Give one reason why Jack thinks Ralph should step down as leader
Answers
eNotes Home
Homework Help
Study Guides
Texts
Teachers ▻
Sign In
Join
rowseNotessearch
Search for any book or any question
Lord of the Flies Questions and Answers
by William Golding
Lord of the Flies book cover
MENU
Why is Ralph considering giving up leadership of the group?
print Print document PDF list Cite
Expert Answers info
REBECCA HOPE eNotes educator | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
In Chapter 5, the fragile order that the boys have established on the island begins to erode. Ralph is furious that the hunters have let the fire on top of the mountain go out, causing a passing ship to have missed seeing them. He has called a meeting, even though it is getting late in the day. On the way to the meeting, he realizes the "wearisomeness of this life," that one has to be constantly vigilant to stay on the right course. As leader, he is the only one who seems to feel the burden of keeping the boys on the course of civilization. He realizes that his thinking is not always clear or focused. Comparing himself to Piggy, he realizes that Piggy has a stronger intellect, but that "Piggy was no chief." So Ralph understands his inadequacies and the burden of leadership.
When the meeting deteriorates to the point where the boys are insulting each other, dancing in the darkness, and scaring the littluns, Ralph realizes his ability to hold the group together is tenuous at best. He fears to blow the conch because, if the boys don't respond, he says, "We'll be like animals. We'll never be rescued." He postulates to Piggy that the rules of society may not function "here on this island." With all this weighing on him, he says to Piggy, "I ought to give up being chief." Piggy and Simon persuade him that he is the only thing that stands between them and Jack's hatred taking a violent turn, which, of course, foreshadows later events.
please mark me as BRAINLIAST if it helped u