How Does Golding Present The Character Of Jack In Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, has four very important dynamic characters. A dynamic character is a character that develops and grows during the course of the story. Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon are four dynamic characters in Lord of the Flies that adapt to their new lifestyles in different ways. Jack is a very important dynamic character in Lord of the Flies because he goes through the most changes during the novel. While on the island, Jack has many life experiences that change him forever. Jack never thought he would live his life the way he is living his life in the island. Jack’s authoritative figure, savage-like/instinctual behavior, and violence are three qualities that make Jack a dynamic character.

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.

However, in contrast to this when Jack comes across a pig, evidentially to kill as he assigned himself the role of hunter, Jack is unable to murder the animal. Golding describes

Jack shows that savagery is like an illness and only gets worse over time. After Jack kills the first pig, he proudly says, “’I cut the pig’s throat’” (Golding 69). In this quote, Jack is proud of killing a defenseless sow; this proves that by nature humans are savage because a young, innocent child like Jack killed a mother pig who was nursing her young. Without a real man to look up to, Jack thought being a man meant acting as though he was tough and killing everything he saw. This is a mindset of a savage person. In addition to this scene, Jack leads the charge that killed Simon. This also proves that humans are savage by nature because Jack had no

 In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Jack is the character that experiences the most change. Jack begins the novel as a somewhat arrogant choirboy, who cries when he is not elected leader of the island. Jack is gradually transformed into a vicious killer who has no respect for human life. Through a series of stages, such as leading the choir, leading the hunting tribe, wearing the mask, killing Simon, separating from the group and intentionally killing Piggy, Jack degenerates from a normal, arrogant school boy into a savage beast.

In the beginning, there was one tribe led by their elected leader Ralph. When Jack and Ralph have different opinions on what is most important about survival, two different, yet similar tribes emerge from the existing one. Both of the tribes have different characteristics, different jobs they perform on a daily basis, and different leaders who have separate views and opinions. Though they differ in more ways than one, both tribes share at least one thing in common, both are eager to be rescued, and willing to do most anything to survive.

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.

… The madness came into his eyes again. ‘I thought I might kill.’”(Golding, page 51). If Jack were hunting exclusively for the purpose of food, his inner “compulsion to kill” as stated by the author would not exist to begin with. In fact, this statement appears to suggest the opposite—that his inner compulsion to kill is some kind of inner need rather than just an innocent venture to acquire food for the rest of the boys. Therefore, due to the wording of the author from the quote on page 51 as an addition to the quote on page 31 (which can be surmised as foreshadowing of evil) it provides the basis of Jack’s hunting proving him a symbol of evil. From page 134 onwards, this relationship is further solidified by the following few quotes: “A little apart from the rest, sunk in deep maternal bliss, lay the largest sow of the lot. She was black and pink, and the great bladder of her belly was fringed with a row of piglets…” (page 134), “She blundered into a tree… could follow her easily by the vivid drops of blood. …and the hunters followed… excited by the long chase and the dropped blood.”(page 135), and “Jack held up the head and jammed the soft throat with the pointed end which pierced through into the mouth (Golding, page 136 and 137). The first detail on page 134 indicates the pig they have their sights on is a mother of a few piglets. Quite

William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, explores what makes a person powerful, and the contrast between Ralph and Jack shows how power is gained for each of them. Ralph’s power comes from the mere fact that he has a conch shell in his hands, while Jack’s power is gained by him manipulating others and forcing himself into this position. This is due to three main reasons, which are:

Golding uses symbols, imagery, and diction to delineate Jack’s evolution into savagery. When he first hunts for a pig, and hesitates, unable to kill it the boys “[Know] very well why [Jack] hadn’t: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood”(31). At this time, Jack does not possess the mental strength, as he comes from a civilization where violence is unacceptable. He is not accustomed to inflicting harm on another living creature. Furthermore, the “unbearable blood” emphasizes his ties to civilization as he along with most other civil people would not take the sight of blood calmly. By the time Jack's second pig hunt occurs, his attitude towards violence has changed greatly: “His

Golding creates the theme with imagery such as “‘I cut the pig’s throat,” said Jack… There was lashings of blood,” said jack laughing and shuddering, “you should have seen it!”’(69) This quote is important because it's in the beginning of the violent savagery which adds to the theme that humans are naturally evil. Another thing about this quote is Golding’s choice of diction: “lashings” and “laughing and shuddering” it tells us that Jack is proud of killing the pig and likes the goar of hunting. The disturbing

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was right in saying that the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Jack Merridew’s evil ways are evident as he uses fear to control the boys on the island. In the beginning of the book, his presence itself at the election of chief instills the first of the fears within each of the boys. Jack uses his personality as a menace to the boys on the island. Although Jack garners support from the majority of the group, they assist him only through fear of what he is capable of doing to them if they do not do as he commands. As one can see multiple times throughout the book, Jack deems it necessary to hunt down pigs on the island, but why? Jack carries a demon inside of him that allows him to do such acts. If things are not done as he wishes, his fury is unleashed on everyone around him. While the others find hunting as a chance for adventure, Jack practices it as if it were a ritual. This ritual extends beyond the pig caught between the “creepers”; pigs are eventually replaced with human flesh. The boys’ fear keep them in the circle of dancing for they are afraid that one of them will be the next in the center of the dance. This outlook on violence is what drives the fear inside them. Later on, Jack uses the belief of the beast to further enlarge the terror of the schoolboys. The idea of the beast was originally brought up by a “littlun” but Jack uses the little boy’s fear to his advantage. The sacrifices made, the spears, and the face

though Jack does not want to be seen as a child, but as a figure of

William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change

Golding shows evil within humans through Jack. Jack symbolizes cruel political leaders such as Castro and Hitler. He is the leader of the hunters, but the first time they find a pig he is not able to kill it. Jack not being able to kill the pig showed that he was still civilized, but later obsessing over the pig he transformed into a savage. William Golding through Jacks character showed that everyone is born good and evil, but