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To begin, Jack’s role in the novel largely parallels that Cain’s in the Bible, suggesting the boys’ constant war with each other in reality personifies a war within themselves. At the beginning of the novel, Ralph, accompanied by Piggy, finds a conch lying on the beach. Intrigued, Ralph blows into it to summon the boys who survived the plane crash on the island to a meeting. Jack marches his choir to join Ralph on the platform, and the boys decide to vote in a chief. They dismiss Piggy because of his thick build, asthma, and glasses. Trying to decide between Ralph and Jack, the boys note “the most obvious leader was Jack. But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and...there …show more content…
Much like the reason the boys chose Ralph as chief, vague reasons and physical characteristics of the offerings decide the victor. In addition, both Jack and Cain begin to resent their opposite, both resulting in a series of events that end with each broken and despairing. Towards the end of the novel, Jack’s pernicious quest for power results in two separate groups of boys; the hunters, made up of the stronger “litt’uns” and older boys lead by Jack, and the fire-keepers, made up of the weak “litt’uns” as well as Samneric, Piggy, and Ralph, illustrating the enmity Jack and Ralph have towards each other.. Now with a majority to back him up, Jack brings his hunters to Castle Rock and instructs the boys to let no one in-especially Ralph- while he goes hunting. On the beach, Ralph’s group discusses how to get Piggy’s glasses, stolen the night before by the hunters, back as they are the only way the boys can make fire. Ralph adjudicates the tribe will go to Castle Rock to demand the glasses back, but Eric fearfully replies, “ ‘He'll be painted’ “, hiding behind a mask of paint that liberates Jack from shame or any unpleasant human emotion
When Ralph blows the conch, Jack is introduced to the reader for the first time. He is represented as an audacious and selfish boy who likes to order others around when he says "I ought to be chief, because I'm chapter chorister and head boy"(Goldberg p.22). It also confirms his hunger for power and wanting control over everything. His choleric and petulant personality can be seen when he says "Shut up, Fatty."(p.23), also revealing that he is rude and inconsiderate of others. Despite his obnoxious personality, his conscious of civilization keeps him from killing the first pig they see. He even recommends that the boys should have rules to keep things in order.
“The duty of the youth is to challenge corruption,” Kurt Cobain once said. The Lord of the Flies tells a fictional story of a group of kids whose plane crashes on an island. Among these boys is Jack, a choirboy who is eager to hunt and create laws. However, in Lord of the Flies, the character Jack shows himself to be an arrogant tyrant because throughout the novel he acts in a way that is cruel, evil, and violent.
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, has four very important dynamic characters. A dynamic character is a character that develops and grows during the course of the story. Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon are four dynamic characters in Lord of the Flies that adapt to their new lifestyles in different ways. Jack is a very important dynamic character in Lord of the Flies because he goes through the most changes during the novel. While on the island, Jack has many life experiences that change him forever. Jack never thought he would live his life the way he is living his life in the island. Jack’s authoritative figure, savage-like/instinctual behavior, and violence are three qualities that make Jack a dynamic character.
The book starts by Ralph and Piggy meeting in the jungle of a stranded island. They wander to the beach wondering if there is any other kids on the beach. When they find a shell , "the conch", they blow into it and make a bellowing sound. At the sound of the "conch", every boy, big and small, comes to the beach. Along with a group of boys is Jack Merridew, the leader of a choir. When the assembly begins, they decide that they want a chief. The kids all believe that the boy with the "conch" should be chief. They also decide that there is no "beastie", which Jack also obsesses about hunting and takes much of his attention. Immidiatly Jack is offended and has something against Ralph, even though he seems to hide his jealosy.
Ralph is one of the few boys who realize that the only way to survive is through peace and order. Because he summons the boys at the beginning of the novel with the conch he and Piggy find, they look upon him as the most responsible of the boys and elect him as a chief over the humiliated Jack. Ralph creates a stable and peaceful society for the children to live; this significantly bothers Jack because he wants to have fun and do things that he never did back in the civilized society. Jack is eventually successful of pulling nearly all of the children out of Ralph’s control to form savages. Ralph represents the civilization, and Jack represents the primitive society.
A plane abruptly crashes into an abandoned island, risking the passengers in the plane. Luckily, the boys in the plane survive this devastating event. These boys, isolated from the supervision of adults, cooperate for rescue. A particular boy, encouraged that he can lead the boys successfully, instructs the others. Unfortunately, this responsible boy disguises himself with a mask, which brings a major transformation. For this boy, Jack, a major character in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, his desire for power is greater than his hope for rescue. By Jack putting on the mask, Golding displays a responsible British boy, who focuses on survival, transform to an irresponsible, aggressive human being who is consumed by violence.
They often obey his destructive orders just to avoid being punished. Jack tells Ralph, after Roger kills Piggy, “ ‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone—’ -He ran forward, stooping- ‘I’m chief!’ ” (Golding 181) Jack threatens Ralph and the boys by reminding them of the consequences of not succumbing to his authority. They are physically and emotionally tormented, forced to participate in Jack’s violent acts. As time goes by, they willingly join in on Jack’s brutal endeavors, such as hunting Ralph down in an attempt to sacrifice him to the beast. He
People can do anything that involves fear including turning on someone and attempting to kill them. William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies in 1952 during the cold war. This affects the novel because children were often killed during war.This novel is important because the novel shows how the boys communicate and survive on the island. Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys on an island without any adults. In order to survive, they will have to work as a team. In the essay, I will talk about how Jack and Ralph comparison, how they have changed, and there purpose in the novel.
Upon the arrival of the boys to the island Jack immediately found himself in the center of a power struggle. Although the conflict was brief, there was still a very obvious confrontation between Jack and Ralph. Once the boys had assembled themselves there was an election to see who was to be chief. Despite the fact that Ralph was voted leader, the desire to be in command never left Jack. Jack already had some leadership skills, being head choirboy at his old school, and he continuously challenged Ralph. The greatest source of conflict between Jack and Ralph was the debate over the necessity of maintaining a fire. Ralph felt that it was necessary to keep it burning at all times while Jack believed that hunting pigs and getting meat was much more essential.
Golding's motives for choosing the island setting for the novel, Lord of the Flies was to have the characters isolated, where the laws of their governments could not reach them. The boys on the island represented a microcosm of world society. Golding chose children because they have not yet been fully conditioned by society to understand right from wrong, and thus are guided by their instinct and what is inherent within them. Golding uses a great deal of symbolism throughout the novel. Different characters provide different symbols. Jack is a symbol of savagery and anarchy. Golding relates the inherent evil with Jack to the evil and cruelty of the larger world, which we all share.
Importance of Leadership Leadership is something that stands out in people. In a group, people tend to look for the strongest person to follow. However, the strongest person may not be the best choice to follow. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph and Jack each have leadership qualities. Jack is probably the stronger of the two; however, Ralph is a better leader.
Jack Merridew is the devil-like figure in the story, Lord of the Flies. Jack is wicked in nature having no feelings for any living creature. His appearance and behavior intimidates the others from their first encounter. The leading savage, Jack leans more towards hunting and killing and is the main reason behind the splitting of the boys. It has been said that Jack represents the evilness of human nature; but in the end, Jack is almost a hero. With his totalitarian leadership, he was able to organize the group of boys into a useful and productive society
From the time that the boys land on the island, both a power struggle and the first signs of the boys' inherent evil, Piggy's mockery, occur. After blowing the conch and summoning all the boys to come for an assembly, an election is held. "I ought to be chief , said Jack with simple arrogance, because I'm chapter chorister and head boy"(Golding 22). After Ralph is elected Chief, Jack envies his position and constantly struggles for power with Ralph throughout the rest of the novel, convincing the rest of the boys to join his tribe rather than to stay with Ralph. Also, soon after the boys arrive at the island, Piggy, a physically weak and vulnerable character, is mocked and jeered at by the other boys. After trying to recount all of the liluns' names, Piggy is told to "Shut up, Fatty," by Jack Merridew. Ralph remarks by saying, "He's not Fatty. His real name's Piggy." All of the boys on the island, except for Piggy, laugh and make themselves more comfortable at Piggy's expense. "A storm of laughter arose and even the tiniest child joined in. For a moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy outside."(Golding 21). The boys instinctively become more comfortable with one another after Piggy's mockery and create a bond, leaving Piggy on the outside.
On the dystopian island of Lord of the Flies, authored by William Golding, one can observe the boy's’ descent into madness. When a group of young children were abandoned on an island without adult supervision, chaos rampaged. This loss civility is most clearly demonstrated by Jack and his effect on others. The text illustrates how quickly he succumbed to the savagery, the way his thirst for power and his dire situation brought him to barbarity, and how the boys followed suit, losing all their humanity.
In the story Lord of the Flies By William Golding, the setting takes place on a deserted island. The island’s climate is hot and humid. It has very dense jungles with full of fruits and plants that they use as a main food source. However, the fruits upset the kid's stomachs throughout the novel. When the boys arrive at the island none of them seem to be hurt in any way so some boys decide to explore the island looking for food, water, and shelter. While exploring they never find any parts of the plane or any luggage. All of the children on the island are separated into 2 groups the biguns and the littluns. All of the littluns stick together but the biguns are separated into hunters and non-hunters. Thomas Hobbes philosophical ideas that people are inherently evil and require a strong central leader are represented in the brutish character Jack Merridew.