Essay on Jack-lord of the flies
What do you think is the importance of Jack in Lord of the Flies and how does Golding present him?
The strong-willed, egomaniacal Jack is the novel’s primary representative of the instinct of savagery, violence, and the desire for power; in short, the antithesis of Ralph. From the beginning of the novel, Jack desires power above all other things. He is furious when he loses the election to Ralph and continually pushes the boundaries of his subordinate role in the group. Early on, Jack retains the sense of moral propriety and behaviour that society instilled in him and ironically in school, he was the leader of the choirboys. The first time he encounters a pig, he is unable to kill it. But Jack soon becomes obsessed with hunting and devotes himself to the task and reacts the characteristics of a sadist or sociopath as he enjoys inflicting pain but shows no remorse and by painting his face like a barbarian and giving himself over to bloodlust his actions escalate more into savagery and away from civilisation. By painting their faces the boys are granted liberation into savagery, at the beginning of the novel they are only boys but with painted faces they have found their purpose and become different men driven by hunting “we want meat”. This portrays ape-like characteristics by using the wrong language and using command words to act as a dictator and undermine the other boys. As the novel progresses the more savage Jack becomes, the more he is able to control the rest of the group. “See, they do what I want”. Apart from Ralph, Simon, and Piggy, the group largely follows Jack in casting off moral restraint and embracing violence and savagery. Jack’s love of authority and violence are intimately connected, as both enable him to feel powerful and exalted. By the end of the novel, Jack has learned to use the boys’ fear of the beast as a catalyst to control their behaviour.
The strong-willed, egomaniacal Jack is the novel’s primary representative of the instinct of savagery, violence, and the desire for power; in short, the antithesis of Ralph. From the beginning of the novel, Jack desires power above all other things. He is furious when he loses the election to Ralph and continually pushes the boundaries of his subordinate role in the group. Early on, Jack retains the sense of moral propriety and behaviour that society instilled in him and ironically in school, he was the leader of the choirboys. The first time he encounters a pig, he is unable to kill it. But Jack soon becomes obsessed with hunting and devotes himself to the task and reacts the characteristics of a sadist or sociopath as he enjoys inflicting pain but shows no remorse and by painting his face like a barbarian and giving himself over to bloodlust his actions escalate more into savagery and away from civilisation. By painting their faces the boys are granted liberation into savagery, at the beginning of the novel they are only boys but with painted faces they have found their purpose and become different men driven by hunting “we want meat”. This portrays ape-like characteristics by using the wrong language and using command words to act as a dictator and undermine the other boys. As the novel progresses the more savage Jack becomes, the more he is able to control the rest of the group. “See, they do what I want”. Apart from Ralph, Simon, and Piggy, the group largely follows Jack in casting off moral restraint and embracing violence and savagery. Jack’s love of authority and violence are intimately connected, as both enable him to feel powerful and exalted. By the end of the novel, Jack has learned to use the boys’ fear of the beast as a catalyst to control their behaviour.