Jack Merridew’s Evil Ways in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

A recurring theme among leaders in many societies today is that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” (John Acton, a 1700’s English Catholic historian, politician, and writer). In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, this idea of leadership, power, and corruption is put in the spotlight. Jack, one of the boys on the island, forces his way into the leadership position without actually earning it. It is clear that Jack has become corrupt as he turns into a person who is intimidating, egotistical, and selfish. Ralph, on the other hand, is a quality leader under most conditions as he appeals to the boys’ sophisticated side and has a

There is always a leader to lead you in the right direction, but that is up to you and who you think is a good leader as in this book. Commanders show people the right direction and prove themselves as good role models. Through the revolt of two boys, Golding demonstrate that civilization can be either destroyed or made better by the right leader.

Jack still wants the others to believe the beast still exists in order to keep fear in the boys and have power over all the boys.Moreover, due to the beast Jack is in power and the boys turn into savages.The boys on the island believe in Jacks rituals and look for some “protection” from Jack.Jack performs rituals and dances to influence the boys into believing he is keeping the boys safe.The boys believe Jack since none of the boys have been killed or harmed ever since Jack began to protect them.Jack wants to be the leader since the beginning. In the beginning, when boys chose Ralph based on his looks, Jack is not pleased.Therefore, Jack is able to scare the boys with the beast and keep control over the boys.Moreover, Jack believes in savagery

Literary devices are techniques often used by authors to portray in-depth analyses of major characters, storylines, and central themes, which take place in a story. These analyses help readers understand a message the author is trying to convey. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses different literary devices in order to demonstrate the boys’ struggle against the lack of society and law on the island, as well as the consequences that have transpired due to this loss. This conflict is evident through the different instances of irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism that occurs throughout the novel.

Jack had tried to lead the inhabitants of the island by terror and savagery instead of by order and civilization when he had declared himself chief of his hunter-driven tribe. Both his lust for blood and lust for power had aided him in becoming the savage tyrant and an antagonist of the book. Jack’s widespread fear would not have been substantial enough to build his stature in the hierarchy if the “beast” was not included in the story. The beast has been portrayed to the readers as a dead parachuter from the world war happening beside them. The characters, however, had no clue about the outside world or the parachuter who fell on the island. Therefore, the beast became a part of their fear on the island. The beast was the main antagonist in the middle of the story. It caused the most discord in the already terror-ridden state of the boys. The internal fears of the characters, the feeling of terror towards the other characters, and the nightmarish imagination of the youth, had all shown the dominating abilities of fear taking over the vulnerable sense of

It may have taken millions of years for humans to evolve enough to create the sprawling civilizations known today, but it only takes a few months for a group of civil, educated boys to regress back into savagery. In his novel Lord of the Flies, author William Golding depicts a group of young British boys getting stranded on a deserted island sans adults. The boys must look out for themselves, forming a basic governing system and trying to survive. But the challenge soon proves too much to handle, and order deteriorates. William Golding conveys the universal theme of civilization vs. savagery in his novel Lord of the Flies using the literary elements of plot, setting, and characterization.

With being so riled up, when Simon returned to the group, Jack, along with all the other boys, began attacking Simon as if Simon was the beast living upon the island. Simon was “...was crying out against the abominable noise, something about a body on the hill...At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to [Simon] struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (152-153). After Simon was beaten to death, Jack and the boys “...could see how small the beast it was; and already its blood was staining the sand” (153). Jack was aware that Simon was not the beast—he was aware that he was attacking another human. However, because of Jack’s love for blood, he did not see Simon as a human with value anymore; he just wanted to kill. Being strayed from society has given Jack the chance to live with no rules. Thus, his obsession in hunting is not being held back, allowing him to become desensitized to violence and to lose his morals. He no longer wanted to be rescued, but instead wanted to have live the excitement and thrill of hunting on the

Many philosophers believe that a correct government can make a strong society. However, these philosophers do not agree on what form of government is the most “correct”. English philosopher John Locke believed that Man is inherently moral and that the purpose for government is to grant the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to its people. Another philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, however, held the belief that mankind is naturally evil and that society needs an absolute central authority to contain this evilness and grant its people with the common protection. Hobbes believes that in a state of nature, when there are no rules and everyone is granted equal power, the inherent evil impulses of Man are exposed. One

Jack Merridew is a character in Lord of the Flies who always fights against Ralph about who should be in charge. Jack is described as a tall, thin, ugly boy with light blue eyes that seem to turn angry at any moment. When Ralph first sees Jack, he also notices a group of choir boys behind him. Jack is the leader of the choir, and enjoys being in control. If he is not in control, he relentlessly tries to become the figure in power. Jack discredits the power of the conch and lies about Ralph so the children will not want him as leader. “‘The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain,’” (Golding 42). When Jack is embarrassed, he becomes violent. When Piggy embarrasses Jack about the signal fire, Jack becomes upset and “… stuck his fist into Piggy’s

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said of justice, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”; and although the island the boys of Lord of the Flies resided on is outside the borders of civilization, Dr. King’s quote still holds true, thus the boys are to be charged for their actions. The accused, Jack Merridew, is being charged with 2nd degree murder, armed criminal action, and endangering the welfare of a child, due to his participation in the murder of Simon, brandishment of spears, and lack of regard for the other children on the island, respectively.

Stories through history argue that evil tendencies are shown in early life. One character, Jack Merridew in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, is a perfect example. This young boy is the evolving antagonist who brings discord in his wake, and fundamentally undermines the representative society on the island. At the outset, he is seen as a plainly ugly redheaded child, only possessing his grandiose black cloak, but evolves into something more sinister. Jack’s actions are impulsive, but effective in moving his darker motives forward. He uses his following of other young boys as muscle, demonstrates his power, and corrupts the world of Lord of the Flies with his destructive behaviors. As well as demonstrating the characteristics of a harsh leader, Jack fits the description of evil under other descriptions. Jack is the character that moves the novel forward with his harsh words and conduct, as illustrated by his dominance, pride, and selfishness.

While humans try their best to stop evil intentions, evil eventually overcomes. Although humans are ignorant and live their lives normally, evil finds a way to pounce on society. In order to suppress evil dominion is needed in the world. This is demonstrated in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. In this novel, when a horrific plane crashes on an island, a handful of boarding school boys find themselves stranded on a tropical island at a time during World War II. On the island, they govern themselves, hunt, and figure things out while waiting to be rescued. As time passes, there is conflict between two main characters, Jack and Ralph, who take on leadership roles. Another main character named Simon, is a mystical boy who spends time by himself

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

Siddhārtha Gautama, a man who founded the basis for a religion with 500 million faithful followers, postulated that “‘It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.’” Gautama describes that one’s flawed decisions are not influenced by his enemies, and one’s final decision is his to make alone, not to be affected by others. This is illustrated by the actions of the main figures in Lord of the Flies. The characters in the novel are British schoolboys under the age of twelve, yet on multiple accounts it is demonstrated how violent the youngsters can be. The narrative is an ongoing struggle between the juveniles and their own thoughts, which they refer to as the Beast. They refuse to accept that the Beast is in their minds, so they portray it as a monster which lurks during nighttime. The boys whose minds develop negatively create a civilization where brutality is emboldened, while the few that resist the temptation to become hateful are loathed and killed by the others. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding the literary element characterization depicts how loneliness can adversely affect the sanity and mind of an individual.

Lord of the Flies also proves man is inherently evil because it shows how selfish man inherently is.After determining that fire is the only way to signal any boats to their rescue,the boys decide to keep the fire going up at the mountain by taking shifts.Luckily one day a boat happens to pass by the island but does not come to their rescue because it does not see the signal.It turned out that Jack and a couple of irresponsible boys he dragged along with him went to go hunt for a pig.After Ralph confronted him about not taking care of the fire and losing their chance for resuce,Jack does not seem to care one bit.He***apologizes to everyone about his behavior.These poor childrens opportunity to be rescued gone because of Jack's own desire to