Jack Merridew Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

Jack represents evil, violence and how people can have a dark side emerge in a period of hardship. As a former choirmaster and "head boy" at his school, he lands on the island having had control and power over others, by overpowering the choir with his bad attitude. He wants to make rules similar to Ralph but his rules are much harsher. Jack’s rules are more black and white.

Are you a leader? well, guess who is, Ralph from lord of the flies by William Golding. Lord of the flies is a fictional book that sets a group of boys on an island during ww2. The boys must find a way to decide on how to live and who will lead them for there time on the island. Ralph is the best leader because he had relationships, chutzpah, and goals.

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the symbols of good and evil through the Lord of the Flies and Simon. In order to convey the underlying message, that the fear of the unknown brings out the evil in humans. William Golding's fictional piece, evil is symbolized through the lord of the flies because he represents the loss of civilization and innocence. This quote shows that the character Lord of the Flies gets into the boy's thoughts, “There isn’t anyone to help you, only me. and I’m the beast fancy to think you can hunt and kill. You knew, didn’t you? I'm part of you. Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why these things are the way they are?” (Golding chapter 8). This quote proves, that the Lord of the Flies are trying to get into the boy’s heads and they are slowly becoming less civilized.

“When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice–you may know that your society is doomed”(Rand). This was stated by Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand; the extract relates to the novel William Golding wrote called Lord of the Flies. Golding wrote about a group of schoolboys trapped on an island from a plane crash. The boys had to figure out how to survive without grownups. Trying to survive was difficult because they had to have common sense and order. They lose those traits throughout the book which resulted in selfishness and corrupt behaviors.

The power-hungry will often feel the need for absolute control, hardly ever getting what they desire, they will often be portrayed as crazy and vicious. The same can be said for Jack; all he wants is to be the leader and make the decisions, but Ralph is the one in control. Jack’s desire for power is ruining his own image, and the well being of the other boys. Without the supervision of adults his morals and values took a turn for the worst.

Jack Merridew is a perfect demonstration of the theme that society falls apart when people do not follow it’s rules. At the beginning of William Goldings “Lord of the Flies” the boys establish order, a leader, and make rules. For example, Ralph is made leader, and they make a rule that whoever has the conch speaks. However, even early on Jack has a problem with Ralph’s leadership, “”. This becomes important later on.

Symbol: The long hair represents how long they have been on the island. The “painted faces and long hair” symbolize savagery. Jack paints his face and it makes him feel as if he is one with nature to symbolize his savagery.

(Law and Order) "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things." (Golding 42)

People are controlled by Society in many ways, such as the clothes they wear, and the music they listen to. It all depends on the society. The way people are controlled by society is by the rules that are made, like when Sam n’ Eric became traders it was a rule that they could not leave Jack’s tribe.With the bad society the boys are in on the island, When Piggy gets knocked off the cliff and died the boys were not upset, they were angry and continued to try and kill each other. Since there are no adults on the island they have to take care of themselves which turns into them trying to hunt and kill each other.

“We want to have fun, and we want to be rescued” (page 37) A good chief or leader is someone that cares about all the individuals in the group, does not break people down, and blunt and honest with a group. In this case, Ralph would be the best choice for chief for many reasons. As shown by that quote he really cares about what was best for the group, but yet was also about having fun on the island while they were deserted. Ralph throughout the novel shows civilization through his action and so many more characteristics that make up a good leader. Ralph is the best leader in the novel. This is evident because he makes good decisions to benefit the group, his priority is to be rescued over everything else, and he is the most civilized of all

Throughout William Golding’s allegorical novel, The Lord of The Flies, he displays the loss of civilization brought upon Jack Meridew alongside a pack of British schoolboys as they survive on a deserted island tangled with thick “creepers” (7) as a result of a sudden crash-landing. Following the boy's attempt to develop society on the island, a craving for power begins to starve Jack, triggering a drastic change from a “tall, thin, and bony.and ugly” (20) boy to a barbarous “painted fool” (page number) who takes drastic measures to ensure his reign. Through symbolic gestures and Jack's significant change from an average, arrogant schoolboy, to a vicious killer, who lacks respect for human life, Golding exhibits the loss of civilization on the island, something that the natural man will succumb to

I thought, by myself…I thought I might kill.”. The reader can see from this that Jack’s vocabulary is composed of only monosyllabic words as he is preoccupied only with thoughts of slaughtering. We can also interpret that Jack feels as if he has to kill in order to gain respect for himself. Jack shows this pride when he does eventually kill a pig and he retells the story of the hunt to the rest of the boys. He and some of the boys re-enact the murder in a savage and primitive style. Therefore, we can see how his behaviour has been affected as a result of his compassion and need to hunt. This change in his behaviour is very significant as hunting is how Jack begins to establish his power over the group. Soon after the killing of the first pig, Jack is able to become more powerful and Ralph begins to realise this so he says, “I’m calling an assembly.”, as he feels in danger of losing control.

Sometimes whats ideal in a situation is not what the truth of the situation and can cause your ideals to be lost. In William Golding’s novel, “Lord of the Flies”, he demonstrates a shift in some of the characters from the thought of idealism to the reality and truth of the world. Ralph is a good example of this shift, he starts out thinking the island will be a fun place and they’ll have fun waiting to be rescued, but soon he realizes that there is going to be more hardship and struggles to keep up the moral and hope of rescue. In the book Ralph wanted to keep everyone safe and get them off the island, but Jack wants to be a leader and messes up his plans, making it so that Ralph is alone in his plan to get rescued.

“There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast--Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! Said the head. You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s a no go? Why things are the way they are?” (page 206)

“They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned. At last Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood—and his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition” (Golding 138). Once an offering to the “beast”, the pig’s head swarming with flies that had been severed by Jack and placed on a stick, manifests into the Lord of the Flies, representing pure evil. Simon, embodying the goodness of man and peace stumbles upon the head. The interaction between Simon and the Lord of the Flies is almost an interpretation between good and evil. The strong symbolism in this book gives a deeper meaning and a definite truth