Jack Merridew Identity

Pigs in the novel are one of the sources of Jack’s alteration to savagery as the pig-hunts turned him into a cold-hearted and bloodthirsty being. At the beginning of the novel when Ralph, Jack and Simon go off to explore the island, they discover a piglet tangled in the creepers. Jack attempts to kill the pig but couldn’t succeed because the idea “of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh...the unbearable blood” (41) was too dark and evil for him. However, he vows that “next time there would be no mercy” (42). This statement is an initiation to his change in character because after that, he is involved in many hunts. He eventually paints his face to form a mask “behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (89). The mask gives him not only a change in appearance but also gives him different identity. Golding describes Jack as follows: “He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger…” (89). The author tells the readers that Jack is no longer himself; he has turned into a complete stranger. Subsequently, Jack establishes a ritualistic chant within his “tribe” after killing a pig; “Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill her blood!” (96). Jack makes it seem like a celebration or something “fun” however the chant truly symbolizes the evil within him and loss of morals he once had. Furthermore, his desire for hunting

All animals including human beings ultimately have one goal in life and that is to survive no matter the cost. If multiple humans are stripped from society and placed in an area where there are no rules and government it will lead to evil intents and actions. Humans are highly intelligent and prefer to think rather than act on primitive instincts because society says that is true. All humans contain an evil deep within them that is constantly trying to escape but cannot due to the rules of society. “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.

Masks embody a side of ourselves many do not particularly know they have. Many masks are unrecognizable to the human eye, but come to appear when people are around certain others, for example many would not act the same around a teacher versus a friend. Throughout history masks have been worn even by the most cruel men and women; German Nazis. These soldiers of World War II, all wore an appearance that hides their true identity; a shaved head and a uniform transformed, these people into hostile animals. William Golding a film directory and school teacher, noticed these transformations due to being the army at the time and wrote about it in his,novel Lord of the Flies.

William Golding presents our main character, Ralph, with an antagonist that has animalistic, egoistic, and intimidating qualities whose name is Jack Merridew. The dynamics in Jack's character are very evident from beginning to end. At first, he is a civilized choir boy from England; even he himself stated "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages." He began to let the island change the persona he had; he became a boy whose sense of self was stricken by savagery. Jack chooses a conflict of working against Ralph for the power and control that was not given to him directly. He denies several times the power of the conch Ralph possesses at group meetings, and eventually, the power hunger overtakes him as he creates his

Later, Jack and his hunters display another example of human evil with the gruesome slaughtering of a pig. They don’t just stab it to death and get it over with, but carry on deranged acts like taking a stick sharpened at both ends, with one side in the ground and the other for the pig to be impaled on. They take joy in the blood of the pig and show odd sexual hunger when they sodomize the pig with a stick.

Jack could only be described as a power craving, satanic, young boy. After Ralph, the leader of the group, establishes what the boys’ priorities are, Jack appoints himself the leader of hunting. Once the boys finally attain a kill, Jack instigates a chant, “kill the pig, cut her throat, spill the blood”. The chant presents that the boys are slowly becoming excessively more primitive the longer they are stranded on the island. The boys decent into savagery mimics

The boys’ inability to kill a piglet shows they are still connected to civilization. While the boys were exploring the island, “they found a piglet caught in a curtain of creepers.” (31.) The animal is similar to the boys in that they are both innocent; therefore the boys do not have the heart or nature to kill the creature. Jack hesitates to kill the piglet and, “the pause was only long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be.” (31.) At the time, all the boys are too nervous to kill it even if it was only a piglet; they were still restrained by the limitations of society. After the animal escapes, Jack “[snatches] his knife out of the sheath and [slams] it into a tree trunk. Next time there [will] be no mercy.” (31.) Jack is ashamed of himself and his shame causes him to become committed to killing the next pig they see, he is willing to go to great depths to prove

At first Jack is afraid to even kill a pig that could be used for food, then he begins to realise he wants to have higher status than a hunter, so he attempts to become the chief of all the boys, but is rejected. This painful rejection leads him to creating a tribe of his own based on savagery, that turns most of the boys on the island into savages, which causes the death's of both Piggy and Simon. Which reinforces Golding's belief that everyone has an inner savagery with in them an that civilisation is what keeps that inner savagery locked away, but if a person takes away that civilisation they revert to what they have left your inner

Jack’s job in the tribe was to be the leader of the hunters, watch the fire, and hunt for food. From the start, Jack and his hunters had multiple attempts and killing at pig. After the failures, Ralph became enraged they were not hunting for food and the fire went out. Jack and Ralph had many disputes over the campfire and which led to Jack leaving the tribe. Next, Jack and his hunters moved to the opposite side of the island where he became chief. Eventually, Jack was able to kill a pig and organized a feast that invited everyone. During the feast Jack screamed, “ I painted my face- I stole up. Now you eat- all of you- and I” (Golding pg 74). This shows how power hungry Jack is. The savage was projected by Jack to his hunters made him indirectly responsible for the deaths of Piggy and Simon. Jack’s selfishness turned him into a terrible person and he affected everyone around

However, he encountered obstacles within the children. As Jack rapidly took an interest in hunting, his civil mentality declined, which led to his dramatic transition into a barbaric savage. Brutal savagery influenced him to discard his interest in seeking rescue and assisting Ralph. While Ralph scolded Jack about his new pastime, he sternly questioned, “You wouldn’t care to help with the shelters, I suppose” (51). Jack commences his lack of concern in aiding the other children with survival and continues to focus on his newfangled passion. His transformation into a savage induces his change in mentality, which later stimulates leadership-based conflicts with Ralph. As Jack’s attitude towards society immensely changes, it becomes contagious and quickly contaminates the other children. As the boys hunted in the wild, they clamored, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (69). Similarly to Jack, the boys develop an interest in brutality, which unleashes the evil within them. The children’s change in attitude and behavior indicates the island’s decline in civilization. As much as they felt gratified with their transition, the children failed to perceive the harm they precipitated to the island and

The first time he spots a pig on the island he is hesitant to kill it because he still is in a “civilized” mindset. Eventually he builds up the courage to kill a pig. After living on the island for sometime and killing multiple pigs, hunting becomes a form of entertainment for Jack, “The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream. Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her […]

While Jack and his hunters started out as just choirboys, they become obsessed with violence and are driven to kill. In the beginning of the book, Jack hesitates and misses his chance to kill a trapped pig. Later on, as Jack and his newly formed tribe hunt in the forest, they discover a sow. Following the desperate chase after

In the process, people are are hurt. The boys have experienced a kill and are hungry for more. Though Jack’s ambition was to kill a swine had been accomplished he now has the taste of blood meaning this isn’t his last “hunt”The spectacles and the conch represent the civilization of the island but countering them is the Lord of the Flies, luring them to evil and the center of it all is Jack. The killing of the pig gave him the savage instincts, this killing of the pig was just the start and we can relate this to our own society, as when people pray upon others, civilization falls apart. This conflict destroys the society in the story but these examples can directly correlate to our own

After their span of time on the island, the boys lose all hope of rescue and resort to savagery to adapt and survive. Jack’s original longing to slaughter pigs as a sign of his own bravery is demonstrated through the hunt which provides nutrients and substances that are well overdue for the entire group. His ideals begin to shift when he becomes overwhelmed with the popularity this has on the boys, chanting: “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (Golding 69).

After a few tries, Jack and the hunters finally catch a pig. The boys and Jack brutally attack it and kill it. This is the first step of Jack's decent to primitive savagery. We see the loss of innocence because Jack has killed his first living creature, and also had a loss of innocence sexually. Now we see Jack become very confident in his hunting ability and we start to see him act more like a hunter. He now wears a mask over his face and always wants to hunt. The author has this to say about Jack and his mask, "the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness" (62).  With the aid of the mask, Jack is now transforming into a different person. He seems to be happier as a hunter. The author also lets us into Jack's mind, for his thoughts on his first kill, "His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink" (70).