Jack Merridew

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

After a few tries, Jack and the hunters finally catch a pig. The boys and Jack brutally attack it and kill it. This is the first step of Jack's decent to primitive savagery. We see the loss of innocence because Jack has killed his first living creature, and also had a loss of innocence sexually. Now we see Jack become very confident in his hunting ability and we start to see him act more like a hunter. He now wears a mask over his face and always wants to hunt. The author has this to say about Jack and his mask, "the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness" (62).  With the aid of the mask, Jack is now transforming into a different person. He seems to be happier as a hunter. The author also lets us into Jack's mind, for his thoughts on his first kill, "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" (70).

He and his hunters have trouble trying to hunt and kill a pig because he has not had any experience in anything like this before. He continues struggle in being a hunter. At this moment he still has not made his decent into primitive savagery as he ends up at the end of the novel. However, the author does mention that Jack has primitive urges of a savage characteristic early “He [Jack] tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up." (51) This shows how Jack’s primitive desires are truly to hunt and kill. After a couple of attempts, Jack and the hunters finally brutally attack and kill a pig. This is the first step of Jack's transformation from being civilized into savagery Jack has lost his innocence in killing his first creature. From then on Jack becomes very confident in his hunting abilities and transitions into savagery, which brings out the evil in him. He now wears a mask over his face and always has the desire to hunt and becomes thirsty for

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

Ralph notices this and tries to stop him by yelling “‘Jack! Jack! You haven’t got the conch! Let him speak.’”, and tells him in front of everyone, saying he’s “‘breaking the rules’” (Golding 129). Jack, however, furiously retorts that he “‘[doesn’t] care!’” (Golding 130). It is because of this behavior that he starts to chip away at the conch’s power over Ralph and the other kids. Along with this disagreement, he also outright refuses to concede with the rules, but instead acts immature and thinks the rules are “‘[Bollocks!] We’re strong—we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat!’” (Golding 130). Jack goes even farther with this later in the book, even going so far as to to “tie Wilfred up…and beat Wilfred” (Golding 229) due to a mistake. This makes Jack a very strong leader, not unlike that of a dictator, using force to keep people in line.

After unsuccessfully trying to take away Ralph's power Jack states, “I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs.” (Golding 145). This quote holds significance in Jack’s struggle for power. Jack finally found the power in himself to break away from a place where he felt oppressed. This quote also shows how Jack felt his hunting was very important to Ralph and their overall survival. Jack, from the beginning believed hunting was the most important thing no matter what everyone else said, and from this belief Jack created many conflicts like not maintaining the fire. By leaving Ralph to hunt for himself Jack believed he was leaving him to die. Golding uses this to illustrate Jack’s need for power. When all structure was lost he found structure in hunting and thought those who didn't were still lost. By breaking away he created the ability to build a life that made sense to him and invited anyone who wanted to join. When Jack realizes this he very abruptly changes from someone who is fighting for power to someone with strength and courage. Jack paints a mask of his face and almost instantly changes. “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling… The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 68). Almost instantly Jack was a different person to not only the people around him but also to himself. Like the conch Golding uses the mask as a symbol for power. With the mask Jack is someone who doesn’t have to follow rules and obey the conch. He shows his break away from the government by breaking the conch. “The conch exploded into a thousand white pieces and ceased to exist,” (Golding 209) and just as simply so did any power Ralph had over

When Jack was first asked to kill the pig he hesitated. He said, “ ‘I was waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him’ ” (Golding 31). Although it is not directly stated why Jack didn’t kill the first pig, it is assumed that it is because he is a child and this is his first time killing. This is the only time Jack struggles to kill as it starts to consume him from not only killing just animals but people too. An external conflict is Jack wants to be chief, which causes a tension between him and Ralph. When it was first decided that the boys needed a chief Jack said, “ ‘A Chief! A Chief! I ought to be Chief!’ ” (Golding 22). This was the first time Jack showed any interest in becoming a leader which grew stronger the longer they where on the island. He lets becoming chief consume him and he begins to loose sight of who he

Jack had drawn his knife “with a flourish”(23) at first, but hesitated and understood “what an enormity the downward stroke would be”, meaning it was too evil for them to comprehend and would go against their morals. The “unbearable blood” which would have spilt as he “cut into living flesh” was too much for Jack to handle in the moment, and all of the boys were terrified of what he could have done. After this event took place, the boys asked him why he had not killed the pig so he defended himself by saying that he was only taking his time choosing a place to pierce the pig but that he would kill it the next time. Jack did not want the boys to think of him as a foolish child but as a mature adult, which he believed would make him seem like a good leader, although lying was the uncivilized way to react to the issue and he should have just told the truth and taken accountability. While Jack decided to not kill the pig at the beginning of the novel, he becomes obsessed with killing pigs and eventually ends up killing humans after applying a clay mask to his face, showing that he felt so humiliated that he wanted to prove the boys wrong and show them how brave he could be. "He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness." (48). Not only did Jack use this mask of

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, Your Honor, a terrible crime has been committed. Around five months ago, an aeroplane crashed into an abandoned island. This plane was carrying children and the only adults were the pilot and copilot who died on the scene. The children that survived created a society that kept them alive for two months, give or take a few weeks. They established a society where everyone had a place; a society that was ruled by a single chief, which was one of the elder boys. This boy tried to the best of his ability to keep everyone safe and keep peace among all the children. Ladies and Gentlemen, not all of the boys survived, some were killed by their fellow island mates. One of these boys was named Simon. Simon was killed

As Jack’s capricious behavior becomes violent, his speech seems to turn into a tirade, threatening the boys as oppose to warning them. "Suddenly Jack bounded out from the tribe and began screaming wildly.'See? See? That's what you'll get! I meant that! There isn't a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone--' He ran forward, stooping.'I'm chief!'” He is willing to inflict physical harm onto others to secure his position on top. By creating ostentatious displays, Jack made sure all of the boys knew that he held the power. He recruits other boys to join his fight to overthrow Ralph, as he is becoming power hungry. The boys side with Jack because they are scared of being killed or ostracized from the group. He ends up killing Piggy, since Piggy did not give in to fear and sided with Ralph. Jack put Piggy’s head on a stick; however, he finally realize how ridiculous and overzealous he looks and how far he is taking the situation when he sees the naval

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Jack tries to assert his power with violence. As the hope of rescue and going back home fades, he becomes hostile towards other members of the group. “Ralph made a step forward and Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks. Piggy cried out in terror: “My specs!”’ (Golding, 71). As Jack’s personality fades, he gains a violent temper. He lashes out against Piggy, who was merely offering a suggestion. Some boys agree with what Piggy said and Jack is worried he’s losing the control he wants over the boys.

Jack was one whose personality caused the civilization to come tumbling down. When we first discover the boys on the island and get a mere glimpse of their personalities, it is quite apparent that Jack is going to be one who is power-hungry. He already has a group of followers, the choirboys, of whom he has the utmost power over. He has a very controlling personality that cannot be subsided by the obstacles that are shown in the novel. Jack suffers from wanting to be the best. When he is not chosen as the chief and supreme ruler in the very beginning, it is proven that he will find a way to claw up to the top and take the spot that in his opinion is his right. Jack has quite a reckless personality, and will risk all to be standing alone at the top as king or leader. Jack is also guilty of envy, which goes hand in hand with power. He is envious of everything that Ralph has. Ralph is the chief, and has much common sense. Jack senses this and is jealous of the fact that Ralph can command attention and a following that easily. I also believe, when reflecting back, that Jack is in a sense jealous of Piggy, without being aware of it. Piggy is the complete intellect on the island. While Jack is quite smart, he certainly is not as gifted as Piggy. Piggy can interpret any situation and be the lone voice of knowledge of the masses. Jack not only gets jealous

Jack Jack is placed on the very top and leaning left on the political spectrum. In the story, he craves and thirst for power, and he goes as far as to hurting someone else for what he wants, as in Chapter 1 and 2, he suggested himself to become chief and leader, especially because he was once “head boy” in school, and he snatches Piggy’s specs to start a bonfire. He ignores the rules of the conch yet he also uses it for his own advantage, like when he tells Piggy to shut up when he has the conch, but uses it to call an assembly to impeach Ralph along with twisting Ralph’s words in chapter 8 and bashed him to make himself look more like a desirable leader for the littluns, as he said “He's like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn't a proper

Jack has no care for the actions he commits and he thinks about things after they have already been done, after he punches piggy he tries to say that he apologizes so they will forgive him and everyone will forget about it. Jack's efforts for doing the right thing are minimal, he is

Jack got embarrassed when Ralph and Simon made fun of him so he is trying to find a way to redeem himself. Jack was trying to hunt for a pig to show Ralph and Simon that he isn’t afraid of killing pigs, but that didn’t work out since the pig escaped. This made Jack upset since he was unable to show Ralph that he can kill a pig. He had nothing to show Ralph and Simon that he was capable of being a hunter. He is now frustrated and won’t be satisfied until he can kill a pig to show Ralph and Simon.