One of the main reasons why Ralph gained the leadership of the group was because of the conch. He came up with the idea that the person who had the conch was the one who spoke.
“I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (Chapter 2)
Ralph had a good sense of decency coming from a comfortable middle class background, and had the conch was an integral part of his appeal to the boys. Jack does not believe in the conch, and therefore it’s authority decreases when he has hold of the conch.
On the island, Ralph was too easy-going on the island, and did not command respect like a Chief should. It was not Ralph’s belief that law and order were of great importance on the island. Ralph was too kind on the boys, and was not acting like a chief should in their situation.
“This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grown-ups come fetch us we’ll have fun” (Chapter 2)
He was well organised but the boys did not respect his authority as much because they knew he would not punish them like Jack would. As a leader you need to be forceful and ruthless to succeed. Ralph did not possess these qualities, unlike Jack. Ralph always believed that his Father, who was in the Armed Forces, would come to sae them. His idealistic view also appealed to the boys, and was confident that they would be saved.
Ralph had always believed that they would be rescued, and this optimism transferred to the group. However, Jack was less optimistic and he concentrated his ideas on hunting. The group, could see that Jack was actively doing a lot more to help the group in their eyes, and although Ralph was chief, in name, Jack was chief in the practical sense.
“The simple statement, unbacked by any proof, but the weight of Ralph’s new authority, brought light and happiness” (Chapter 2)
The group did not warm to the harshness of Jack’s leadership, and liked the laid back atmosphere of Ralph as their chief. However, this may have been Ralph’s downfall because he did not lead the boys, as a chief should. As I have already stated, Ralph was very kind, almost too kind. A real leader would be merciless and be able to feel guilt a lot less than the average person. This was an attribute that Ralph did not possess.
Although Ralph was the most popular chief, the authoritative leadership qualities of Jack could not be ignored. Although ‘they liked and now respected him’, Ralph was only a good figurehead, because the real leader of the group was Jack, with his hunters to back him.
“Ralph was on his feet too, shouting for quiet, but no-one heard him” (Chapter 2)
When a real leader needed to shine at this point in story, to restore order while they were building a fire for safety, they decided to follow Jack, and Ralph was just ignored. Not only was Ralph being ignored but the symbol of his leadership, the conch, was being ignored as well.
Despite Ralph being appointed Chief, Jack leads his own hunters with the authority of a chief. Ralph let’s Jack take too much control over the group and as a result, Ralph loses his control over the group.
“Ralph picked out Jack easily, even at that distance, tall, red-haired, and inevitably leading the procession. (Chapter 4)
In chapter 10 Roger calls Jack ‘a proper chief’, and he recognises the leadership qualities in Jack. We even see later on in the novel that his followers call Jack ‘Chief’. Ralph lets Jack take control of the main hunting duties, and Ralph himself is too laid-back towards his own duties at chief.
Most of Ralph’s authority lied with the conch, which was a symbol of the power that he had. The conch was the thing that helped to bring law and order to their society, and with the conch in his presence; Ralph had the power to be the chief that the group thought he could be.
“With the conch. I’m calling this meeting even if we have to go into the dark. Down on the platform, when I blow it. Now” (Chapter 4)
Using the conch, “Ralph asserted his chieftainship” to the group. When the conch was smashed and broken, all that it stood for with Ralph was smashed as well, as Jack took complete control.
Ralph believed in the importance of rescue more than anything else. However, other members of the group, who were more interested in killing the pig, did not share this view. Smoke was their chance to be rescued and Ralph recognised this.
“You hunters! You can laugh! But I tell you smoke is more important than the pig” (Chapter 5)
Throughout the novel we see the how much Ralph values the fire, because he ultimately believes that fire equals rescue. Jack believes in the importance of meat, even though getting meat was not the most important thing he could do. Despite this, he carries out his duties with power, and leadership. Ralph may have been right to concentrate on survival, and rescue from the island, but he did not have the necessary qualities to enforce these beliefs on the rest of the group.
Ralph was not a tough, harsh leader like Jack was, and Piggy wanted him to become a more forceful leader, but we see that Ralph does not have the passion to be chief, and has lost the inclination to be a wholehearted, enthusiastic leader.
“ ‘You got to be tough now. Make ‘em do what you want.’
Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a theorem ” (Chapter 5)
Ralph is not confident in his role as chief because the boys do not listen to him very much. He is more logical with problem solving, and cannot portray these ideas to the group effectively.
Ralph let’s Jack take too much control of the boys throughout the novel, and we often see Jack take control of hunts, and be more of a force with the boys. Because Jack takes more control, Ralph’s control diminishes.
“He let Jack lead the way; and Jack trod with theatrical caution though they could have seen an enemy twenty yards away. Ralph walked in the rear, thankful to have escaped responsibility for a while” (Chapter 6)
Jack fills the void left by Ralph’s inability to lead the group. We see that Jack takes a role as a leader as the novel progresses. This is because Ralph allows him to organize and command more than he should, and once Jack has gained control of a certain aspect of the island, he does not let it go.
Unlike the other boys on the island, Ralph was conscious about his appearance, and was used to the cleanliness of his own home. A leader would not be too bothered with these sorts of materialistic views, and would concentrate more on survival, but “these were the conditions he took as normal now”
“He would like to have a bath, a proper wallow with soap” (Chapter 7)
Ralph misses the comforts of his old life, and we see in this novel that Ralph takes an unlikely viewpoint towards cleanliness on the island that you would not expect from a boy of his age. Ralph goes with the hunters and Jack to find the beast, and also meat to eat. Again “Jack was in charge of the hunt” instead of Ralph, and by doing this, Ralph his giving away his authority to Jack.
Ralph is not a particularly good thinker, although he is practical at solving solutions, he is not tactical enough to be a good leader.
“By now, Ralph had no self-consciousness in public thinking but would treat the day’s decisions as though he were playing chess. The only trouble was he would never be a good chess player” (Chapter 7)
A true leader would be a very good thinker, but Ralph lacked this quality. However, Ralph knows this, and acquires an alliance with the best thinker on the island, Piggy. The scientific mind of Piggy is a good asset of Ralph’s, who becomes on of his closest allies, however, Ralph on his own possessed little in the way of strategic intelligence.
Jack asks the group if Ralph should not be the chief any more. Jack and Ralph were never the best of friend because they were vying with each other to become the chief of the group.
“They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate” (Chapter 3)
They are not communicating with each other because they have differing views. Jack believes he should be the chief. Jack says that Ralph “isn’t a proper chief” and that he should not be the chief any more, but the group sit quietly and reject Jack’s proposal. Jack later leaves the group, and Ralph is unable to reassure the rest of the group or assert his leadership further.
In conclusion, Ralph was a poor leader because he did not possess the right qualities of a true leader. He was not ruthless, and did not enforce himself on the others like he should’ve. Ralph was elected chief because he looked like the best leader, but in practice, Jack was the only true leader on the island because of his background of being head boy and leader of the choir. Jack imposed his leadership on the others and was merciless when it came to dealing with those who stepped out of line. Ralph was not able to control the group, and was to relaxed about the job of the chief. Because of this, the boys did not follow Ralph’s instructions, and this meant that the fire went out and society broke down.
