Ralph a Good Leader in Lord of The Flies

What makes a good leader? A great leader is someone who can take control and take initiative for their group. Someone who can guide, direct, stands out, and help back up their pack when in need of their assistance. In Lord of the Flies, one character who portrays and displays being a good leader is Ralph. From the beginning of the novel, we got a glimpse of Ralph’s positive qualities and personality that lead him to being an excellent leader in the book. He shows responsibility, bravery, and determination to seek opportunities in ways that will help him and the other young boys to survive and hopefully rescued off the stranded Island.

In Lord of the Flies, Ralph takes control in tough situations and takes action to seek ways that will help him and the boys being rescued. “Look at us! How many are we? And yet we can’t keep a fire going to make smoke. Don’t you understand? Can’t you see we ought to – out to die before we let the fire out?” There was a self-conscious giggling among the hunters” (Ch 5 pg 61). As we get more into the novel, we start to see the chaos and the lost of discipline these boys are going through. In the quote, Ralph is showing responsibility by setting strict laws for the boys and expecting them to contribute and follow those rules. His main concern and responsibility on the island is protecting the kids and thinking outside the box on ways how to create an easier way to survive and get rescued off the island.

Despite all the hardships these boys are facing, Ralph maintains being brave and takes initiative to take control of the group and keep them calm, ‘And another thing. We nearly set the whole island on fire. And we waste time, rolling rocks, and making little cooking fires. Now I say this and make it a rule, because I’m chief. We won’t have a fire anywhere but on the mountain. Ever’ (Ch.5 pg. 62). This shows how brave Ralph is by taking the roll of being a leader. Ralph took on many difficult tasks and showed his bravery with confidence.

Finally, we see that Ralph shows a lot of determination by never giving up on wanting to survive and get rescued. ‘I’m chief. I’ll go. Don’t argue’ (Ch.6 pg.155) this is an example on how he is willing to sacrifice anything with no question to survive. Another way Ralph shows determination is by setting good examples for the boys. Ralph took on many obstacles on his own showing that he will never give up. This empower the boys to follow in his footsteps.

In conclusion, Ralph demonstrates many characteristics of being a “Great Leader”. Throughout the novel, he consistently shows responsibility by setting rules to keep everyone and everything in harmony. Secondly, he demonstrated bravery by accepting the role of being the leader of the stranded boys. Lastly, Ralph continued to show determination by how committed he was in finding a way to survive and get rescued. It was Ralph’s initiative, bravery, and commitment to the boys and himself while stranded allowed them to survive until being rescued.

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