Jack's External Conflict

Many things affected the atmosphere in the novel.The first example is when no one votes for Jack as chief and he leaves. Jack thought that there should be a new chief, he asked all of the boys, who they think that chief should be. Then, when no one voted for Jack, he “[went] off by [himself]” (140). From there he went to Castle Rock. From this, the reader can tell that when Jack leaves the tribe, it ends the relationship between Jack and Ralph. This is a problem because when Jack leaves it kills the communication they had. The reason for this is because the boys feel that they have to pick sides and stay there. When they pick sides, most of them go to Jack. The second example is when most to all of the boys left Ralph and joined Jack’s tribe. When Ralph and Piggy were doing something, Ralph was wondering where everyone was, and “they [have] gone,” and left them and joined Jack (144). This created a line between the two groups which made it hard for anyone on the island to communicate. This is all said because no one communicated that they were leaving. The final example is when Jack was leaving the group after the vote. Ralph was telling him to stay, but he persisted on going by himself. This was the final tipping point in Jack and Ralph’s relationship because “[Jack is] not going to play any longer. Not with [Ralph]” (140)When he left, that was the biggest part of the

Ralph teaches us a lesson that Jack cannot. Keeping a democracy in civilization is crucial for survival. He also teaches that children need guidance and discipline. Ralph makes it clear that without the establishment of rules many problems would be caused, as shown in the novel when all the boys act out. A similarity between Jack and Ralph is that their rivalry caused society and civilization to be torn, without that the community will not function properly. Another point to compare and contrast between Jack and Ralph is their relationships between each other, and the other boys as well. From the get go Jack is by far more confident in himself and his ability to talk to others. He knows what he wants and he is not afraid to get it, even if that means being rude to others along the way. Unlike Ralph who immediately comes off as timid and uninterested when he first starts talking to Piggy and a few other boys. A similarity between Jack and Ralph is that they create a small liking to each other in the beggining, caused by agreement in sharing different roles in leadership, shown in this quote, “Jack and Ralph smiled at each other with shy liking. The rest

“ “Shut up,” said Ralph absently. He lifted the couch. “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things around here.” (Chapter 1, Page 22) Ralph immediately notices the boys need some leadership his natural choice is to help guide these boys. He, however, lacks this responsibility. He doesn't continue to command respect from the boys. Ralph grows up faster in the book due to Jack. Later Jack breaks the tribe apart with his appealingly savage ways. Jack ended up establishing a hunting tribe. Once the tribe breaks Ralph tries to bring it back together, but since he didn’t have solid leadership skills even though he might have developed some compassion. He tries to convince Jack that he is still in charge and has power over the boys. The changes Ralph undergoes, from self-centered to group centered, doesn't reflect the island as a whole. They are all too elated to abandon the trappings of society.

Ralph’s attempts to control the kids and maintain the peace on the island ends up being ineffective, and his commands during the fire went unheard as “the crowd swayed toward the island and was gone—following Jack” (37). Ralph’s way of leading through order and rules would have kept those on the island alive and well, but the kids did not desire to follow. They prefer the fun that coincides with Jack as their leader. Ralph lead the correct way through rules and order, but since the children lacked maturity and reason, Jack prevailed over

By disobeying Ralph’s rules, Jack is trying to weaken the rules. Jack still has an effect on the boys, and his breaking of rules weakens the their will to follow them. In a later meeting, Jack claims that Ralph “isn’t a proper chief” and that “[he’s] going off by [himself].” Jack’s departure weakens Ralph’s tribe, since the choir has been with Jack before the crash on the island, and showed loyalty to him on the island. This results in a majority of the boys abandon Ralph for Jack. Some of the non-choir boys go off with Jack’s tribe, because of the beast they want protection from. They believe his hunters will supply that. Jack is no longer under control, but is now in control. Jack’s department of the tribe, and weakening of the boy’s opinion on Ralph leads to his desire for power being satisfied.

This created more conflict between Ralph and Jack because they both had differing views over how they think life on the island should go. Towards the end of the book we see Jack experience a decline in beliefs of order and the rules of society that he was raised

Ralph represents order and discipline, while Jack represents an unhealthy drive for power and savagery. In the beginning of the novel, Ralph is voted the leader of the group and attempts to make life on the island disciplined and civilized, like their life in England. However, throughout the novel Jack rivals Ralph’s leadership role, attempting to overthrow him. As the boys’ savage impulses increase, more of them begin to side with Jack instead of going with Ralph. As Ralph loses his hold over the boys, almost all of them begin to act violently and barbaric. An example of this is when the children of the island murder Simon for no justifiable reason. Even Piggy and Ralph partake in the murder, showing that the violent human impulse is in

The initial act that started the rift between Ralph and Jack began with a blatant disregard of Ralph’s order to keep the fire going. Ralph exclaimed, “There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!” (Golding 70). Jack was too concerned with hunting and feeling like a leader to fulfill his duty of keeping the fire going. This was Ralph’s first and most important rule in his own eyes, and Jack betrayed him. It was the initial event that created a rift between the two of them, and it only got worse from there.

Jack and Ralph were motivated for their actions in different ways. Ralph was motivated strictly by the hope of being rescued. Even though he called meetings and tried to organize the group of boys to do simple things like build huts or keep the fire going so they could be rescued or survive, the boys would go play or bathe. Ralph said to Jack ‘"And they keep running off, you remember the meeting? How everyone was going to work hard until the shelters were finished?" (51) The only person who would listen or work with Ralph was Simon. Unfortunately, the other boys continued to ignore Ralph's leadership throughout the novel and eventually all turned to Jack for leadership. Jack was motivated by hunting and killing. His obsession for this began when he was frustrated with himself for not killing the pig in the first chapter: ‘"He snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk. Next time there would be no mercy" (29).There would actually be no mercy from Jack from that point on. Eventually all of the boys, except for Ralph and Piggy, turned to Jack's evil ways, even to the point of participating in the killing of Simon. Effectively, Ralph was motivated by the hope

The children landed uncharted island far from any semblance of police, parents, or even teachers. The island was almost like the “Neverland” that Disney taught us about years ago, but without Tinkerbell and a magical home with all their needs. Jack and the children in this adventure were in a heap of trouble. They were many, some smaller and some bigger (littleuns and bigguns). These kids had to organize themselves into some sort of unit, to more efficiently find a way home. That is where the trouble begins. When one or more humans come together, a hierarchy is always established. Similar to when one goes to a restaurant and the waitress only addresses our father for the majority of the tables decisions. When this hierarchy forms, the decisions this leader takes will always be classified as good or evil, and the society will be judged by the character at their forefront. In William Golding’s novel “Lord of The Flies”, Jack Merridew is the character that takes leadership in the society and proves humanity is inherently evil by demonstrating human’s: selfish tendencies, competitive nature, and hopelessness.

Jack and Ralph were motivated for their actions in different ways. Ralph was motivated strictly by the hope of being rescued. Even though he called meetings and tried to organize the group of boys to do simple things like build huts or keep the fire going so they could be rescued or survive, the boys would go play or bathe. Ralph said to Jack ‘"And they keep running off, you remember the meeting? How everyone was going to work hard until the shelters were finished?" (51) The only person who would listen or work with Ralph was Simon. Unfortunately, the other boys continued to ignore Ralph's leadership throughout the novel and eventually all turned to Jack for leadership. Jack was motivated by hunting and killing. His obsession for this began when he was frustrated with himself for not killing the pig in the first chapter: ‘"He snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk. Next time there would be no mercy" (29).There would actually be no mercy from Jack from that point on. Eventually all of the boys, except for Ralph and Piggy, turned to Jack's evil ways, even to the point of participating in the killing of Simon. Effectively, Ralph was motivated by the hope of rescue for his actions and Jack motivated by bloodlust.

Ralph made sure all the older kids on the island had a key job role to ensure safety and survival by setting things straight. Ralph orders the hunters to keep the fire going because it produced smoke which could signal the ships nearby securing their rescue. Ralph spotted ships and knew there shouldn’t be any fooling around because it is up to them if the fire stays lit or not. He, himself, was focused on providing everyone with shelter and was determined to do it by himself if he had to, whether the hunters did their job or not. Unlike Ralph, who is doing his job, the Jack’s choir ignores the fire and goes out hunting. When the fire goes out, the hunters aren’t really upset with the fire going out while Ralph saw that the situation could’ve been their rescue saying, “There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out” (70)! If he had the same attitude as the other boys nothing would likely get done and he would remain the same as before and not care about the aftermath, but he continues to act mature and not this incident stop him from trying to seek rescue. This shows his change because of how he sees the priority of being rescued and keeping the fire lit expressing his maturity and showing his understanding of life not just about having fun like most adults

Jack is the opposite of Ralph. Instead of working toward good and helping each other out, the deserted island life gets to him and he becomes evil. He only wants to succeed and wants to wipe out anyone or anything that stands in his way. He reaches the level of complete insanity that he can’t even accept ideas other than his own in order to be rescued. Instead, he only fights with his personal goal in mind. Although he and Ralph are both determined people, they are each determined in very different ways. Jack is determined to not be a leader as much as to become a dictator, while Ralph wants to become a leader to keep the peace.

Even though many supporters suggest that Ralph is a great leader, it is obvious that Jack is the best leader on the island. Since the boys set foot on the island, Jack was honest, and he never hesitated to express his feelings. “Human nature cannot be so irremediably bad if the arrival of one adult can immediately put everything to rights” (Reilly,10). This quote explains that when Jack was introduced on the island he was a great leader, and this made the boys realize they each have individual responsibilities in order to contribute to the group. While being honest, Jack demanded the group to do what he wanted, and the boys would obey him. “Jack at first demands to be called as at school, Merridew, the surname his mark of superior age and authority”(Oldsey 4). This quote illustrates that Jack immediately separated himself from the other boys on the island.

As one can see from the start, Jack's tribe changes their lifestyles to a primitive state, while Ralph's seeks the future in life. Ralph thus thinks on a more matured level by learning from past mistakes, while Jack only seeks the fun out of life. This is the main reason why Ralph's group, even though lonesome, still prevails. Ralph and Jack indeed set different rules under each other's turf. The two leaders follow different beliefs, and thus have different lives to live, and groups to lead.