very important role in the novel as it does in real life for us, because the characters need to feel some sense of security in order for them to survive. The leaders which are presented throughout the novel all have their own method of leading, and serve different purposes. The elected and democratic leader is Ralph. In the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph acquires many leadership traits and he is the best leader on the island.
Foremost, Ralph as the leader on the island shows much initiative. He takes a great deal of control and is usually the first to step up in a situation to benefit the safety of everyone on the island. Ralph exclaimed, “You hunters! You can laugh! But I tell you smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do all of you see?” (Golding 81). He spread his arms wide and turned to the whole triangle. “We’ve got to make smoke up there – or die.” (Golding 81). This quote displays how Ralph is attempting to maintain order and civilized behavior. By being the first to tell them what to do, showing initiative and by setting goals for the
English 2-2/W
20 October 2013
Maybe He’s Born With It
Lao Tzu once said, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” The existence of mankind on earth relies on various factors. The basic needs for us humans to survive are food, water, shelter etc. These though, are only the physical needs of man. Humans also have social and mental needs. These needs require us humans to have law and order to be able to coexist peacefully with ourselves, nature and the environment. The only way that law and order can be achieved in human society is by a higher authority, or some form of government and/or leader. William Golding tries to touch on some of these aspects of our civilization through the various characters he creates in his novel, The Lord of the Flies. Leadership plays a very important role in the novel as it does in real life for us, because the characters need to feel some sense of security in order for them to survive. The leaders which are presented throughout the novel all have their own method of leading, and serve different purposes. The elected and democratic leader is Ralph. In the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph acquires many leadership traits and he is the best leader on the island.
Foremost, Ralph as the leader on the island shows much initiative. He takes a great deal of control and is usually the first to step up in a situation to benefit the safety of everyone on the island. Ralph exclaimed, “You hunters! You can laugh! But I tell you smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do all of you see?” (Golding 81). He spread his arms wide and turned to the whole triangle. “We’ve got to make smoke up there – or die.” (Golding 81). This quote displays how Ralph is attempting to maintain order and civilized behavior. By being the first to tell them what to do, showing initiative and by setting goals for the