Power Corrupts In Lord Of The Flies

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.

Jack was a very power hungry young boy.  Although he doesn't have any power at the beginning of the novel, he took every opportunity to take the position of chief and was eventually successful. Jack's dictatorial style of leadership contrasted very directly with the more democratic and passive style of Ralph.  Jack ruled with an iron fist, allowing no one to question him or his leadership. Jack represented the wanting for a single, all-powerful leader to guide the followers of society using any means he feels necessary.

Jack wants to be the leader which shows that he is controlling. He wants to be treated respectfully. He wants all the others to call him by his last name, Merridew, but becomes rude and mean when they call him Jack.

is far too much for them. They are in fear of him as they obey his

Jack represents a dictatorship because he uses fear tactics to attract followers. He decides everything and disciplines those who break his rules. He uses fear tactics to keep his leadership position.

Jack’s thirst for power for the sake of dominance develops a sense of dictatorship. When killing the sow, the shift in Jack is clear. Jack no longer looks to control nor shield himself from savagery; instead, he embraces it: “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” (Golding 70). The sense of power Jack receives from his kill is enough to completely take over his actions. Power is a drug to Jack, and he has become addicted. This addiction continues to affect his life, and more importantly, the lives of those he has surrounded himself with. Dropped “He [Jack] began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling” (Godling 64). Golding uses juxtaposition and zoomorphism to inhibit this effect. Jack shifts from dancing to snarling in a matter of seconds, showing his vulnerability to the evil which has taken root in his heart. Jack is no longer human; he is a savage. It is known that money changes people. However, this is not true. With money comes power; power changes people. Jack has lost all control and power over his own life. So, he looks for control and power in the lives of others.

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.

From the beginning of the book Jack would stab tree trunks when he did not get a kill but when he did he felt empowered and always tried to take leadership of the group. He was always jealous of Ralph because Ralph was chief and that gave him power over everyone including Jack. Jack is unfamiliar with this kind of setting so instinctively strived to be leader. Then when Jack finally became leader of his own tribe he was taking the power for granted. Instead of encouraging his tribe to try to be rescued, he scared them into being reckless

Even though Jack demonstrated his leadership qualities when proposing a rescue plan to the ‘tribe’, and by accepting Ralph’s election to lead the group, something he wanted for himself, he eventually turns into a savage through killing a pig. This incident gives him a sense of power realizing that he can act with impunity without consequences. Wanting to hunt and kill pigs turned into a priority, eliminating the need to be

Jack uses the beast to gain power and promises of protection for the boys; from the beast. Jack uses the boys’ fear of the beast to manipulate them to his own advantage. He knows it doesn’t exist; however he uses its hypothetical existence to ensure the compliance of the other boys and follow his commands. Fear is the source of Jack’s power. The other boys don’t flock to Jack for his personality or leadership; instead, they gather around him for the solace he promised them.

In our society we have our system for power set up making the understanding of who is in charge easy; However, when the boys are stranded on an island they are forced to come up with their own system, causing rivalries and corrupting rights and values. Before being stranded on an island Jack was an innocent, well-behaved child, however, when thrown into a foreign place with no society and no system of power it is very easy to destroy all of your innocence when obtaining most power. Jack was a hunter and was in charge of all the hunter, he eventually made his own tribe and almost everyone followed him, giving him a mass amount of control. Golding shows that Jack uses his power in ways only beneficial to him, easily seen when the remainder of Ralphs tribe approach Jacks and see him, “ painted up and wearing garland around his neck” (54). Jack uses his power to idolize himself and make the other

Once these boys join Jack’s tribe, they are forced to follow his orders, committing heinous atrocities against their former friends in a desperate attempt to avoid the physical punishment Jack inflicts on those who disobey him. Jack rules his subjects through fear and intimidation, and yet lures them in by playing on hidden desires unbeknownst to them. Jack is often shown acting cruel and menacing towards the other boys, however is he also shown as being self-conscious and a bit insecure: “Boys are desperate to distract from their own helplessness and do so by projecting their fear of subjection onto an even weaker

Jack is only interested in power, he acts like a dictator and doesn’t follow the communities thoughts. Some actions that Jack takes that shows this are "I got the conch," said Piggy indignantly. “You let me speak!” “The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain," said Jack, “So you shut up.” This shows how Jack acts like dictator because he doesn’t listen to what the people say. “He's not a hunter. He'd never have got us meat. He isn't a perfect and we don't know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing. All this talk-.” This shows how Jack is power hungry and will basically do anything to get it, he is trying to make Ralph look like a bad chief in order for him to try to take the power away from him and get it for himself. “We’ll raid them and take fire. There must be four of you; Henry and you, Robert and Maurice. We'll put on paint and sneak up.” This shows how Jack uses his power to make his tribe members listen to his orders and steal the members of the other tribes. Jack is only interested in power and wants the power for his own

Jack is filled with an internal evil that strives for power and dominance through the fear and trust of the weaker children. The littluns are swearing their trust to Jack in return for protection. Maurice even confesses that Jack says, “I mean when Jack says you can

Throughout history, there have been many different types of leaders. During World War II Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were dictators over Germany and Italy. The pair had a bellicose attitude who dominated over their nation, and the land they conquered. Jack parallels the two leaders with his leadership style. He rules with complete, and unquestioned power over the boys in his tribe. Even while he beats one of his followers for no known reason, not a single boy asked any questions about if it is right; or if they should still be in his tribe. Jack continuously manipulates the boys in his tribe to stay in control. After the murder of Simon, he tells them it wasn’t Simon, but instead it was the beast in disguise. He also tells them they