Randall or William?

Use this forum to discuss the April 2019 Book of the month, "Adrift" by Charlie Sheldon
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Kibet Hillary
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Re: Randall or William?

Post by Kibet Hillary »

Charlyt wrote: 02 Apr 2019, 00:41 On the second lifeboat, Randall was the one in charge of the crew because he was the ranking officer as first mate. William, on the other hand, was more experienced and familiar with hiking in the woods in the cold.
Should William have somehow taken over being the leader once they reached the island, which was also his hometown, or was Randall still doing a good job keeping his crew together to survive?
I am of the opinion that Randall should have definitely depended more on William for advice even if he was not going to hand over leadership to William. Randall did not do a good job keeping the crew together. I sense they were able to survive because of their determination to do so and not because of Randall's leadership.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Charlyt wrote: 02 Apr 2019, 00:41 On the second lifeboat, Randall was the one in charge of the crew because he was the ranking officer as first mate. William, on the other hand, was more experienced and familiar with hiking in the woods in the cold.
Should William have somehow taken over being the leader once they reached the island, which was also his hometown, or was Randall still doing a good job keeping his crew together to survive?
I'm still going to go with Williams, calm and calculating in the face of certain doom.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Stephanie Elizabeth wrote: 10 Apr 2019, 18:55 While I understand why Randall was the one in charge, I think it would have made more sense if William was calling the shots as he had more experience on the water.
In support of this. I guess in our current age, leaders are always encouraged to delegate some duties. I believe that Randall felt insecure or he felt something bad would happen and he would be blamed since he was the leader.
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Post by Stephanie Elizabeth »

Kibetious wrote: 27 Apr 2019, 09:16
Stephanie Elizabeth wrote: 10 Apr 2019, 18:55 While I understand why Randall was the one in charge, I think it would have made more sense if William was calling the shots as he had more experience on the water.
In support of this. I guess in our current age, leaders are always encouraged to delegate some duties. I believe that Randall felt insecure or he felt something bad would happen and he would be blamed since he was the leader.
I had never thought of that. Good point! It makes sense that he would choose a smaller role if he didn't believe in himself 100%.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Nellbathory wrote: 04 Apr 2019, 08:47 I do agree that maybe William would have been better for the leader but I don't think he wanted to be. He didn't seem like the person that either wanted or would appreciate the attention and it felt like he didn't want to have to deal with the responsibilities it brought. He didn't even want to be the one walking for help in the woods afterall.
It seems William was not greedy for power for sure. There have been numerous instances similar to this where the rest of the crew would have been coerced by William to make him their leader. I guess William's character was good to an extent of letting others lead even where he was more experienced.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Charlyt wrote: 02 Apr 2019, 00:41 On the second lifeboat, Randall was the one in charge of the crew because he was the ranking officer as first mate. William, on the other hand, was more experienced and familiar with hiking in the woods in the cold.
Should William have somehow taken over being the leader once they reached the island, which was also his hometown, or was Randall still doing a good job keeping his crew together to survive?
William was a better leader during the crisis.
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Post by Radiant3 »

I think Randall was the one doing all the talking but William was the person who kept them mentally strong. William was the real leader.
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Post by KDJ »

Randall continued as leader to keep the command hierarchy in place. Until they were officially rescued, I think the members of the crew kept with their assigned positions, I guess. Although Randall asked many questions of William, I do not think a change of command would have helped the situation. (Even if William was slightly more qualified.) I think the crew felt better keeping it the way it was onboard the ship, that in turn kept up morale. I believe both William and Randall thought this also. That's what I think. :D :D :D
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Post by Niski »

I think, even though Randall was the leader, William was doing the leading anyway. I think he was the one with the leadership skills and people looked up to him more than Randall.
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Post by Manogna Thumukunta »

William always seemed like a guy who would take charge when needed and be there and be in his senses.
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Post by Noosh »

Randall wasn't really a likable character. I mean, as the first, what did he really do? Of course, other than reading the bible and screaming silly things?
In situations like this people need a leader like Williams; experienced, calm, and trustworthy.
Not someone like Randall who was anything but those things.
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Post by Sarah Schmidt »

I think William took the unofficial role as leader as soon as they embarked on the island. Randall still retained his position, but I believe everyone acknowledged that William would have been more suited to directing them from that point on.
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Post by markodim721 »

In a state of emergency, a formal position means little. It would be more reasonable for William to take the lead.
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Post by CozyBookCorner »

I thought they did a good job of sharing the responsibility of being in charge. Randall may have been the one barking orders to get some more wood, but he still relied heavily on William's experience and opinions.
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Post by Michelle Menezes »

Despite being the 1st mate and his constant yelling, I think Randall and the others automatically looked to William for leadership without having said it outright. And being the way he is, I doubt Randall would ever acknowledge that, but somewhere they all knew that it was because of William that they lasted for so long.
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