In my opinion, Jack would have made a poor leader, although he also had many leadership qualities. His qualities were that he was head boy, ‘I’m chapter chorister and head boy’, is already the leader of the choir and has excellent control over them, ‘Choir! Stand still!’ Also, he is determined, and this would be a good characteristic for a leader on the island.
However, there are many negative aspects to Jack’s personality. He is unpleasant to all the other boys, and bullies Piggy, ‘Shut up, Fatty’. He is childish, arrogant, and foolish, ‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance’. Towards the end of the novel, Jack becomes evil and dangerous, saying ‘that’s what you’ll get! I meant that!’ when Piggy is killed by his tribe. Jack has no charisma, ‘his face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness’, and gives off bad vibes, when Piggy is instinctively afraid of him, ‘he shrank to the other side of Ralph.’ Jack is shallow, proved when he refused to admit his feelings on the mountain, even when Ralph did. He is motivated by selfishness, and refuses to follow the rules, ‘Bollocks to the rules’. He creates his own rules to suit himself, ‘The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain’. His determination is for personal success and immediate gratification, and for self-aggrandisement. He does not consider the long-term effects or people’s feelings, displayed when Jack left the fire to go hunting. In comparison, Ralph prefers a lasting result, for example, keeping the fire burning will eventually result in rescue. Jack frequently confronts Ralph, and undermines his authority, ‘he isn’t a proper chief.’ Therefore, Jack undermines law and order, which Ralph represents. He distorts the truth, using it to his advantage, ‘on top, when Roger and me went on – he stayed back.’
Jack’s vision for the island revolves around hunting. To begin with, this was only an interest, when asked what he would like the job of the choir to be, and initially, he is unable to kill the pig, as civilised society still has a hold on him. However, as time passes on the island, hunting becomes an obsession for Jack, ‘he tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up.’ Even when Ralph suggests rescue, Jack’s response is, ‘I’d like to catch a pig first.’ Following this, Jack lets the fire out in order to go hunting, which increased the dislike between him and Ralph. Jack’s obsession with hunting is later echoed in the deaths of Simon and Piggy, which Jack was ultimately responsible for. With this evidence, I conclude that Jack would not have made a good leader, and would have become a dictator.
From the beginning of the novel, Piggy was realistic and mature, saying, ‘We could be here ‘til we die,’ in an attempt to state the facts to Ralph about their situation on the island. Piggy was a good thinker, as Ralph made clear when he thinks, ‘I can’t think. Not like Piggy’. Initially, it is Piggy who suggests blowing the conch that Ralph considers just ‘a worthy plaything,’ and Piggy believes in the power of the conch throughout his life on the island. He says quite regularly, ‘I got the conch,’ as he believes that the conch represents the survival of civilisation. Piggy also has great faith in Ralph. This is shown when he says ‘that was what you meant, didn’t you?’ He stands by Ralph until the end, for example, when ‘Ralph was left holding the conch with no-one but Piggy’. In addition to these, Piggy has other leadership qualities. He is organised, suggesting that they ‘make a list’ at the beginning. He is also fair to all the boys on the island, because he believes in democracy, and even gives the ‘littluns’ a chance. He says ‘Let him have the conch’, regarding a ‘littlun’, because Piggy believes everyone has rights. Piggy is kind to the littluns, and cares for them, as a parent might. Finally, one of Piggy’s great qualities is his ability to judge character, telling Ralph, ‘Jack hates me’.
These would all be excellent qualities for leader on the island, as they would encourage a democratic society, however, Piggy is an outcast among the boys for a variety of reasons. The main reason for this is that ‘Piggy was a bore, his fat, his assmar and his matter of fact ideas were dull’. From the beginning Piggy makes it obvious that he dislikes Jack. He gives Jack reason to bully him, by saying things, such as ‘Jus’ you wait,’ that antagonise Jack. Also, Piggy shows the others his weaknesses, and is totally reliant on Ralph, ‘If you give up’, said Piggy in an appalled whisper, ‘what’d happen to me?’ and the other boys, ‘aren’t I havin none?’ Piggy is not respected by the other boys, and is bullied by Jack, ‘you shut up, you fat slug.’ From the moment he meets Jack he is intimidated by him, and ‘shrank to the other side of Ralph.’ He is not an open-minded person, for he says to the group, ‘I don’t believe in no ghosts – ever!’ and by disregarding Simon as ‘batty’. In this way, he is not always a good judge of character, as when he confides in Ralph at the beginning, ‘So long as you don’t tell the others.’ Piggy cannot speak well when intimidated by a group, such as in the meeting when he shouted ‘I got the conch! Just you listen!’ when he cannot gain control. Finally, Piggy’s lack of self-confidence would make him a poor candidate for leader.
Roger is described as ‘the dark boy’ in the novel, and is a ‘quiet terror’, with the ‘hangman’s horror’ surrounding him. He has some leadership qualities, which were quietly present from his very first appearance, although whether they are good or bad is debateable. Roger was the one who initially suggested the vote for leader, and it was at this point that he began to challenge Jack’s leadership. Later in the book, he challenges Jack’s authority by saying to Jack’s guards, ‘you couldn’t stop me coming if I wanted’. Towards the end, Roger questions Jack’s leadership by saying ‘That’s not the way’ in response to Jack’s method of forcing the twins to join the tribe. He then invades Jack’s personal space, edging past him, ‘only just avoiding pushing him with his shoulder’. Also, the line ‘Roger became the pig, grunting and charging at Jack’ symbolises that Roger would like to overpower Jack. Roger, at the start of their time on the island, is still controlled by civilisation. He throws stones at the ‘littluns’, but ‘threw it to miss’. However, he does have a cruel and sadistic instinct, first shown by kicking over the children’s sand castles. He shows no remorse about this act, as Maurice does, ‘Maurice still felt the unease of wrong doing’. Roger has an insight into how to control people, he says to Jack, ‘That’s not the way’, meaning that ‘the way’ is torture. He would have made a stronger leader than Jack, as Jack rules through fear and Roger through pain; however, he would have become a dictator. It is Roger that kills Piggy, by intentionally leaning on the lever he is fascinated by throughout the story. As leader, Roger would have absolute control of the boys through sadistic behaviour, but would not be a suitable leader in a civilised society.
Simon, as one of the older boys on the island, would have been another possibility for leader. There were many positive aspects to his personality. Simon was a spiritual and visionary character, although weakened by his physical disability. Throughout the novel, he symbolises the rejection of goodness and truth, not only by the boys on the island, but also by society in general. The ‘littluns’ on the island look up to Simon, as he is kind and generous towards them, ‘Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach’. Simon attempts to protect Piggy, ‘Piggy snivelled and Simon shushed him quickly’, showing his considerate nature. There are other biblical parallels in the book, centring on Simon. He climbed the mountain to find the truth, and offers it to the boys, ‘What I mean is, maybe it’s only us,’ who discard it. Simon was very close to understanding the truth about the boys, ‘you knew didn’t you? I’m part of you?’ He makes a prediction, ‘You’ll get back all right,’ to Ralph, but does not include himself, almost as if he can foretell his own fate. This also reassures Ralph, and gives him something to believe in. Even when faced with the beast, Simon cannot see it anything other than human, ‘There rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick’; he is the only boy who sees the beast for what it really is, ‘The beast was harmless and horrible.’ He frees the dead parachutist, trying to give it dignity in death. Through the beast, Simon recognises the rotting of values on the island, and what man is capable of. He also sensed trouble between Ralph and Jack, ‘Simon looked now, from Ralph to Jack, as he had looked from Ralph to the horizon, and what he saw seemed to make him afraid.’ At this point in the novel, Simon senses the beginning of the end; ‘Passions beat about Simon on the mountain-top with awful wings.’ During his discussion with the Lord of the Flies, Simon’s death is predicted, ‘we shall do you see? Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph,’ as he discovers the evil within the boys. Simon is not corrupted by the evil on the island, and the way nature takes him back symbolises purity, ‘’The line of his cheek silvered’. Despite both having horrific deaths, Simon has a much more dignified exit than Piggy, as a reflection of his character. Although Simon has many qualities, few of these would be necessary for a leader.
However, there are also bad aspects to Simon character in regard to leadership on the island. Simon appears different to the other boys, because of his disability, and because of his character, so he is unable to gain their respect. His difference inspires fear and condemnation in the boys, ‘what were you mucking about in the dark for?’ Simon is not understood, and is undervalued by the boys, ‘He was batty. He asked for it,’ is Piggy’s response to his death. Simon has no confidence, ‘Simon opened his mouth to speak, but Ralph had the conch so he backed to his seat,’ and self-confidence is an essential characteristic for a good leader. Also, despite Simon’s ability to think deeply, as an adult, he is unable to put his thoughts into words, ‘Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness.’ This would make it impossible for him to be leader, as he would be overpowered by more confident members of the group.
In conclusion, I think that Ralph was the best choice for leader. However, this was only through process of elimination, as even Ralph was not an ideal candidate. All the characters in Lord of the Flies had positive and negative aspects to their personalities, and Ralph was no exception to this. The negative aspects of the other boy’s personalities over-ruled the positive aspects, concerning leadership. Ralph was the only boy on the island that would have made a suitable leader in civilised society, and this was what they wanted to achieve. Ralph’s good characteristics outnumbered his bad qualities. Ralph was the only boy on the island who was liked and respected by the majority of the others, whilst every other boy had only limited real respect, rather than fear.