How good of a leader is Ralph? How does Golding presentation of characters and situations influence your views?

Essay by ladae17High School, 11th gradeB+, April 2014

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How good of a leader is Ralph? How does Golding presentation of characters and situations influence your views?

A leader is simply someone who has the ability to take control of a group. A good leader, however, is not only able to take control but also possesses leadership characteristics such as being a good communicator, assertive and well respected. Golding's presentation of Ralph, in the novel The Lord of the Flies, possessing all of the given characteristics and doing his best as leader under the present circumstances allowed me to conclude that he was a fairly good leader.

Golding's presentation of Ralph's leadership characteristics firstly proved that he was a fairly good leader. As communication is key to a civil society, Ralph was a good communicator. He allowed the boys to share their views whenever an assembly was called, be it to talk about the fire, building shelters, hunting or the beast.

Ralph listened to the boys, understood what they wanted and responded with the initiative to satisfy their needs and desires. For example, knowing Jack's interest in wanting to be chief and have a responsibility Ralph said, "Jack's in charge of the choir". Ralph was "eager to offer something" simply to avoid any argument or fears of mutiny. Nevertheless, communicating with the boys allowed Ralph to remain on good terms with each of them and allowed peace to remain between them all preventing any uprising chaos.

Alongside Ralph being a good communicator, he also understood people and what was expected of him as chief. For example, when Ralph disapproved of Piggy going on their expedition of the island Piggy felt humiliated and left out. Noticing this, Ralph considered Piggy's feelings and quickly ensured him that his job was not to explore but to take names. In this...