Jack's Savagery

The boys forget the main goal, being rescued. Ralph repeatedly reminds them, “If a ship comes near the island… we must make a fire” (38). Ralph knows the chances of being rescued are slim, but creating a fire will increase those chances. This decision reveals Ralph’s ability to collaborate with the others in order to get the necessary work done. The fire is a logical idea because is someone sees it they will eventually be rescued. Comparatively, Jack uses his resources when no one knows how to start a fire as he commands, “His specs-use them as burning glasses!” (40). Jack resourcefulness of using the glasses to start the fire not only works, but helps them get rescued, keeps them warms, and allows them to cook. Nevertheless, Jack forcefully taking Piggy’s lenses is a symbol of lack of respect because he takes advantage of Piggy after viewing his vulnerability. Jack uses Piggy’s glasses is resourceful because they can use the lenses to create a fire with the sunlight. Their decisions display their responsibility and how they both qualify to become

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.

The significance of the character Jack, was thought provoking to the reader, due to his influential change throughout Lord of the Flies. In the beginning of the novel, Jack turned out to be a civilised, organised and authoritative school boy. However, as time went on and many things changed, Jack slowly succumbed to his true, primitive nature. Once Jack was given the role of Chief Hunter, and was able to kill his first pig, he hesitated and realised “the enormity of the downward strike would be”. As a result of this, Jack didn’t attempt to kill the pig, which shows us his underlying innocence. The longer Jack was stuck on the island, the more his inner savagery began to reveal itself to the audience. This in turn caused him to start trying to “convey the compulsion to track down and kill what was swallowing him up”. This drastic change in character reveals to the audience how influential the expectations of society can impact on human nature. Human nature at its purest form is the primitive, savage part of everyone, which is hidden by the rules of society we must follow to survive in a modern civilisation. Society is a person’s biggest influence. Once a young child like Jack is removed

The first thing Jack decided to change within him was his name. “'Kid's names,' said Merridew. 'Why should I be Jack? I'm Merridew,'” (21). The name that he used back at home, Jack, is filled with memories of civilization. By changing his name to Merridew, he wants to build up a different Jack. His attempt to change the name was his first evidence to escape the civilization and being a kid. Originally, Jack was just an ordinary British schoolboy. He was dressed up neatly and tidy. However, as the savage grew over him, the civilization disappeared. He ran around naked, with long hair in a dirty environment. Soon, the savage compelled him, creating the mask figure inside him. "...the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness," (64). The mask gave him power, dismissed him from self-consciousness- he wasn’t Jack anymore. Furthermore, Jack who had a high-class education, such as music, went insane over the hunting. When Ralph asked him who he wanted to be in the island, he had chosen the hunter. Why? As all the other boys in the island, Jack had to live through so many restrictions and rules. Especially, his fun was restricted Whether he was at school or home. The rules always tailed along him. Whereas, in the island, there were none. They could do whatever they want for fun, such as hunting. The hunt symbolizes the savagery but also their loss of

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of young British boys are left stranded on an island after a fatal plane crash in the midst of a World War. With no communication to the outer world and no presence or influence of adults on the island, Ralph, Jack Merridew, and Piggy are forced to take initiative if the group of hopeless boys want to survive. The group of boys experience a drastic change throughout their time on the island, a change that no one would ever expect to occur to a young group of primed British boys. The leader of the stranded choirists on the island, Jack Merridew, shows such a change that he soon persuades other boys to follow his savage actions as the novel progresses. Though the changes to Jack’s mental and physical characteristics advance slowly at first, the final personality of Jack is instantly taken over at the climax of the novel to a dehumanized savage. Jack’s innocence is corrupted by his inability to withstand a society without rules proving man's good essential nature is altered by the evil within society.

Once he understands his situation upon the island Jack sees it as a fresh start where he can act as a complete tyrant and have unlimited power, and by doing so, escape his fear of being publicly embarrassed, ashamed and humiliated by other children. But his “temporary” personality change seems to have completely changed him into the blood-thirsty savage that he has become. This situation can apply to so many events that have taken place throughout history. A great example would be Salieri and Mozart, Salieri who loved music, believed himself to be a talented musician and performer, until, Mozart. His jealousy and

When the boys first landed on the island, there was a certain fear of the unknown that forced the boys to behave and listen to their elected leader, Ralph. However, as everyone becomes more accustomed to the primal society, a particular group of boys, led by Jack Merridew, are less inclined to follow the basic rules created in the beginning. On this note, some boys, are still influenced by the prior rules which governed their life before the island. For example, in a previous chapter, Maurice "hurried away [after throwing sand into a littluns eye]. In his other life Maurice had received chstisement for filling a younger eye with sand." From the quote, it is apparent that Maurice feels uneasiness for his wrongdoing but hastens to dismiss the thought leading to the conclusion that basic lessons of social etiquette are quickly disappearing from the island.

Throughout the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, written by William Golding, the island represents a minor world; a world within itself with its own laws. To begin the book, the people inhabiting the island are in need of a leader. Ralph is the leader elected by the majority of the islanders; he is to establish the rules in order to survive. The rules are eventually broken due to the evil that is dwelling inside each of the boys. Whilst on the island, the boys come across a large amount of distinct elements that all symbolize different types of ideas and concepts. By using symbolism such as Piggy’s glasses, the pig’s head and the beast; William Golding has shown that the rules that are incorporated by humans allows the evil in them to eventually dominate themselves and their minds when separated from civilisation.

There are no adults on the island. No one to make them feel safe when there is an unknown creature that feeds off fear. Jack takes that fear and causes a decline in the society of the boys on the island. First of all, he is stubborn. Jack is also immature and reckless. Thirdly, he is power-hungry. Lastly, Jack is driven by fear.

Many times throughout the book, Piggy is the voice of reason and helps to guide Ralph along that same road if he loses his way. After scolding Samneric for being pessimistic about their fate, Ralph momentarily forgets the reasons why the signal fire is so important. "He tried to remember. Smoke, he said, we want smoke. Course we have. Cos the smoke's a signal and we can't be rescued if we don't have smoke. I knew that! Shouted Ralph" (Golding 172). Ralph begins to lose his initial cheerfulness and enthusiasm and replaces it with disinterest and pessimism. Piggy and Ralph separate themselves from Jack and his tribe and continue to maintain their "government". However, when Jack and his tribe kill a pig and invite Ralph and Piggy to join their feast, the two accept and cannot resist the temptation of the meat. Later on in the celebration, Jack and his tribe perform a ritualistic dance, in which Piggy and Ralph later join. "Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society" (Golding 152). They realize that the dance fueled the boys to murder Simon, and later deny their participance in it. "We left early, said Piggy quickly, because we were tired" (Golding 158). Ralph and Piggy recognize the evil in the dance, and know that if the others found out about their participance in it, then the boys would claim that Piggy and Ralph would be

After several failed attempts, he finally accomplishes his goal, but with a price; he ruins the boys chances of being rescued by letting the signal fire go out and not taking it as seriously as he should. He continuously claims that, “We can light the fire again” (58); his will to be rescued is waning slowly. Ralph addresses these issues with his group expecting them to be re-motivated, but the boys have surprisingly ignored him and resumed playing. Instead of caring about being rescued, the boys start caring more about hunting and doing an interpretive dance inspired by hunting pigs, including one time with Robert “…screaming and struggling with the strength of frenzy”(101). With progressing events, the boys are becoming more and more irresponsible, and their chance of going back to civilization is fading quickly. Soon, a deadly turn of events will ignite their carelessness into something more dangerous and completely unexpected.

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.

Fire is the only chance they can get rescued. Just as what Ralph says, “ So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.” (Golding 38). He knows they cannot get rescued without the fire. However, some of the boys do not understand the significance of the it and miss the opportunity to be rescued over and over again. Afterwards, when boys do not care about the fire anymore and all go to hunt thep pigs, Ralph breaks out, “And you yet we can’t keep a fire going to make smoke. Can’t you see we ought to - ought to die before we let the fire out?” (Golding 81). He start to fell hopeless and upset. Now the boy group is having more and more different ideas. Savage boys only want to hunt, and civilizate boys only want to make a fire. Soon after, this difference becomes bigger and bigger and makes this group close to the death. Many of the boys losting at this unrule place, and forget the most important thing for them, to be rescued. As the fire disappears, hope

One day while one of Jack's hunters were supposed to keep watch over the fire, they went on a hunt with Jack to kill a pig. Meanwhile on the beach, Ralph, Simon, and Piggy are building forts when they realize that a ship is passing over the island. Then, they realize that the fire is out, so they sprint up the mountain but by the time they get there, the ship was gone. At the same time, Jack and the hunters had just come back from the hunt. They see Ralph and know exactly what their mistake was. So, Jack tries to lighten up the mood by saying to Ralph that he should have been there because it was so much fun. Ralph gets very angry at them and says that they could have been rescued if they had been watching the fire. In retaliation to Ralph's anger, Jack takes Piggy's glasses and breaks one of the specs. Then they try to rebuild the fire while Ralph is blocking them, and Ralph doesn't move. (Golding 65-75). "No one, not even Jack would ask him to move and in the end they had to build the fire three yards away and in a place not really as convenient. So Ralph asserted his chieftainship and could not have chosen a better way if he had thought for days. Against his weapon, so indefinable and so effective, Jack was powerless and raged without knowing why. By the time the pile was built, they

Lord of the Flies depicts the disintegration of the order and the collapse of the harmony mainly embedded in the conflict between Ralph and Jack, the two competing leaders in the novel. The story is set in the middle of the raging war, when a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down on a deserted island. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch and make use of it to assemble other boys. Piggy, who is the