Jack's Responsibility In Lord Of The Flies

Dr.Phil once said, “When you choose your behaviour, you choose your consequences.” Responsibility is a crucial quality in leaders, especially during a crisis such as the one shown in Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding. Not only do they have to provide adequate survival tools, as well as ensure the well-being of each victim, but they must also accept the blame for whatever happens on the island while on their watch. Due to the mass destruction caused on the island, someone must be held accountable, that person being none other than the story’s main antagonist, Jack Merridew. His cruel personality, mixed with his rebellious tendencies and impulsiveness, make him ultimately responsible for the damage caused.

To begin, Jack Merridew

is of cruel nature because he is selfish and manipulative. Firstly, he is selfish because he only cares for his needs, desires and well-being without putting much interest in the harm he causes others, unless it backfires on him. This is shown when the author writes, “He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach.” (Golding 77). This proves that he has pent up aggression and is unafraid of acting upon it if it means he is finally satisfied. He soon apologized to Piggy out of obligation (by Ralph, rather than regret) and the fact that not apologizing would have made him lose his support from the other boys. He did it to benefit himself. Next, he is manipulative because he uses the boys’ fear of the beast to lure them away from Ralph’s tribe and create his own with violent morals. This is shown when Robert says, “He’s going to beat Wilfred.” (Golding 176). This proves that with the boys obeying his commands in return for protection, he is able to treat them whatever way he deems fit, even if they are loyal and obeying of him. He is making them think there really is a beast to continue holding onto his power. In conclusion, Jack only cares for himself and is willing to use deception, fear and torture to get his way.

To continue, Jack has rebellious tendencies because his ego was bruised when Ralph was chosen as leader.

Jack, being used to having things go his way, became envious of Ralph. First, he deemed Ralph unfit as Chief because he had no prior experience as a leader nor was he the oldest, unlike Jack who was Head Boy of the choir. This is shown when Jack says, “ ‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance, ‘because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.’” (Golding 23). This proves that he felt that he was deserving of the position, instead of Ralph. This implies that he felt as though Ralph was already inferior to him and by Ralph being chosen over him, that he was suddenly less competent than a boy with fair looks. Next, Jack has wanted to, on several occasions, to ignore Ralph’s orders and prove to everyone else that he knows better. This is shown when Jack calls out Ralph publicly saying, “He’s a coward himself.” (Golding 139). This proves that he finds Ralph to be incapable of leading a tribe and chooses to hunt (instead of maintaining the fire) to showcase his authority. In conclusion, he chose to follow himself and walk away from the group, offering the other boys the option of amusement, rather than admitting his own

faults.

Lastly, Jack is an impulsive decision maker because he lets emotions get in the way of his thinking and his spontaneous actions changed the outcome of the novel. Firstly, he takes out his anger in unhealthy and abusive ways because he feels he should. This is shown when Robert says, “He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up.” (Golding 176). This proves that he acts before he thinks and it is negatively affecting his tribe. Continuing with theme of acting before thinking, he frequently makes decisions based on how he feels in that moment. This is shown when he says, “I’m not going to be part of Ralph’s lot-” (Golding 140). He got angry(as a result of humiliation) and ditched the tribe. This proves that when he gets angry, he makes disastrous choices. This impulsive decision changed the ending of the story, not to mention the events that were to come. In conclusion, were it not for his lack of self-regulation, the story would have had less disastrous consequences.

To sum it up, his vicious personality, his defiant attitude towards Ralph and his lack of rational thought caused the unfortunate turning points in the novel. Jack Merridew began as Ralph’s petty rival, but evolved into a symbol that represents evil itself. His insubordinate actions only made it increasingly harder for order to flow and that took away from everyone’s benefit. Lastly, his emotional outbursts were the cause of the abuse of his followers, Simon and Piggy’s deaths and the huge forest fire, that caused literal destruction. This is all evidence that Jack was ultimately responsible for the damage in question.