The Descent into Darkness

The desire for power can often lead to one going outside the accepted boundaries of society in order to reach his or her goals. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, readers are exposed to a group of young boys who all express varying characteristics as a result of being removed from society. The story begins when the boys crash land on an island in the Pacific Ocean and are left to fend for themselves without the assistance of adults. A boy named Ralph calls the boys to a meeting and the oldest of the boys, Jack, challenges him for the position of leader. As the story progresses, Ralph and Jack’s conflicting morals split the boys into two groups that fight for dominance on the island. Ralph attempts to maintain structure in his group but Jack and his followers become savages. Jack’s desire for power feeds his savagery and by the end of the novel he has become the “beast” the boys fear. Jack first appears in the story when Ralph calls for a meeting with all of the boys. Golding’s depiction of Jack makes him seem sinister because of his black cloak and “face that was ugly without silliness” (20). From the start Jack has an air of hostility around him and this foreshadows his descent into darkness. At this point Jack is irascible in his search for control. The decision to make Ralph the leader of the boys angers Jack but he respects the decision. In addition to Jack’s appearance, his actions towards the boys in the choir shows his ability to command others. “‘Choir! Stand still!’” (20). Jack commands the choir as if he’s their drill sergeant and works them to the point that one of them, Simon, faints. From this Golding shows that Jack is more concerned about the well being of himself than the health of others and that he’s ...

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...tands that without the fruit from the jungle the boys will starve. Jack sets the jungle on fire without any thought of what the consequences may be, his only intent is to rid the island of Ralph. This final act of savagery shows that Jack has all morals he once had and has now embraced the darkness. Although Jack was once just a contentious boy, now he has become a bloodthirsty savage who acts on impulse alone and not reason. His transformation depicts what would happen to even innocent children if they were left to survive with their savage nature that society only masks. The fight for power between Jack and Ralph represents this struggle between inherent human nature and the attempt to cover it up with structure and stability. Golding used Jack to show that as civilized as the human race may seem, it’s savage nature will run rampant when left to it’s own devices.