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Lord Of The Flies The Beast Character Analysis

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In Lord of the Flies, Jack uses the beast to gain power on the island.

In Lord of the Flies, a novel about the inner-workings of civilization, the distribution of power is something that is discussed multiple times. The person or people who are given power defines all of the components of a civilization (economy, government, social structure, etc.) When all of the boys in Lord of the Flies crash onto the island, the fight for power is initiated almost immediately. Ralph, who has all the characteristics of a good leader, wants to gain power in an honest way. Jack is more power hungry, and isn’t reluctant to manipulate the other boys just to become the leader. Jack frequently uses the Beast as a way to get the other boys on the island to …show more content…

He is using his knowledge of savage actions that will impress a lot of the boys. A lot of his tribe sees him as a noble leader, and Jack is often the one to show no fear. The large amount of boys who joined Jack on his hunt are still overcome with fear. While exploring the island for the beast, “the hunters bunched a little by fear of the mentioned beast, while Jack quested ahead” (160). Jack makes it obvious that he is not afraid to impress the boys and also to assert his authority against them.

Jack is one of the oldest of all the boys on the island, and he tries very hard to use how naive the younger ones are to his advantage. When the tribe encounters and kills a wild boar while exploring, Jack tries to pass it off as him killing the Beast, saying “I walloped him properly. That was the beast, I think!” before Ralph corrects him and states that the “Beast” “was a boar” (163). Jack is embarrassed about Ralph correcting him and about being exposed to the rest of the boys. He still uses the fact that the boys are naive, however, and as they continue on one of the boys, Maurice, asks “supposing the beast’s up there?’ to which Jack responds “we’ll kill it.” Jack, being old enough to understand that there isn’t a such thing as a beast, uses the other boys’ unknowingness and curiousity to make himself seem more confident in his own leadership skills, assuring them that the beast will be killed if they encounter it.

Jack Merridew in Lord of the Flies uses the idea of

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