Preview

Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
604 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Essay
No matter what social group a person is placed in, there is always a leader. A leader is a person who makes key decisions in deciding what is best for everyone before moving forward. Sports, clubs, and countries elect a leader because it is what society knows to do. Civilization has always selected someone to lead because most people are followers and are scared to be the person in charge. Sometimes a leader can be corrupt and take advantage of his power, which is when the followers realize that they took a wrong turn in choosing their leader. In Lord of the Flies, the boy who leads best is often argued about because each leader has a very diverse way of being authoritative.
The best leader is Ralph. He is only twelve years old, yet he understands
…show more content…
Being likeable and confident are things that followers look for in a leader. People like Barack Obama or Oprah Winfrey are kindhearted and wholesome. Barack Obama has changed the lives of many Americans the past eight years with his efforts to unify our country and take charge. Oprah Winfrey has changed the lives of so many people by listening to them and giving them the things they need most, making their stories known to the world. Citizens react best to this kind of leadership. Ralph possesses the conch and uses it for unity among the boys, bringing them together and giving them a voice to listen to while the chaos unfolds.
Every person has to lead at some point in their lives. There is always a moment where one has no choice but to discontinue his following habits and begin leading. The way we lead is conditioned from the leading we identified with while we were followers. Ralph leads in such a civilized manner because he grew up in a civilized environment. When my younger sister was born, I realized I had to become a leader. She needs someone to look up to, and I want to set a great example for her. Kindness and confidence are things I want to instill in my leadership for her to learn as she

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    One example of Ralph being a worthy leader is when he assigns Jack and his choir the job of being hunters. Ralph felt bad that Jack wasn't elected leader so he wanted to give him what he wanted. For example, Ralph says in the book, “ Jack’s in charge of the choir. They can be-what do you want them to be”?…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph’s leadership ability is revealed from the very first time he encounters Piggy on the island, until the end when he has no one left to lead. One clear example of Ralph’s leadership occurred at the beginning of the novel when elected leader by the group. After being elected, Ralph immediately delegates power as shown in the quote “I’m chief then. The circle of boys broke into applause… The choir belongs to you of course. They could be the army or hunters” (William Golding 23). Another display of Ralph's leadership occurs when Ralph discovers the unlit fire shortly after seeing a ship pass in the distance. Realizing this lapse, Ralph uses his leadership to crack down on some of the lazy hunters and reiterates that the signal fire should be their first priority. In order to maintain order on the island, Ralph use his leadership position and ability to set up a list of rules that the boys on the island should follow, for instance bringing order to meetings by requiring all to remain quiet except for the boy holding the conch. Without the strong leadership skills shown by Ralph, the boys of the island might not have survived. David Bender talks about Ralph's leadership skills when he states “He is everything a leader should be, handsome with fair hair, good build and a natural ability to command” (David Bender 32). This quote furthers my position that Ralph exhibited…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When a group of British school boys land on a deserted island someone has to step up and lead. A leader should have many noble traits. In the book Ralph is elected leader, in the beginning he was not much of a standout but later in the book we found Ralph has great leadership skills: he tries to keep the peace, was stern when he needed to be, and held everyone accountable for their work.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With his obvious leadership skills, Ralph runs up against Jack for the position of chief. Ralph, with the conch in hand was elected chief and “smiled, [then] held up the conch for silence” to reassure his power (23). Even with Jacks leadership skills, the conch determined both his and Ralphs fate. New found chief has many roles to play and Ralph intended to fill every one of them. The boys, clueless on how to maintain order, listened for the sound of “Ralph… blowing the conch” (32). This conch and Ralph were a great…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With leadership comes power; some use their power for the greater good and some abuse it. Many people want to be the leader of a group, but may underestimate the amount of responsibility it actually takes. Although everyone is capable of using their power for the greater good, it is easy for someone to get caught up in power and abuse it. In Golding's novel “Lord of the Flies” Ralph, one of the main characters, shows how people are capable of using their power for good. The plane Ralph, and a group of other british schoolboys are on, crashes on a tropical island. Right away the boys call a meeting by using a conch shell blown by Ralph, and declare him as the leader. However not everyone likes Ralph as the leader. Throughout the book Jack, another boy on the island, tries to prove he is worthy of being the leader. The boys slowly but surely leave Ralph’s group to join Jack’s. Soon Ralph barely has anyone on his side, and he is watching all the other boys turn savage under Jacks power. In WIlliam Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies” the characters learn the…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    • All the other boys perceive Ralph as being a true leader; he has great power and influence over the other boys. From the beginning of the novel, it is proven that Ralph has a sense of leadership about him; he is the one who brings all the boys together.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first point that will be discussed is power, the theme power is seen throughout the movie and novel continually; in “Lord of the Flies” power is evident when the group of boys elect Ralph to be chief, he willingly accepted this role as being the leader of the clan. He took charge by appointing positions for everyone like hunters, gathers, cleaners and etc.”Ralph, Ralph let him be chief with the trumpet thing......’they could be the army-‘’or hunter”. (Golding 19) Ralph displayed his power by taking control of the situation. This helps to differentiate between a good leader and a bad leader through their actions in dealing with power. “We don’t want you,” said jack, flatly, “Three’s enough.” (Golding 21) This show how arrogant jack really was and how bad of a leader he reveals himself to be. But on the other hand Ralph is much more of an inspirational example than jack “we’ve got to have special people looking after…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today’s society, there are some people never really understand the qualities of a good leader. They instead vote for the ones who make choices that they like, but doesn’t benefit society as a whole. William Golding symbolizes this idea in his novel, Lord of the Flies , when a group of young boys become trapped on an island and must form their own society. The children choose Ralph as their leader, who does his very best to maintain order. His authority is later threatened by Jack, a bloodthirsty individual who doesn’t care for rules. The boys then leave Ralph for Jacks more crude and savage-driven society. Ralph always maintained his mark, and cared for everyone else and their hopes of getting home. He has proven himself to be an…

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph's Leadership

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Leaders can be described as kind, caring, intelligent, strong, responsible, and intrepid. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a leader who possess these qualities is needed. The novel is about a group of young boys who crash on an island with no adults, and Ralph is voted as leader. His rival, Jack, later tries to take a position as leader and a battle of savagery vs. civilization begins. Ralph is an honorable leader, because he is responsible and intrepid, even though he can be indecisive at times.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Good leadership can be found in an individual that is persevering, does not give up, and encourages others to reach their goals. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Ralph and Jack are both given the chance to become leaders. However, both of them display negative qualities that reflect onto the rest of the group. Respect, a given human right, leads to a group disagreeing and falling apart when not upheld. When leaders fail to uphold democratic rights, society falters.…

    • 1454 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are two types of leaders: one who makes the right choice and one who chooses the popular decision of the people even though it might not be the right choice. Rosalynn Carter expresses this idea perfectly by quoting, “A leader takes the people where they want to go. A great leader takes the people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” In Lord of the Flies, Ralph is the great leader while Jack is just another leader. Throughout the book, Ralph leads with rationality and sense, while Jack leads with fear, which shows that fear is all controlling. Golding conveys that fear is all controlling through Ralph’s leadership, Jack’s priorities, and Jack’s leadership.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When life throws scary and dire situations at you, some believe it is a test to see a person's true colors, and how that person reacts under extreme pressure and conflict. In situations like these, leaders are born. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph becomes a frontrunner as the “chief”, or leader in the story. Ralph struggles to maintain a civil relationship between all the boys, but still remains the more appropriate leader, including his civility, his conflicts, and his purpose.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The role of a leader is challenging task to take on, especially when you're a young boy. As proven in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, in order to be an effective leader, you have to have no moral character. Being a leader without moral character leads to more effective ruling, because your followers will obey you more than a ruler with moral character, who tends to be more lenient with their style of ruling. The challenge was taken by originally taken on by Ralph, who with moral character, tried to keep the island in order, and Jack, who without moral character, ruled more efficiently and had more people listen to his orders. Being a leader without moral character, such as Jack, is more effective than being a leader with moral…

    • 1417 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Society is made up of leaders and followers. While many wants to, not all can be leaders. A leader is somebody who guides or directs others by showing them the way. A leader is someone that can influence people. He is someone that people want to follow and respect, makes good decisions, can think quickly. He is self-confident, and knows what to do next. A leader is someone who can guide others to their own empowerment.…

    • 505 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph in lord of the flies is considered to some to be a bad leader, If you really look at Ralphs actions you can see that he really knows what his intentions are, getting off the island and keeping all of the kids sane. All of the children would have been dead if Jack were in charge but Ralph could have stopped Jack’s control over the kids which eventually led to multiple deaths; I would have not let Jack have so much control as he did, maybe ceven killed Jack.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays