"Jack should have been elected leader in the first place." Do you agree with this?

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         Lord of the Flies Coursework “Jack should have been elected leader in the first place.” Do you agree with this? This question is answered in different ways in different areas of society depending on whether the person asked is left or right wing. Therefore the answer can go either way. Where power should be placed in a society is obviously at the heart of the issues affecting leadership. It is debated whether it is best for the majority to decide for the minority, or for the minority to decide for the majority.Jack has an obvious fascination with power from his entering the novel. He is described as being “the boy who controlled” the choir. His militaristic control over the choir is illustrated when he marches into the assembly of boys with an air of arrogance and his “cloak flying”. He also assumes control of the entire group and indeed the entire island by saying “I ought to be chief...because I’m chapter chorister and head boy”. This assumption of leadership is possible to be viewed as a good quality because it shows that he is willing to take control of whatever situation comes around. However, a much more plausible view is that he is not interested in the future of the boys or their life on the
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island, but in the establishment of a power base that overrides anyone else. Indeed when the idea of a vote was mentioned, he lost all control of the situation and was outnumbered even by his own choir. His arrogance soon turned to embarrassment when the “freckles on his face disappeared under a blush of mortification” in the losing of the vote. Voting is democratic and Jack’s arrogance suggests he believes he is above everyone else and that the vote gives power to those who do not know what to do.There is a bizarre bond between Jack and Ralph and Jack ...

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