preview

Jack Lord Of The Flies Leadership Essay

Decent Essays

Leadership: the capacity to lead; the act or instance of leading (Merriam-Webster). There is a fine line between leadership and dictatorship, a line that people often dance on. Historical figures such as Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein, Heinrich Himmler, and Adolf Hitler were all labeled as dictators. These men rose to power by manipulating others and sharing beliefs that did not correlate with good morals. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Jack rises to power through the same methods used by famous dictators. Jack is implacable as he tries to be the leader of the boys. Jack argues with Ralph and the boys when he is not chosen to be their leader. Jack says, “‘I ought to be chief...‘because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp’” (Golding 22). This shows that although Ralph is more qualified and wanted for the position, Jack believes that he would be the better leader. He has no regard for what …show more content…

Instead of helping Ralph build shelters, he goes into the forest with the hunters and tries to get meat. In the novel, they disagree about which is a priority; “‘Next time! I’ve got to get a barb on this spear! We wounded a pig and the spear fell out. If we could only make the barbs-’ ‘We need shelters’” (51). Jack’s actions show how he has no regard to Ralph’s wants and what would ultimately be best for the group. Jack’s influence over the boys is so powerful that he is able to convince them to kill Ralph. When Ralph asks Sam what is going to happen when they find him, Sam responds with, “‘Roger sharpened a stick at both ends’” (190). This means that Jack plans to decapitate him and put his head on a stick to put in the sand. This is the same thing they did with the pig they killed, The Lord of the Flies. Evidently, Jack manipulates the boys into working with him in bringing down the last semblances of civilization on the

Get Access