Favorites vs. Well-being

In today's society, people are privileged to live in an advanced stage of development `known as civilization. In an organized civilization, leaders are chosen in order to install stability within a society. In most cases though, the best leader isn’t always the one chosen. When picking leaders people don’t always weigh all of the factors they should , they usually just consider who is the most popular. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the novel demonstrates how people feel towards leadership, usually basing their decision on popularity rather than what's best for them.

In the novel, the boys had to chose who the group leader or “chief” would be. It came down to a running between Ralph and Jack. Ralph was not the best option to become leader, but he displayed usefully human qualities when working towards the betterment of the boys society, and demonstrated a better understanding of people than Jack. This earned him popularity with the rest of the boys. In one passage in the novel the boys and the choir were about to vote for chief between Ralph and Jack. the boys looked up to Ralph and gave him a respect that they didn't give Jack, even though Jack was the stronger and better option between the two. The passage reads, “but there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.” The kids go on to vote for Ralph, not because he is the better leader, but because he is someone very popular amongst them and someone they look up to. He has done this through his understanding of the boys ways. This entire example shows that people choose candidates and leaders based off of popularity. Neither Jack nor Ralph were the best options out of everyone, Piggy was arguably the best option to become chief and lead the boys. Piggy was a practical option and had ideas that would make the group of boys thrive. But again Piggy wasn't even considered because of his general appearance and the way he carried himself

Recently it was in the media that Kanye West announced that he would be running for president in the year 2020 during the 2015 VMA’s, some looked at it as a joke or a popularity stunt until he got serious about his running and then everybody realized that it was a serious claim. Some professionals have even conversed about this as a possibility and several have been baffled by the fact that there is even a chance that he might be elected. In all actuality Kanye only has a chance to become a delegate because of his popularity throughout the world and his vast appearances in the media. This is a problem because clearly Kanye West would not be the best option for the wellbeing of the country, but again Kanye has so much popularity and enough fans that would be willing to vote for him. this makes him not only a serious option but also a serious threat to anyone else running.

Returning to Lord of the Flies, there are several cases after a leader is picked where one or more of the boys has an idea or statement, and it is overlooked because they are looked at as insignificant or as if their ideas are meaningless. A prime example of this is in chapter two of Lord of the Flies, Piggy makes several points and comments on the boys work ethic and their proficiency at getting tasks done. His points would prove to be very valuable if they had been listened to but again all of Piggy’s comments and/or ideas were all deemed unimportant or overlooked. This again proves the point that they boys on this island and almost all of society only pay attention to what they find important no matter how helpful other things could be. This reference also proves that the boys small society already has segregation and discrimination not necessarily to races but it could be compared to social classes. If an idea or statement is presented to a society but its origins are unknown or coming from an unimportant area then that suggestion is most likely to go unrecognized no matter how much it could benefit the society.

This specific theme although it is broad is still very prominent throughout most societies now. There are several examples of this all through the media nowadays, but the most recent and still ongoing example is the current presidential election involving Donald Trump. Donald Trump is currently leading the republican party for delegate votes. One of the reasons he is leading is because he became a household name during the airing of his multiple television shows. He is also known across America for his extensive amount of wealth and knowledge revolving the business world. That is mostly what people know about him fully. Most of his supporters do not know about his full economic preference and how he will treat americas funds, or how he has publicly kept changing his opinions on multiple different subjects mostly just appealing to the current audience he is speaking to such as his thoughts on gun control, abortion, and immigration. Donald Trump also does not have any prior political experience except for him previously running for president. Clearly Trump is not the best option to become president for the wellbeing of the country and to try to improve it as a whole. But again trump is in the lead of his party mostly because he is the most widely known, and he has kept himself in the press for an extensive amount of time, not because he is the proper candidate to become president, and if society doesn't realize that trump will lead this country the wrong way because he does not have the experience or credentials to do so, and he is certainly not qualified then this society is practically sealing its own fate.

The people Chosen to lead are the people that form a society. The people that lead are the ones who the rest of the society is forced to follow. So whether it be a group leader or a presidential candidate all options should be considered, and decisions need to be made based off of well being not based off of favorites and predetermined judgements.


Works cited


  • Abramowitz, Alan I., Ronald Rapoport, and Walter Stone. "Why Donald Trump Is Winning and Why His Nomination Could Shatter the Republican Party." Larry J Sabatos Crystal Ball RSS. March 10, 2016. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/why-donald-trump-is-winning-and-why-his-nomination-could-shatter-the-republican-party/.

  • Bankoff, Caroline. "Could Trump Actually Win a Third-Party Nomination?" Daily Intelligencer. April 10, 2016. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/could-trump-win-a-third-party-nomination.html.

  • Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin Group, 2003.

  • Collinson, Stephen. "Donald Trump Has Almost Won the Nomination. Now He Has to Win the GOP." CNN. March 03, 2016. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/02/politics/donald-trump-republican-establishment-fight/.

  • Mellen, Ruby. "Kanye West Will ‘Definitely’ Run For President, Thinks Ben Carson Is ‘Brilliant’." Huffington Post. September 24, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kanye-west-2020-carson_us_56043542e4b0fde8b0d1a0f7.

  • Lyles, Travis. "Kanye West Says He Definitely Plans on Running for President in 2020." Business Insider. September 24, 2015. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-is-definitely-running-for-president-in-2020-2015-9.

  • Dinan, Stephen. "Trump Quickly Recants New Stance on Immigrant Guest-workersStephen." Washington times. March 04, 2016. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/4/donald-trump-quickly-recants-new-stance-immigrant-/.

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