Ralph and Jack are both leaders, but have very different leadership styles. Ralph, the protagonist, is democratic, representing order and leadership. He believes that power should be used for the good of the group and for the protection of the littluns. Jack, the antagonist, is dictatorial and tyrannical. He represents savagery, the desire for power and self-gratification. Jack thinks that power should enable those who hold it to fulfil their own desires and act on their own impulses, treating the littluns as servants for his own amusement. During the expedition that Ralph, Jack and Simon go on in the first chapter, Ralph and Jack “savoured the right of domination.” They are intoxicated by the feeling that the island is theirs, which contributes to the conflict between Ralph and Jack because they both want to be leader but have completely different reasons for it.
The conflict begins with the election, but until Chapter three, it is hidden beneath the surface, under a mask of friendship as the boys work together to build their own community. In this chapter, the conflict between Ralph and Jack erupts into a verbal argument for the first time. At this point, there is a noticeable division between them. Each boy gives his view on the most basic concepts of human purpose; Ralph argues for building huts and Jack argues for hunting. After the argument, Ralph emerges as the more victorious one, and Jack is forced to claim that the hunting is for the benefit of all and not simply for a personal thrill.
When Jack’s irresponsibility leads to the failure of the signal fire and therefore ends the boys’ first chance of being rescued, Ralph is hysterical because it is one of their connections to civilisation. This causes another rift between them, and indicates that Ralph is still controlled by order and morality. He wants the boys to work together and share the labour to reach a common goal - rescue. To do this they need to keep the fire alight. Jack does not agree because he killed his first pig, which he thinks is worth missing a chance of rescue for. The balance of power between the boys is obviously shifting in Jack’s favour by this point, because he no longer claims that hunting is merely a necessity for the survival of the group. Jack feels no need to justify his behaviour at all.
When Jack begins to hit Piggy openly, him and his followers such as Roger are starting to show their savage side and Ralph cannot understand it because he is still very in touch with his civilised side:
“Things are breaking up. I don’t understand why. We began well; we were happy. And then-”
He cannot understand why all the boys do not want to try everything possible to help each other survive. Piggy is clever and perhaps in a way symbolises the road to rescue, as he devises many plans to achieve that end. The fact that Ralph accepts Piggy and Jack ridicules him emphasises their different attitudes towards rescue and power. Ralph realises that ruling is temporary and not the primary focus, leaving the island is. This shows that Jack is not willing to take other views into account and he does not care about rescue, he just wants the power of being in charge. Rescue is a threat to that power, and this causes another division between Ralph and Jack.
At the beginning of the novel, Ralph’s hold on the boys is quite secure. They all understand the need for order and purposive action even if they do not always want to be bothered with rules. The fear of the beast increases throughout the novel and really separates Ralph and Jack. The fear of it finally explodes, ruining Ralph’s attempt to restore the island and causing the final split between Ralph and Jack. This gives the boys a choice of who they want to be their leader, as Jack believes in the beast and Ralph does not. Jack is then able to manipulate Ralph into acting irrationally for the sake of preserving his status among the other boys. The arrival of the beast seems to excuse the boys from order and civilisation, feeding Jack more and more power. Soon the competition itself is not one to prove who would be the better leader, but one of sheer strength and courage.
Both the boys have different ways of handling the situations that they encounter throughout the novel. Ralph’s natural disposition is to be considerate and do well. He is resourceful by nature, he thinks of shelters and making a signal fire. Jack is very manipulative and degrading. Jack does not allow people to see that he can be weak. When he does not have the courage to kill a pig in the beginning of the novel, because he still has a civilised side to him, he is humiliated. As a result of this, Jack becomes obsessed about proving himself to the boys and not appearing weak again. This shows that he is vulnerable.
Jack has a clever way of gaining power. He does this by climbing the mountain at night to discover if there is a beast. It is significant that he finds something that he thinks is the beast because if it were proven that nothing monster like did exist, Jack would have no access to power. He would not be able to manipulate the boys into doing what Jack wants them to do. Ralph realises that searching for the beast at night is ridiculous but knows if he refuses to help, he would appear a coward in a society based on strength. Had the boys climbed the mountain in the day, they would have seen the dead parachutist, but because they climb it at night, their imaginations can use the distorted shadows to convince themselves there is a beast. In this way, each boy is prone to give in to the demands of savagery.
In the end few chapters, the situation that has been slowly brewing now comes to a head. Jack has taken over the island completely, and Ralph is an outcast. As their natural ability to be civilised towards each other has eroded, so has Ralph’s power and influence. Life on the island has become so savage that the hatred and passion to kill Jack bears for Ralph is totally out of control. There is no Piggy and no Simon to help Ralph now and he becomes hated by the rest of the boys. It seems appropriate that Ralph’s defeat should come in the form of a hunt since, from the beginning of the book, the hunters have been most swayed by the experience of savagery and violence because they experienced it most often. Now that Jack and the forces of savagery have been given easy fame on the island, the hunt has completely over-ruled the instinct of civilisation.
