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Literary analysis on lord of the flies
Literary analysis on lord of the flies
Literary analysis on lord of the flies
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Jack’s Pack: A Dictatorship
Absolute power, every fine dictator has it, all hopefuls aspire for it. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Jack, the leader of the hunters, rapidly becomes a power-hungry, barbaric, and manipulative dictator. Different from Ralph, the mature leader of the group, Jack has an inclination to abuse his power and position. For a boy no older than 12 he leads the rebellion and evil of the boys’ mob without an inkling of remorse. Golding depicts him in this way because he symbolizes a dictator in Lord of the Flies.
Dictators love power, Jack is no exception. He is given power right from the start, he is “in charge of the choir” (Golding 23). Although Ralph shares his power for the benefit of the group, Jack is eager to utilize his power for what he wishes, which eventually splits up the group. “We don’t want you … three’s enough”, Jack has only had his new position for a small amount of time, yet he is already eager to assert himself over the others, whether or not it is a reasonable command (24). He does not just exploit his authority to control people, he sees that the boys “were shaken” by the “effects of his words”, this power is fear (161). Fear is a powerful tool for leaders to use. Jack acknowledges the power of fear he has over the boys, and he uses it to
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his advantage to gain more attention and more control over the boys. Jack is greedy for power, in the same manner as a dictator, he governs with power for the sake of power. We all desire power for different reasons, Jack uses power solely for his own benefit. When Jack finally becomes a “chief” he will not wield it to help the boys stay alive or tries to become rescued, he sits on his throne and uses his power to say “Give me a drink” (Golding 150). Instead of helping everyone with his power, similar to a principled leader, he behaves how he yearns to, without care of what the people he rules need, similar to a dictator. He will also manipulate rules with his power to benefit him. He does not have the conch, however he wishes to to speak, now, therefore “The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain” (42). Rules give Jack dominance over the boys, it is the only reason Jack was interested in them in the first place.
Even though Jack says “We’ve got to have rules and obey them”, his ideas of rules differ from the majority of people’s (Golding 42). He demands rules, seeing that they will give him power over the boys. Jack’s ideal government is the opposite of a democracy, autocracy, in a democracy the citizens have power in what happens in their country. Jack thinks that people being able to choose what occurs in their country will not “make any difference” (91). Taking away the people’s from the people causes the leadership to be autocratic, which establishes Jack as a
dictator. Not only is he interested in dominating humans, he thrives off of dominating nature. It started with killing pigs for food, it soon escalates to a thrill chase. The terrified screams of the exhausted sow stricken with heat gives Jack strength to sit on top of the sow while “stabbing downward with his knife” until the pig was far from life, barely a pig anymore (Golding 135). Hunting is not merely an act of survival for Jack anymore, but an act of power. Soon he does not just dominate the animals, he starts to become one, his “dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling” (64). He enjoys killing animals, he feels powerful knowing he has “taken away its life like a long satisfying drink” (70). Jack has complete control over these defenseless animals, because of his ability to kill them, when he exercises his “authority” over them he is their dictator.
The influence of power, or “power hungry”, has had a huge effect on many people who feel that they must be in charge. These people often have trouble being told no or being told that they can’t be in charge. People throughout history have done it in many ways. Our own government displays this when we elect a new president every four years. These candidates often tell the public what they want to hear and how they’ll make it a better place, when, in reality, they only mean half of it and they just want to be able to have the power of the president. In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the antagonist, Jack, shows throughout the book that he craves power and feels that he deserves it more than anybody else.
The Lord of the Flies is one big allegory, the way the boys are formed on the island is similar to different governments our world has had before, and currently have. The type of government that the island has, changed throughout the book. In the beginning the government is a democracy, but towards the end it changes to a dictatorship. This dictatorship is run by Jack who gathers followers when he promises pig meat, and fun. This idea is shown throughout the book, in many places, through objects, and actions.
The Lord of the Flies is a gruesome story about young boys stranded on an island, who underwent a transformation from polite British choir boys to savage hooligans. One of the main difficulties the boys face during their adventures upon the island, is their method of government, they either follow the path of Ralph, the democratic leader whose main focus is to escape the despairing island; or Jack a power-hungry monarchical leader who won't ever take no for an answer. The two boys are constantly bickering and arguing over who deserves the leader-position. We all understand Ralph wants to be leader so that he can ensure that the boys will return back home, but in Jack's case, it is a constant mystery to us about why he wants power over the other children. But we do get much small hints from the author, William Golding, that Jack's biggest fear among the other children on the island is public humiliation. This becomes more and more evident the farther on into the book, and his fear seems to be what persuades him to reach for a powerful position.
After being marooned on an unknown, uninhabited island and desperate to survive, the characters in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies are pushed to the limits of their humanity, and no one is safe from the atrocities from within, not even the seemingly innocent littluns. In an environment where civilization does not exist, the boys of the story attempt to form a society among themselves. Among the group of boys is a young boy who stands out from the rest. Jack Merridew, the leader of the choir boys, strives to take the role of leader of the boys, and he appears to be completely competent. In the beginning, Jack seems to be innocent and civilized. Jack is the cultured leader of the boys’ choir. Although the reader’s first impression of Jack Merridew may be one of an innocent leader eager to be rescued, his true, truculent nature manifests with the development of the novel, and the reader is gripped by Jack’s true schismatic, belligerent, and iconoclastic nature.
Jack’s authoritative figure in the beginning of Lord of the Flies is one quality that shows how he is a dynamic character. To begin with, Jack shows he is authoritative by sabotaging Ralph’s integrity and rules. For instance, on pages one-hundred and one and one-hundred and two, Jack says, “We don’t need the conch anymore. We know who ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking, or Bill, or Walter? It’s time some people knew they’ve got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us.” Jack is trying to get rid of the idea that the conch, or freedom of speech, is needed. This is another step away from civilized behavior because a newly established order of power replaces the conch. Another way Jack shows he is authoritative is by wanting to be a leader. First, Jack forms his own group that he calls the hunters. Then, Jack intimidates the other boys to join his group by talking about the beast. Jack tells the little ‘uns that are scared that they will forget about the beast. ...
Jack, William Golding’s antagonist in Lord of the Flies, reveals through his experience on the island that it is an individual’s assertiveness, manipulative abilities, and charisma which dictate who commandeers power and privilege over others, and that possessing these traits often negatively impacts the lives of the people leaders seek to control.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel that represents a microcosm of society in a tale about children stranded on an island. Of the group of young boys there are two who want to lead for the duration of their stay, Jack and Ralph. Through the opposing characters of Jack and Ralph, Golding reveals the gradual process from democracy to dictatorship from Ralph's democratic election to his lack of law enforcement to Jack's strict rule and his violent law enforcement.
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change of character is significant as he leads the other boys into savagery, representing Golding’s views of there being a bad and unforgiving nature to every human.
Without government, society degenerates and people lose their capacity for moral behaviour. Survivors in Haiti say that if other countries had not provided aid and restored order, there would be much more violence and everyone would only serve themselves. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author uses the events on the island to demonstrate that people require government to restrain their impulses. The creation of a democratic government with Ralph as chief allows the inhabitants of the island to make decisions together and take everyone’s viewpoint into consideration. Soon, however, the democracy begins to be disregarded. When Jack creates a dictatorship, he fails to restrain the impulsive behaviour of the boys, which demonstrates the superiority of Ralph’s government.
In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding describes Jack as someone who promotes unity, someone who is skilled at manipulating people, and someone who idolizes violent actions. Jack has a lot in common with the World War II German dictator, Adolf Hitler, who had also demonstrated desires for unity, the manipulation of others and increased violence. All these similarities between them led to them destroying their society.
Throughout William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies there is an ever-present conflict between two characters. Ralph's character combines common sense with a strong desire for civilized life. Jack, however, is an antagonist with savage instincts, which he cannot control. Ralph's goals to achieve a team unit with organization are destroyed by Jack's actions and words that are openly displayed to the boys. The two leaders try to convince the boys that their way of survival is correct.
But when they reject this responsibility and only care about the power that comes with the position they will do anything to keep this power. As seen in the lord of the flies when Jack creates the lord of the flies after becoming leader. As such, Jack cultivates the fear inside the boys that are part of his tribe. This makes the boys easier to command and he is able to accomplish his desires more easily. As the novel continues, Jack continues to torment the boys with punishment. Punishment in itself is not wrong but when there is no reason behind it is degraded in to torture.As we can see in the novel Jack punishes the boys without a reason. The tribe then becomes afraid of betraying Jack because they know they will get punished so in turn they listen to everything Jack says. This allows him to use his tribe as an army that will listen to all of his
The fact that Jack acts like this is very important to the story. Jack’s lust for power and blood sped the story up a lot faster. It’s possible that without Jack the boys wouldn’t even become savage. Jack is also a bully, and forces the boys out of fear into what he wants them to do. In, “The Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding, Jack is pretty much equivalent to a middle school bully, but the circumstances he is in, turns him into something even worse.
“Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.” (Plato) No democracy can be successful; they will always transmute to autocracy. It may seem as though a society where everyone is treated equally and has the same amount of power to influence others would be ideal, however this type of government is not effective. A legitimately effective leader can never allow decisions to fall into the hands of others, and must retain power over others at all costs. In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, Jack Merridew is an evident example of a leader that is truly effective, as he possesses a variety of aspects that can be
Jack usurps power, as he slowly ascends himself, as the tyrannical dictator over the group