The Darkness Inside
The Darkness Inside
Built inside every human being is the need to abide by law, and to act civilized. But hidden much deeper, is the temptation to resist acting lawfully and resort to savagery. Sometimes, these two impulses conflict with one another and people are confused as to which desire to follow through with. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Jack acts no differently. In the beginning of the novel Jack never strays from the law, he is always civil and lawful. As the novel progresses he forgets about society and wants to obtain power. He is not given what he wants and uses violence to obtain power.
Powerful people often resort to violence in order to control others. As Piggy tries to correct Jacks mistakes, Jack resorts to violence towards Piggy. The text subsequently shows Jack punching Piggy in the stomach, “This from Piggy, and the wails of agreement from some of the hunters drove Jack to violence.”(pg.71) This quote shows that when people demand power, they resort to violence to obtain their power, such as Jack did towards Piggy. This is significant because when too many people want to obtain power, they will all resort in violence to achieve what they yearn. Evidence that violence leads is a means of control is reflected throughout the book. Jack uses violence and the kids fear him, therefore he gains power. Ralph asserts his dominance in chapter two by interrupting others so he can be heard over the other kids, which is another way of showing how he wants to obtain power. It is not necessarily physical violence, like Jack has done, but verbal violence. This is Ralph’s way of asserting dominance to obtain power. “Shut up! Wait! Listen!” (pg.46) This quote shows how language is power too. Instead of physical violence Ralph manipulates the other boys by dominating their social hierarchy. We know this doesn't work in the Lord of the Flies because the groups split up into tribes, but also in the real world. If people didn't have a say in our
Built inside every human being is the need to abide by law, and to act civilized. But hidden much deeper, is the temptation to resist acting lawfully and resort to savagery. Sometimes, these two impulses conflict with one another and people are confused as to which desire to follow through with. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Jack acts no differently. In the beginning of the novel Jack never strays from the law, he is always civil and lawful. As the novel progresses he forgets about society and wants to obtain power. He is not given what he wants and uses violence to obtain power.
Powerful people often resort to violence in order to control others. As Piggy tries to correct Jacks mistakes, Jack resorts to violence towards Piggy. The text subsequently shows Jack punching Piggy in the stomach, “This from Piggy, and the wails of agreement from some of the hunters drove Jack to violence.”(pg.71) This quote shows that when people demand power, they resort to violence to obtain their power, such as Jack did towards Piggy. This is significant because when too many people want to obtain power, they will all resort in violence to achieve what they yearn. Evidence that violence leads is a means of control is reflected throughout the book. Jack uses violence and the kids fear him, therefore he gains power. Ralph asserts his dominance in chapter two by interrupting others so he can be heard over the other kids, which is another way of showing how he wants to obtain power. It is not necessarily physical violence, like Jack has done, but verbal violence. This is Ralph’s way of asserting dominance to obtain power. “Shut up! Wait! Listen!” (pg.46) This quote shows how language is power too. Instead of physical violence Ralph manipulates the other boys by dominating their social hierarchy. We know this doesn't work in the Lord of the Flies because the groups split up into tribes, but also in the real world. If people didn't have a say in our