Jack Lord Of The Flies Analysis

Jack, as a "former chorister" and "head boy" (22) at his school arrived on the island eager to make rules and punish those who broke them, although, he constantly broke the rules himself when he felt it was needed to further his own interests. The freedom Jack had on the island allowed the dark side of his character to be revealed from under his outer shell of a civilized schoolboy. Jack represents the evil side of human nature.

Jack's strong desire to be leader was best illustrated in his first appearance in the book. It was most significant that when the idea of having a vote for "Chief" was mentioned, Jack took on a leadership role on the basis that he was "chapter chorister", could "sing C sharp" and was "head boy" (22). Ralph immediately recognized that
However, since there were no "grownups" on the island, there was no one there to enforce the rules and punish those who broke them. Jack soon realized that rules meant nothing on the island. All previous social conditioning appropriate in the "real world" soon disappeared from Jack's character. This was the reason why he rarely respected the power of the conch, on occasions telling those who held the conch to "shut up" (21). Yet, on the other hand, he used the conch when it was to his advantage, such as when he called the assembly to impeach Ralph. Jack intended to undermine the importance of the conch, as a symbol of leadership, while at the same time drawing the whole focus of the boys to the significance of his hunts as being essential for the survival of the entire group. However, rules by themselves have no meaning, unless they are enforced. This change in Jack's character and behavior in the absences of "rule enforcers" indicates that we, humans, need rules to guide and help prevent us from doing evil. However, Golding clearly illustrates that rules without their enforcement are