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Essay on characters in lord of the flies
Literature review of lord of the flies
Literary analysis lord of the flies
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In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Jack is a very jealous and overpowering character. He is very closed minded and believes that his opinion is the only one that matters. Over time he has became jealous of Ralph because he was chosen for chief and the boys respected him. The jealousy has corrupt Jack and turned him into a very evil person. Jack is jealous of Ralph because Ralph was elected by the boys to be chief. Jack proposed that he wanted to be chief but the boys elected Ralph. ¨I ought to be chief¨ (Golding 22) Jack was mortified when he found out Ralph was chosen. ¨The freckles on Jack's face disappeared under a blush of mortification¨ (Golding 23) When this event started Jack's jealousy had only begun. It progressed as time went on. Jack started disobeying Ralph when he let the fire run out. This was a sign of disrespect to Ralph and showed he was jealous. …show more content…
Jack even started his own tribe and tortured the boys into joining, causing the downfall of the law and order.
He wanted to be chief so bad that he split up the boys and started his own tribe. This tribe stood for everything that Ralph hated. They were hunting for leisure, having feasts and shouting chants. ¨Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill the blood!¨ (Golding 152) This resulted in them killing Simon and they didn't feel any remorse. Jack became savage because he was jealous of Ralph and wanted to do something different. Jack definitely is a natural-born leader. With that being said, leadership skills can be used negatively. He is very self-centered and inconsiderate of others. For example, Jack came and raided the other boys camp, Golding describes ¨From his left hand dangled Piggy's broken glasses¨ (Golding 168) He is also violent and savage. ¨Jack made a rush and stabbed at Ralph´s chest with his spear…… They were chest to chest, breathing fiercely, pushing and glaring.¨ (Golding 177) Most of all, he clearly had the wrong
motives. Jack was the main reason that they lost all law and order on the island. His jealousy resulted in him making his own tribe. He did this because he wanted to be chief and take away all of Jacks followers. The conch is destroyed when Roger kills Piggy. ¨The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.¨ (Golding 181) This resulted in complete destruction of all law and order on the island.
Which is why he had gotten treated the way he did by Jack and the choir. The author writes, “ Jack made a rush and stabbed Ralph’s chest with his spear.” (Golding 177.) Even though Ralph is technically chief, Jack will stop at nothing to become chief. Ralph had been teasing Jack for being a thief, and that had pushed Jack over the edge, causing him to lunge towards Ralph. Jack does not have a high tolerance for Ralph’s actions, and Ralph obviously has a high tolerance for pain. William Golding states, “ ‘The chief and Roger.. They hate you, Ralph. They are going to do you.’ ‘They are going to hunt you tomorrow.’ ‘... Roger sharpened a stick at both ends.’ ” (188) As you, the reader, can probably tell, Jack certainly does not like Ralph. He only likes the faction that obeys and follows him. Those who do not obey Jack, he wants to kill. This island has really gotten to Jack, he is just pure evil now, and poor Ralph and every other character has had to deal with his
“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.
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. ...
In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Jack is the character that experiences the most change. Jack begins the novel as a somewhat arrogant choirboy, who cries when he is not elected leader of the island. Jack is gradually transformed into a vicious killer who has no respect for human life. Through a series of stages, such as leading the choir, leading the hunting tribe, wearing the mask, killing Simon, separating from the group and intentionally killing Piggy, Jack degenerates from a normal, arrogant school boy into a savage beast.
It is obvious from the first time that Ralph and Jack meet that there will be a struggle between them. In chapter one when the two meet, Jack automatically proclaims himself the leader while Ralph has himself in mind for the position, “I ought to be chief,” Jack said with simple ignorance. “The freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification.” This is a quote after a vote has been cast for leader and he lost, it highlights Jack’s humiliation.
Jack was defiant from the start and showed how he was giving into the darkness. Since the boys first arrived on the island, Jack seemed to stray away from the beaten path in the sense that whatever the rest of the group decided Jack wanted to question, oppose, or downright argue with until he was finally given command of his own men. On page 22, Jack says, "I ought to be chief,”[…]” because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.” This shows that Jack is selfish and only wants to be in control, never thinking of the others around him. Jack still has some good in him at this time. Early on, Jack was faced with the temptation of the darkness inside of him, but at this point, he was still trying to fight it. Page 51
When it comes to Jack’s fear of not being chief, it brings out the worst in him and it has an effect on others. For instance, when the boys are deciding on who should be the chief, Ralph wins by a landslide. “Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification” (Golding 19). That is the first physical evidence of Jack being humiliated by Ralph and judging by Jack’s personality, he is not used to failure so it has a big impact on him. This motivates him to destroy Ralph and the rivalry between the two begins. Another point is that Jack uses fear and threats to control the boys. For example, when Robert tells Roger “’He’s going to beat Wilfred.’ ‘What for?’ Robert shook his head doubtfully” (Golding 176) it shows that Jack is violent and is using his...
Hostile demand is not what makes a great leader. Jack doesn't understand priority, and it's seen in chapter four after a ship passes the island and there is no fire to create smoke as a signal. Ralph says, “You let the fire go out.” (Golding 80). Jack's unprioritized guilty mind is noticed here in this quote, “He flushed, conscious of a fault. "The fire's only been out an hour or two. We can light up again--" He noticed Ralph's scarred nakedness, and the sombre silence of all four of them” (Golding 81). This is why it's unreasonable to say that Jack would be a better leader. He is unable to prioritize the needs of their society and of his peers because he doesn't fully understand what it means to be a leader and look at the bigger picture. Jack is the definition of chaos, and with him as a leader, the society would deteriorate quickly without the proper structure that Ralph
I wouldn’t follow Jack as a leader because he was selfish and violent. He would lash out on Piggy and others for the littlest reason. Jack was more focused on hunting and killing more than looking out for the boys and making sure they had a place to keep safe. He also didn’t care about the signal fire which could have saved him from the island, he was more focused on hunting and killing. Jack doesn’t care about other people’s feelings and he was the reason for Simon’s death and didn’t even feel bad for doing so. He only cared that he “killed the beast”, why have leader who cares more about killing than the people he’s leading? I personally have known someone who started out as a good person but once they started getting more popular and when they started to get a high position, they started letting the power get to their head and became really mean. They also started to become a straight bully and bully anybody who wasn’t as “good” as them. Just like Jack, letting the power get to his
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
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.
... Ralph has proven to have a much better understanding of people and their needs and this makes him a much better leader than Jack. With Ralph's understanding of the need for order and rules, he improves the condition where the boys are living in. Jack's condition was horrible. Also, Jack treated the boys very badly and like he better. Ralph, on the other hand treated the boys all equally and with respect. Ralph's priority to get off the island shows his wisdom and ability to make good decisions. Although Jack was popular on the island for the short amount of time the boys were there, he would not have been popular for much longer. He does not have any of the qualities that a good leader should have and turned himself and the rest of the boys into complete losers. Jack's plan would have soon faded but if Ralph had become leader, his wisdom would last much longer.
Ralph and Jack are both powerful and meaningful characters in William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies. Ralph is an excellent leader; responsible, and stands for all that is good. Jack is a destructive hunter, selfish, and represents evil. These two main characters can be compared by the actions they take as leaders, their personalities, and what they symbolize in the story.
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.
At the beginning of the book, Jack minded his manners, did what he was told, and even was friends with Jack."I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "Because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp." He was still arrogant, which is important because it takes over him and turns him into what he is at the end of the book. The suffusion drained away from Jack's face. Ralph waved again for silence.