Lord Of The Flies Jack Characteristics

English-2
Slave
1093
King of the Jungle
In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of English boys is trapped on an island during World War II. With no adults, they are totally isolated from the outside world. Jack, one of the boys on the island, is the leader of the choir. Living on such an island without the restrictions of the civilized world, he gradually changes from a boy who cannot even kill a pig to a leader who is an apostle of power and force. Jack’s autocratic style of leadership reveals the natural inclination of human beings to turn evil and violent.
At first, he is an innocent boy, just like all others; however, he does not seem like a kind one. In the description of his dress and appearance, Jack is “tall, thin,

The boys accept their fate and just spend all day playing around and seeking fruits. Meanwhile, Jack leads the choir like an army, devoting himself to hunting and finding a way to hunt pigs successfully. When Jack rubs his face with charcoal to camouflage himself, he sees the change in himself with surprise: “he looked in astonishment, no longer at himself, but an awesome stranger”(53). He feels “liberated from shame and self-consciousness”(53), and he develops a new identity. Under the mask, he is able to show his true human nature, and he abandons the taboos of the old life. His attempts to become a successful hunter are, in effect, attempts to succumb entirely to his animalistic nature. While he “dances and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling”(53), he starts to lose himself, gradually getting rid of the restrictions of the civilized

With his desire for power rapidly expanding, he starts to challenge Ralph's authority and forms another group of which he is going to be the leader. Because Jack leads the choir who are watching the fire in order to hunt pigs, Ralph and Jack argue. Ralph shouts, “The Rules! You’re breaking the rules!”(79), but Jack replies, “Who cares?”(79). He is able to challenge Ralph’s authority because he can hunt and get the food that the boys crave. Moreover, as Ralph claims that “the rules are the only thing we’ve left”(79), trying to keep order and justice, Jack shouts “We’re strong - we hunt! If there’s a beast we’ll hunt it down”(79). Jack knows how to control the boys and take advantage of their fear of the monster. He gives boys the food they need, and under his control, the boys will not be attacked by the monster. Under such a temptation, most of the boys are fascinated by the “fun life” Jack