Machiavelli said it best in his book The Prince, "It is Better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both." The main characters of The Lord Of The flies by William Golding, Jack and Ralph, both share the similar goal of becoming leader. As Jack being feared and Ralph being loved, throughout the book you perceive that being feared as a leader maintains order, causes stability, and embodies a sense of respect. Love comes, and it goes. The fact that it's fickle causes it to be an untrustworthy ground to build leadership on. Throughout the book it is exhibited through many events that as a leader being feared lets you accomplish more and causes a loyal relationship with the people surrounding you. Throughout the beginning of the book, Ralph …show more content…
Throughout the book this is represented as the children constantly do things to benefit Jacks wishes, even if they know it is wrong. Fear will make you do things that love and respect never will. Jack had the capability to make the kids do everything he wished. No one ever stood up to him, but would you stand up to someone you fear? When chasing Ralph towards the end of the book the children all followed Jacks lead. When Ralph was located by the twins nothing was said when they were asked if they found him, for the soul purpose that they knew it was wrong to kill him but the fear embodied them and they were unable to say no. Not only did he embody fear but he glorifies certain situations. "I painted my face—I stole up. Now you eat—all of you—," (Golding,35). Jack is trying to make the boys think that being a hunter and providing for them is the only thing that matters. He thinks that hunting for food gives him automatic power over the boys. “You didn't hunt, you don't get any,”(Golding,59). His mentality was that he had control over every aspect that included the food, and he perceived it as if the boys also became hunters they would have the same
Ralph establishes discipline, and order, and shows affection towards the other boys. Prioritizing the group's welfare, Jack is becoming more and more savage, thinks less of others, and thirsts for
With absolute power comes absolute corruption, but with limited power comes limited corruption. In the novel Lord of the Flies, the arbitrary need for a leader brings forward strife and competition between characters that desire power. Ralph with his old democratic leadership style clashes with Jack’s unethical style to rule. In the book Lord of the Flies, we learn that eagerness for power is strong enough to break the boys’ fragile civilization, which is demonstrated by the characters Ralph, Piggy and Jack.
Then jack tries to overthrow ralph's authority. He then successfully overthrows ralph leading to the first power change. But admits the boys another potential leader arises by the name of rodger. The author shows how quick the boys are to
By using Jack as an example, Goulding is able to demonstrate his belief in fear being both a powerful motivator and a key method to controlling others. Furthermore, his novel shows fear as being something that leads people to make harsh actions they might otherwise not, even murdering children and burning forests. He shows fear as overpowering desires of love and want by placing the boys in a scene where they are forced to sacrifice their fun and freedom for leadership just from fear that they might otherwise become savages. In conclusion, while pondering the question of fear compared to love Goulding comes to the same conclusion as Machiavelli…. “It is much safer to be
His corrupt nature causes the boys to fear disobeying him and shows them that disobedience is answered with physical pain. Robert tells Roger of what Jack will do when he's angry: "'He [Jack] is going to beat Wilfred'" (159), and when Roger asks Robert why Jack will beat Wilfred, Robert says, "'I don't know... He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up'" (159). This shows that if someone manages to anger Jack he will not take to it kindly, and will use force to show that he is in control. Disobeying Jack makes him angry as well, shown when he tries to kill Ralph who is not with the idea of him leading during the entire time they are on the island.
This is why he killed two boys for his safety. He cared more about himself than the others. Ralph claimed, “‘If it rains like when we dropped in, we’ll need shelters all right’” (Golding 52). Unlike Jack, Ralph made sure everyone was alright.
This is a key moment because the conflict between Ralph and Jack has grown from audible disputes, to a physical divide between civilization and savagery of the boys. “Later in the novel, he even breaks away from Ralph’s newly formed society, forming his own tribe of hunters.” (Neighbors,1) This split shows the growing tension between the boys because they are now also splitting the other boys between the two sides. Ralph states that getting rescued should be their priority while Jack thinks hunting is just as important.
This quote signifies Jack’s participation not only in a group, but in a society. This civilized state begins to fade as Jack becomes more enveloped in the idea of hunting, and becomes solely focused on killing a pig. Jack describes hunting in an extremely obsessive way, stating “‘If you’re hunting
The other boys, in fear of the beast, have all sided with Jack, ganging up against Ralph to kill him. Mob mentality is everywhere in Lord of the Flies, and some of the most memorable moments are the most obvious examples of Mob Mentality. Mob mentality is portrayed many time throughout Lord of the Flies, for example, when Ralph is hunted, Simon is killed, or the choir follows Jack when he leaves the group. Reading these sections, the reader can easily understand Golding’s message about mob mentality.
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows the progression of absolute power, and how ambition can take over one's mind. Stranded on an island after their plane crashed, the boys create their own democracy with one absolute ruler, just like many other governments throughout history. The boys voted Ralph as their ruler, but Jack slowly starts to take some of Ralph’s power, and eventually usurps him as their chief. Lord of the Flies suggests that absolute power is corrupt, and that humans are overly ambitious in wanting to take power from the person who has the most of it. Just like any large group of people, the boys decide that they “ought to have a chief to decide things” (Golding 22).
In the book “The Lord of the Flies” Golding’s words reveal the connection of People using fear to controll others, to Jack and his constant drive for power. Terorists groups like ISIS use fear to manipualte the U.S and other contries to gain power in a number of different ways, such as the attacks on Paris, France. While Jack also uses fear to gain the support from his fellow island members in a quest for power. This is highlighted when Jack tries attempts to overthrow Ralph: “Quiet!” shouted Jack.
In the first chapter “The Sound of the Shell,” all of the boys elect a chief. The way that Jack acts toward Ralph expresses how he is unhappy with the decision of Ralph being chief. The quote “[...] and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification,” expresses how much he wanted to be chief and when he was not elected as chief, he was embarrassed and upset. In chapter 11 “Castle Rock,” Jack wants to become chief and behaves more violently towards Ralph. The text explains that the boys have became more vicious without adult supervision.
Initially a pure of heart child is chose in Ralph but this eventually changes when Jack decides to start his own tribe. This leads to the boys leaving Ralph for the preferable leader: Jack, who’s violence and intimidation entices the boys to join him. The boys live in constant fear of a beast that Jack also uses as a tool to garner support. William Golding shows that humans follow corrupt leaders because they provide protection, exude confidence and manipulate effectively.
Guilt takes over Ralph’s body and he is beginning to think that maybe the boys are taking this dispute slightly too far in line with the quote, “I’m frightened. Of us” (Golding 200). Ralph is foreshadowing that something monstrous is about to happen on the island, and that maybe the boys need to reevaluate the problem and fix this before the dilemma gets out of hand. Unfortunately, that is not the case. At the end of the story, the reader can indicate that Ralph has lost his innocence by the quote, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 261).
Leadership is something that stands out. Good leadership is always important. You always want to follow the strongest person in the group right? Well in the book called “Lord of the Flies” Ralph is a better leader than Jack. Some reasons include Ralph has a goal or clear vision of being rescued.