What Does Jack Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies symbolism essay
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` There is a profound urge within us all, of which we are largely unaware. The evil impulse is located deep within our roots. Luckily, society works to keep the hate and violence in check. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the author employs symbols such as Jack, the conch, and Roger to show that all humans are inherently evil.
Jack, one of the main characters, while humane and tolerable at first, soon morphs into a blood-craving beast. When first landing on the island, Jack acts quite rude, but nothing like a savage animal. Promptly after failing to be elected as chief, he soon becomes obsessed with hunting and killing a pig. After being unable to catch a pig, Jack makes the excuse “I was choosing a place” … “I was just waiting for a

moment to decide where to stab him” (31).

At this point in the novel, Jack still maintains most his humanity as he is too frightened to kill the pig. As his previous society condemned violence, Jack clings to its norms like a baby. With humanity still inside him, Jack is deeply haunted by the idea of massacring the swine for food. Yet, his mercy doesn’t last very long. Later, he tries to explain why he was out hunting so late: “‘I went on. I thought, by myself—’The madness [comes] into his eyes again. ‘I thought I might kill.’”(51). As Jack is getting closer and closer to killing a pig, he is slowly getting closer to losing all his humanity. Soon, all he can think about is being able to kill that pig; not for meat, but for the joy of the slaughter. Later in the chapter, Jack makes himself a mask to camouflage himself when hunting. However, it is clear that the only thing Jack is trying to camouflage is his true self: “He [begins] to dance and his laughter [becomes] a bloodthirsty snarling. He [capers] toward Bill, and the mask [is] a thing of its own, behind which Jack [hides], liberated from shame

and self-consciousness.” (64). Jack is nearly animalistic in this quote as he now uses a mask to exhibit his true, evil identity. With the mask, Jack no longer has to hide his inner wicked self, as he can hide behind the mask like the coward that he is. Jack is finally unleashing the evil that has been watching, waiting, and desperate to escape since the very beginning.
In the beginning, the conch is employed to instill order; yet its power soon fades as the hatred within all humans begins to expand. When the conch is first discovered, the boys who found it couldn’t help but marvel at its beauty and, more importantly, its aura of order that it implants within their society. The conch is the knot that ties their society together. Without it, order will cease to exist and chaos will reign. Despite being physically dominant, the real determining factor between Jack and Ralph “[is] the conch. The being that [has] blown, [has] sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart. ‘Him with the shell.’” Cries the Littluns “Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing!” (22). The conch is the only thing that sets him apart from the other boys. Without it, he is just another boy who wants a taste of power. Later, Ralph tries to stop Jack interrupting by saying “Piggy’s got the conch.” Yet Jack, irritated, responds with “That’s right-- favor Piggy as you always do-”… “‘The rules!’ shout[s] Ralph ‘You’re breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?’” (91) Utters Jack as in that exact moment the conch is absorbed of some of its power. Jack (not surprisingly) is the first boy to defy the authority of the conch. The conch no longer has any power over Jack. Even though all the other boys still believe in the conch, all it takes is one boy to disobey its power to completely destroy the order on the island. It’s as if in that exact moment, part of the conch’s power had been shattered and lost forever. By the end of the book, the conch has little to no power at all. As Roger launches the rock into the air, “the rock [strikes] Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch [explodes] into a thousand tiny white fragments, and [ceases] to exist.” (181). The conch’s power, once and for all, is gone. The hatred within human-kind finally has vanquished the authority on the island. As the hatred grows and grows, the power of the conch fades and fades until its existence is only a memory. Without it, all order and justice will be simply discarded.
Roger, who was driven by society’s rules when first landing on the island, quickly adapts to using evil and violence to accomplish his objectives. Although he was always a little mean, even when landing on the island, Roger always manages to let his society’s standards to guide him. As “Roger [gathers] a handful of stones and [begins] to throw them”…” yet there was a space around Henry, perhaps six feet in diameter, into which he [dares] not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life.” (62) Roger, like many of the other boys, still felt a strong connection to his previous life where hurting little kids was not acceptable. Even though he knows there are not adults on the island, he still feels the need to follow the rules he would’ve followed in his previous life. He still very much wants to throw rocks at Henry yet he still feels society urging him not to. As “Roger [edges] past the chief, only just avoiding pushing him in the shoulder. The yelling ceased. And Samneric lay looking up in quiet terror. Roger [advances] upon them as one wielding a nameless authority.” (182) Roger has now shown that he is no longer afraid of society. He finally realizes that he can do anything and get away with it. With the conch gone, Roger can now do whatever evil he pleases with no one to stop him. Later, the twins tried to explain why they wouldn’t leave with Ralph: “You don’t know Roger. He’s a terror.” murmured the twins “Roger sharpened a stick at both ends” (189-190). Roger has now completely transformed into a savage. He no longer even considers what society thinks of him. He is filled with so much hate for Ralph even though Ralph didn’t do anything to him. It doesn’t matter; he hates Ralph just because he can. Not only does he hate him, he plans to slaughter and behead Ralph. Ralph is the martyr for society and it is Rogers duty to eradicate any scrap left of society or order.
As long as society has stood, it has battled the evil that is found deep inside us. Yet, without society keeping it constantly in check, evil slowly begins to take over the mind. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbols like Jack, the conch, and Roger to show that evil is deeply rooted within us all.