How Does Jack Use Power In Lord Of The Flies

German journalist John Zenger once stated, “Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths”. When one is forced into a situation where a leader is necessary, a person that displays the fundamental attributes will successfully guide the society. Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, the boys on the island represent various aspects of leadership, characterized by differing strengths. However, the protagonist’s, Ralph, leadership undoubtedly triumph over the other boys because his attributes allow him to be a powerful leader on the island. Throughout William Golding’s novel, he clearly depicts Ralph as an effective leader through his desire for the survival of all of the boys, his adamant

As a base of human desire and need, power has always been one of the number one desire of mankind since the dawn of time. To place yourself above others, or gain control over your followers or a situation brings safety and comfort to a leader. A well written example of this concept lies within the twisted world created by William Golding in his, “Lord of the Flies”. Throughout the story, Jack seeks power above all else, and stops for nothing in this lustful quest of dominance. We can get a glimpse of Jack’s desires through his iron grip within his choirboys, how he clashes with Ralph, and how Jack’s actions bring about a deeper symbolism underlying within the story.

Many of the boys want to have fun and see Jack's hunting as the fun

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 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 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.

Ralph is the main protagonist in the story and he is the leader of the children on the island. Since Ralph was voted leader, he has the characteristics of leadership and he brings civilization and order to the story. Unlike the other boys, Jack and Simon, Ralph’s main focus is to get off the island instead of having fun. For example, Ralph tried constructing huts with Simon; meanwhile, the boys are playing and running off having fun. In the beginning of the story, Ralph’s power with the children was secure; however, towards the end, that power is being transferred to Jack. Ralph represents the

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies presents a story of a group of boys who become stranded on an island together, and in their struggle to survive; some begin to fight for power. Having power makes them feel in control of their situation; however, this power struggle quickly begins to consume them. Golding uses the power struggle between Ralph and Jack, the two main characters, to illustrate the power struggle between good and evil.

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

When you have one child or even multiple “children living without adult protection [they] are often frightened. Add to that the sudden fear… one can see how horrors come about.” (Golding). Many children would freak out if left without adult supervision or protection for an undisclosed amount of time. Adding that fear to the stress of having to survive on your own with other children that do not know what to do can be a dangerous combination. The boys with Jack used to always have a parental figure, but now all they have is Jack. This puts even more pressure on Jack and this causes him to become power hungry in some moments. When telling the boys to come do their dance he does it pleadingly as to hold onto that power. As the boys see the figure crawling out of the forest Jack thinks that if he can show them that he helped kill the beast he could have his power back. Because of this he helps kill Simon with the boys.

Power was abused in the book, Lord of the Flies, by the two older boys, Ralph and Jack. They both thought that they knew what was best to do for their tribe since they were the oldest, and were disagreeing with each other on decisions that needed to be made in order to survive on the island. Ralph was voted to be in charge which made Jack embarrassed and jealous. Jack overpowered him by creating a new tribe from the group of boys and leading them to turn against Ralph in the end. Jack abuses his power of being the leader of his tribe by sending everyone out to hunt for Ralph and kill him. In the beginning of the book, Ralph finds a conch shells and makes a rule for all the boys that only the person holding the conch shell has the ability to speak. Power was abused in this scenario because Ralph and Jack let Simon and a few other boys speak without holding the conch shell. Simon also got to go out and explore the island in the beginning because he was one of the favorites.

Ralph's common sense and ability to recognize what is best for the group also shows his excellent leadership skills. His main focus throughout the book is getting rescued and tells the boys to make a fire and to keep it burning to make a signal. However, the boys do not listen and he becomes angry. "The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don't keep the fire going?" (p. 86) Ralph's determination to get rescued is not only for himself, but for everyone else

In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, power is a notable theme that can be found very frequently throughout the novel. In the book, the theme of power is found in the form of items that revolve around the protagonist of the story, Ralph, and the antagonist, Jack (Burns 1). Ralph and Jack use these items in order to establish power in the group of boys for their own reasons (Burns 2). With Ralph, he uses items, which represent order in the story, to establish a democracy on the island, while Jack uses specific items that represent evil to create a monarchy out of Ralph’s democracy (Burns 1). The items used by Ralph and Jack in Golding’s novel will be later explained in the essay on how they represent power, what their meaning is, and their purpose in the story.

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

Power is a unique entity in that it does not change who a person is. It exposes who a person is. If someone is kind and good natured then their tenure as leader will reflect their generosity and kindness. But if someone is wicked, violent and inhuman then power will not only reflect one’s cruelty it will augment it. Joffrey is a misogynistic and sadistic bully who kills and tortures at a moment's whim simply for the pleasure. Whereas Jack, the antagonist in Lord of the Flies, is a cruel evil person who thinks torturing innocent people will prove one’s strength. They both reckon fighting for leadership is the essential key to living a vigorous life. The philosophy of Lord of the Flies compares with Game of Thrones in many ways as Joffrey and Jack are alike. Both of them are cruel leaders,describe themselves as a leader when they really aren't, and th will do whatever it takes to have a controlled society.