Comparing Jack & Creon

Leadership: “the ability to lead and exert authority.” In the play ‘Antigone’ by Sophocles, and in the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, leadership is largely portrayed by the main characters. Creon, the powerfully built King of Thebes, is compared to Jack, the strong-willed school boy who is stuck on an island. When comparing the roles of both Creon and Jack, there are many similarities and differences that arise ultimately coming to the conclusion that Creon is the worse leader. The two leaders are considerably alike in various ways. When both Creon and Jack believed in something or wanted something done their way, they fought for it and absolutely nothing could stop them. Creon would not listen to anything his son had to say about Antigone because he believed that whoever buried Polyneices was to be killed and even though it was Antigone, she was to die and nothing could be done differently. Creon states in line 105: “My voice is the one voice giving orders in this city.” He makes sure that everyone knows he is the leader and what he says goes. The same applies for the fierce Jack. When he wants something, he will fight for it. For example, Jack is furious when he loses the election to Ralph and therefore he continually tries to take over, finally creating his own tribe where everyone has to follow his every rule. Another similarity between the two leaders is that they both caused many unnecessary deaths. In ‘Antigone’, Creon was the cause of Antigone’s death, consequently leading to the death of his son, Haemon, and his wife, Eurydice. He felt it was right for him, as the king, to still punish Antigone for what she had done even though he knew it would most likely result in the loss of Haemon as well. From ‘Lord of the Flies’ Jack was so selfish that once he turned completely savage, there was no going back. He killed almost everything in sight. The death of modest Simon and clever Piggy was predominantly Jack’s fault. Although Jack was not exactly the one who killed them, he was the brains behind it all, who brought the other boys to his level of savagery and influenced them to kill as well. In addition, Creon and Jack also have their differences. Creon fought for the rules originally set and for his city of Thebes, whereas Jack fought to become the dictator over everyone and to set rules that were to benefit only him. Creon was not willing to bend the rules for Antigone, even though she was his niece and the soon-to-be wife of his son. As stated in line 160, “No; death will do that for me.” Creon expresses his views on how it will not be his fault when Antigone dies and Haemon will not be able to marry her. This shows his selfishness and the little care he has for others. Jack fought to become the leader, unlike Creon who was already the leader. Jack walked out on Ralph and Piggy, getting a vast amount of the boys to follow, creating his own group under his rule. These boys had to now obey him, and follow his every order such as hunting and getting food. Furthermore, Creon and Jack are also unlike because Creon is a grown man and Jack is just a boy. He is older and chooses to become the leader when Oedipus died, since Jack was unaware of the situation on the island but soon wanted to take complete control. Overall, Creon was generally the worse leader. He was older, wiser and should have known better. After being stuck on an island and having to fend for yourself, it is certain that Jack would turn somewhat savage. But for the most part, Creon’s actions could have been dealt with in a more mature matter, without as many casualties as there were. Creon could have bended the rules and tried to work things out with others to keep everyone happy, except he did the opposite. He did not benefit anyone. In conclusion, both Creon and Jack were ineffective leaders. They did absolutely nothing for anyone but themselves. Because of his actions, Creon ended up alone, without a wife and son. While Jack ended up being rescued and brought back to the real world, and crying because of his actions. They were both very similar and different, with Creon ending up being the worse.