Power In Lord Of The Flies Quotes Analysis

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.

“They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned. At last Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood—and his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition” (Golding 138). Once an offering to the “beast”, the pig’s head swarming with flies that had been severed by Jack and placed on a stick, manifests into the Lord of the Flies, representing pure evil. Simon, embodying the goodness of man and peace stumbles upon the head. The interaction between Simon and the Lord of the Flies is almost an interpretation between good and evil. The strong symbolism in this book gives a deeper meaning and a definite truth

(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)

Jack is only interested in power, he acts like a dictator and doesn’t follow the communities thoughts. Some actions that Jack takes that shows this are "I got the conch," said Piggy indignantly. “You let me speak!” “The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain," said Jack, “So you shut up.” This shows how Jack acts like dictator because he doesn’t listen to what the people say. “He's not a hunter. He'd never have got us meat. He isn't a perfect and we don't know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing. All this talk-.” This shows how Jack is power hungry and will basically do anything to get it, he is trying to make Ralph look like a bad chief in order for him to try to take the power away from him and get it for himself. “We’ll raid them and take fire. There must be four of you; Henry and you, Robert and Maurice. We'll put on paint and sneak up.” This shows how Jack uses his power to make his tribe members listen to his orders and steal the members of the other tribes. Jack is only interested in power and wants the power for his own

People today believe that to be powerful you have to be known and rich. While that may be partly true, an individual is powerful if they possess the ability to show responsibility, courage, determination, and initiative.

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

Jack had finally killed the pig and he knows it. The show of twitching can be shown as the lasting exhilaration from the kill. It is supported by this quote “He danced a step or two, then remembered his dignity and stood still grinning.” (Golding 69). That shows that jack enjoyed the killing of the pig. Jack now has had a taste in vitally harming another living being physically. This experience influences jack’s action to be more bolder with his new found confidence. Before he was restrained by his consciousness of killing another living being, but now all that has been lost. He starts to act like a savage becoming more domineering and careless of his actions towards others because of the skill experience that he has gained of hunting down an animal. “Jack smacked Piggy’s head.” (Golding 71). Jack’s action becomes more unrestrained and vicious. Before he would only verbally abuse Piggy because society restraining him from any physical violence. But after the killing of the pig, Jack begins to get violent and physical. As shown in the quote when he smacks Piggy’s head. This is one of the two main points of jack’s turn from civility into savagery. These actions without laws and persecution lets jack’s savagery flow out. He begins to act more unrestrained without the punishments voiced criticism of society. And as the leader of hunter’s he begins to influence others to act the

Symbol: The long hair represents how long they have been on the island. The “painted faces and long hair” symbolize savagery. Jack paints his face and it makes him feel as if he is one with nature to symbolize his savagery.

“We want to have fun, and we want to be rescued” (page 37) A good chief or leader is someone that cares about all the individuals in the group, does not break people down, and blunt and honest with a group. In this case, Ralph would be the best choice for chief for many reasons. As shown by that quote he really cares about what was best for the group, but yet was also about having fun on the island while they were deserted. Ralph throughout the novel shows civilization through his action and so many more characteristics that make up a good leader. Ralph is the best leader in the novel. This is evident because he makes good decisions to benefit the group, his priority is to be rescued over everything else, and he is the most civilized of all

Jack Merridew is an innocent boy who wants to become the leader so anxiously that he ends up being the antagonist, and he hurts anyone in his path. Jack gradually becomes more and more aggressive due to his craving to kill a pig for food. Jack thrives on that power and control that he gets from killing and that is all that will keep

Chirst figure represents all that are innately good as a subtle, yet suggestive figure which parallels to Jesus Chirst. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Simon is intended to be a Chirst-like figure who demonstrates generosity, omniscience, and benevolence. Although Simon is not directly described as the Chirst himself, in these two passages from chapters three and nine, literal figures of Simon are given to compare him to the Christ through: his generosity towards the outcasts, being the only one to confront the truth, and denial of revealing the truth by the boys. Initially, the biblical parallel of Chirst and Simon’s benevolene is represented in the earlier passage through the description of Simon’s physical appearance.

Ralph had stopped smiling and was pointing into the lagoon. Something creamy lay among the ferny weeds. “A stone.” “No. A shell.”

Golding shows us in the Lord of the Flies the evil within everyone. This is shown on the island through the savagery, the corrupted government, the constant need to fight for power, and through the murders. This evil within us is shown today through terrorist acts, shootings, wars between countries for political power, and through corrupted hierarchies. Mankind is inherently evil and this is what leads to the chaos shown on the island.

Pigs in the novel are one of the sources of Jack’s alteration to savagery as the pig-hunts turned him into a cold-hearted and bloodthirsty being. At the beginning of the novel when Ralph, Jack and Simon go off to explore the island, they discover a piglet tangled in the creepers. Jack attempts to kill the pig but couldn’t succeed because the idea “of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh...the unbearable blood” (41) was too dark and evil for him. However, he vows that “next time there would be no mercy” (42). This statement is an initiation to his change in character because after that, he is involved in many hunts. He eventually paints his face to form a mask “behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (89). The mask gives him not only a change in appearance but also gives him different identity. Golding describes Jack as follows: “He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger…” (89). The author tells the readers that Jack is no longer himself; he has turned into a complete stranger. Subsequently, Jack establishes a ritualistic chant within his “tribe” after killing a pig; “Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill her blood!” (96). Jack makes it seem like a celebration or something “fun” however the chant truly symbolizes the evil within him and loss of morals he once had. Furthermore, his desire for hunting

Neha Chataut Mrs. Walls September 3 2015 5th hour Lord of the Flies by William Golding Part I: The theme of power is discussed all throughout the book. The boys first start fighting for power is when Piggy and Ralph first meet each other. There is a sense of wanting to be dominant and the most powerful, and eventually Ralph wins that fight.