The novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, centers on a group of English school kids who become stranded on an island due to a plane crash. They soon discover each other's existence when one of the older boys, Ralph, blows a conch shell and holds the first of many meetings. Along with Ralph, there are a group of choir boys, a group of younger boys who they start calling "little ones", and a smart, civilized boy named Piggy. The boys decide to vote Ralph as "boss". But there's a problem. The choir boys already have a leader, Jack. Jack feels that he is more qualified than Ralph and that he should be the leader of the boys. The boys stand by their decision, as Ralph was the one who brought them together. As the reader continues reading the novel, they can see that Golding uses the two main characters, Ralph and Jack, to contrast different leadership qualities. The qualities of a good leader are universally accepted. The leader must have control over his followers. It must demand respect. The leader must also be able to persuade his followers to follow him without departing from his beliefs. A good leader must also know how to be strong, more mentally than physically. He needs to be able to stand his ground and firmly believe in what he believes is right. A good leader must also believe in himself. If a leader doesn't believe in himself, who will? A leader must set his own rules and demand that he and his followers follow them, and if they do not, they will be punished. A leader must be assertive and does not need to back down from anything. The two main characters in this novel express some of these characteristics, one character more than the other. The first leader that Golding shows the reader is Ralph. He is presented to the reader as a handsome young man who is not afraid of anything and loves to have fun. Since he's the one blowing the conch, the kids automatically designate him as "boss." Ralph starts out as a great leader who knows what needs to be done to survive, knows how to assign certain people certain jobs, and knows that they need to be saved as quickly as possible..