What qualities does a person in authority possess that allows a group of civilized boys to descend into barbaric anarchy in a matter of weeks? In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a planeload of evacuating British schoolchildren crashed on an island, the oldest being only twelve years old. A boy, Ralph, is elected leader and allows the group to stray further and further into the darkness that lies within all. Because Ralph acted immaturely, froze during crucial moments and didn't use his best assets. For example, Ralph took the liberty to say whatever he wanted, regardless of others' feelings or his maturity. In particular, he did not heed Piggy's request not to reveal his old nickname to anyone. Called Piggy at school as a form of bullying, he asked Ralph not to tell anyone. When Jack called Piggy Fatty, Ralph quickly blurted out, "He's not fat...his real name is Piggy!" (21). This caused Piggy to call that from then on, exactly what he didn't want. Although Piggy specifically asked Ralph not to tell and why, Ralph did it anyway, distracted by Piggy's feelings. This tolerated disrespect towards Piggy and towards the other boys, because as a leader, Ralph set an example. Then Ralph also yelled at a “little one” who was crying in frustration at an assembly. The group was worried about a “beast” “little mons” said they had seen. At the meeting, a group of them encouraged Percival to tell Ralph and the others about what they had experienced with the beast, but when asked its name, he began rambling and burst into sobs. At this outburst, Ralph shouted: “Shut up, you! Shut up!" (87). Instead of comforting any member of this group, or calming people down, he ignored Percival's anxiety and immaturely yelled at him, ...... middle of paper ......acceptable. Ralph treated Piggy like an inferior being, instead of using his creativity to improve the group's lives. This ultimately hurt everyone, because without Piggy making connections with civilization. , they lost contact and found themselves in the state of savagery that they experienced. In short, Ralph's qualities of immaturity, his stress induced paralysis and his ignorance of his greatest asset a group. of boys is a victim of inner demons. His lack of respect for his group set an example for the boys to follow suit as well. His inability to act quickly took its toll on the mentality of his group. taking Piggy's ideas into account destroyed the possible forms of civilization that the boys could have clung to instead of descending into savagery. Ralph allowed the boys to get dirty with evil. Work Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. Print.