Power Lust (A Discussion of Power Lust within Jack) 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. To begin with, we first …show more content…
Jack respects Ralph as a leader and another alpha, however deems himself the higher qualified to lead the group; bringing forth a vote for a chief. However, the choir boy followers weren’t strong enough in numbers to counter the seemingly endless supply of little kids that voted for Ralph. After this unexpected result, Jack develops an instant grudge towards his only competition for power. Ralph begins to form a democratic society solely focused on rescue; yet jack has other plans in agenda. Under Ralph’s seemingly boring command, Jack develops other outputs for his primal necessity of dominance. Jack begins focusing on the task of hunting animals and finding weaker beings to prey on. Jack even blatantly leaves the rescue fire to chase after a pig; had he not have done so, the group could have possibly been rescued by the boat passing by during the fire’s absence. Once Jack finally has enough of going in circles with Ralph, he makes the decision to shake off Ralph’s influence and create his own niche. Within Jack’s tribe, lifestyle is greatly different to that of one designed by Ralph. Jack and his followers seemingly devolve into primal beings, as Jack gets his fill of power. Control over others was all that Jack longed for, with a crazed and burning
(Law and Order) "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things." (Golding 42)
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.
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 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.
A few days after the boys are stranded, the way Jack is described shows how quickly he is regressing. Jack is described as "Bent double... down like a sprinter, his nose only a few inches from the humid earth" (Golding 50). Jack is the head of the choir boys and not too long in the book he seems to be growing more animal like. This description suggests that no matter a person's status, everyone has a primitive nature in them waiting to be released. Golding further enforces this belief when Ralph spears his first pig. "Ralph talked on excitedly. 'I hit him all right.'" Ralph is the good leader trying to get everyone rescued and not get caught up in the killing while Jack is supposed to be the immature, animalistic savage. Readers were disturbed when they realized that good people, such as Ralph, can become just as twisted as people like
The boys elect Ralph as chief but later on rebel against him. The boys choose Ralph because they know he has good ideas to be rescued and they believe in him, but when he tries to take charge they do not want to listen or manage their responsibilities. In fear of the beast, Ralph loses control of the boys. Jack does not like the way Ralph is leading so he takes advantage of all the panicking and tries to start his own camp and group to overthrow Ralph. The kids need rules and adults in order for them to be civilized, cooperative and calm while they wait for rescue. How Jack wanted to rule was made up of one thing, hunting and killing the beast because he thought that the beast is their main priority.
"where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequiently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. ", a quote from lord acton, displays the inevitable outcome of power spread out between few. this quote is proven true in "the lord of the flies" showing that it's important to stand up to those who try to take power and ue it to abuse other. in "the lord of the flies" jack consistantly challanges ralph's authority and evintually strips him of it. in the quote "see!
Kyle Campbell Ms. Schneider English 3-4 12 May 2015 The Architecture of Society “Henry was a bit of a leader this afternoon, because the other two were Percival and Johnny, the smallest boys on the island.” (Golding 60) This quote from The Lord of The Flies shows how much social classes are ingrained into people as a whole.
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding explores the ideas of power and leadership. Golding uses the characters Jack and Ralph to show that humans have a natural desire for power and leadership. Ralph symbolises leadership and order whereas Jack is used to represent the desire for power.
“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent,” said Mahatma Gandhi. This quote relates directly towards the existence of good and evil in William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies is a about group of British boys whose airplane crashes on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in an unspecified possible future world war. Throughout the book, they are forced to hunt, find water, create shelter, and develop a civilized society. Society is a term used for a group of people who live in a community and believe in a purpose.
There has always been a desperate struggle for power along the years that humans have inhabited earth. In William Golding’s “Lord Of The Flies”, William shows how it can affect anyone, anywhere. Ralph shows his democratic spirit and gets elected by other as the tribe’s chief. Jack on the other hand is the more dictatorial style of a leader. Both boys are similar but yet different, they both feel the burden of the power differently. Therefore these reasons will prove that Ralph is a better candidate for being a leader and who will ultimately achieve power.
There is a certain need for power in a human’s day-to-day life. Those who are the natural leaders of the world strive to get things to be the way they want them to be. But this is not how the world works. Even when stranded and a desert island there is still some sense that the power should not be given to those who might want to cause discord in the world. There is still a sense, and a need for the kind of calm authority that all know from being in school. The strive for power is a strong one, a need so strong it will rip a community to shreds if this power is not satisfied. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Jack has this deep desire to have the power on the island, he will sacrifice many things to get where he wants to be, and what he finds with power may not be what he had thought it would be.
Power. Power revolves around a lot of things and can be used differently in many ways. Royalton Ambrose says that “those who have true power share it, while those who hunger power abuse it”. William Golding’s novel, “Lord of the Flies”, shows the different ways power can be taken. This topic is most significant in this novel because many symbols or characters represent it and it can even be addressed in our current society. William Golding in Lord of the Flies argues that power can be taken or used differently and be put on the right path in a positive way or a negative way. For example, Jack represents an autocratic government, where power is taken; and Ralph represents democratic governments, where power is given. The characters Ralph and
This shows a distinctive solution to keeping power and a lot can be said for leaders who use their power in this subtle approach. Ralph, the main protagonist, in Lord of the Flies is portrayed throughout the text as the primary figure for order and democracy amongst the ‘tribe.’ In a tyrannical society, Golding presents to the audience that people who act in good will and try to maintain power through egalitarian approach are often the subject to violence from “painted savages.” Simon, who demonstrates these kind and wise values, is one of the victims in Jack’s insane desire for power. Jack’s and the “sniggering savages” minds are so set out on savagery, “Kill the best cut his throat, spill his blood.” Golding vigorously describes them as animals, and as if they were beasts themselves. The animalistic death of Simon further shows that civilised order is stripped as chaos and brutality take over the island population. The style of leadership that Ralph portrays is seen as a restriction to the other kids, with all the organised meetings and duties, as we see that Ralph plays the same authoritarian role as figures in their previous ‘normal’ lives which cause them to resent his ideology and turn to the “proper chief”
Evil is in everything. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he demonstrates how a somber lifestyle can change how they act in a matter of days. He shows this to us when the proper, English, boys end up on an isolated island and need to learn how to do everything on their own. Golding’s purpose is to bring value to rules in society shown through the differences in leadership styles represented by two main characters, Jack, and Ralph. While it may seem as if this is only a book about boys who go through an unfortunate event, they are learning about how the world works. They are experiencing different leadership characteristics.