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Who's Position Is Right In Lord Of The Flies

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David Schwer McCallon-5 ERWC 4 October 2014 Activity #1 Lord of the Flies, written by, William Golding, is a story about a group of schoolboys struggling for survival after a plane crash has left them stranded on an island. As the struggling continues, tempers flare and the group splits on each other. One side has a boy named Jack as their leader, who’s position is all about authoritarianism, and the other side has a boy named Ralph as their leader, who’s position is more of a democracy. Because of this, the question arises, “Who’s position is right? On one hand, Jack is right on certain decisions. He uses his authority to lead people into the direction he wants to go, therefore making him a great leader. Being the leader of the choir boys shows that he has experience of leading others. On page 51 for example, “He (Jack) tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up” which shows Jack’s transformation from a civilized kid, into a boy who is obsessed with hunting (Golding 51). Even so, Jack is one to set goals for himself and the group. He wants to kill a pig because the group needs something to eat to survive. By him setting this goal, he saves the group from starvation. Even though Jack wants to kill the pig as much as Ralph wants to get rescued, …show more content…

For example, on page 79, it says, “Jack was first to make himself heard. He had not got the conch and thus spoke against the rules; but nobody minded” (Golding 79). Here, Jack is using his authority for his own good instead of the group. He has experience being a leader, as he gets people to follow him using intimidation. He does a very good job of this. His authority makes it so people are scared to stand up to him. This makes Jack, not a leader by example, but a leader by fear. He represents anarchy. He is a dictator, and will bully people to get his way, even though his way may not be the right thing to

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