Adolf Hitler. This man was one of the most notorious people to ever live, but Jack, a character from the action-packed novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, may be a bit similar to Hitler. In this book, a group of boys are stranded on an island. They must do everything themselves, including hunting and building. Golding has said that he partly based the novel off of World War II and the Holocaust. Jack is an antagonist in the story, and his rise to power and treatment of some of the boys is very similar to Hitler himself.
The first way that Hitler and Jack are similar is how they were rejected while trying to gain power. Both of them started off as average, everyday people who wanted to be a leader. However, both of them were not elected as leader in their first attempt at gaining power and control. When Hitler wanted himself and the Nazis to be in control of the government, they were rejected by ninety-seven percent of the voters. The article, “Hitler Comes to Power” states, “By the time of the 1928 elections, the Nazis appeared to be nothing but a small, annoying party of the radical Right. Their fanatical nationalism and opposition to Marxism, the Jews, and big business earned them less than 3 percent of the popular vote” (Hitler Comes to Power 1). All the same, Jack was rejected at first too. A quote from the novel states, “Ralph counted. ‘I’m chief then.’ … Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification.”
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, has four very important dynamic characters. A dynamic character is a character that develops and grows during the course of the story. Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon are four dynamic characters in Lord of the Flies that adapt to their new lifestyles in different ways. Jack is a very important dynamic character in Lord of the Flies because he goes through the most changes during the novel. While on the island, Jack has many life experiences that change him forever. Jack never thought he would live his life the way he is living his life in the island. Jack’s authoritative figure, savage-like/instinctual behavior, and violence are three qualities that make Jack a dynamic character.
There are no adults on the island. No one to make them feel safe when there is an unknown creature that feeds off fear. Jack takes that fear and causes a decline in the society of the boys on the island. First of all, he is stubborn. Jack is also immature and reckless. Thirdly, he is power-hungry. Lastly, Jack is driven by fear.
Like jack, Hitler ruled with fear and intimidation, and only some are worthy of life. As this quote states “Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live “ (Hitler) the weak should die and the willing shall live. He also believed one race and religion was superior to the others. Another trait Hitler and Jack share is the capability to lie. Hitler believes “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed” he leads his followers on with false hope. He would not be in power if he was upfront about his plans. His hatred and wickedness show how much power can affect a person. Sadly most of the time the power effects the person negatively and the person in power uses it for their own benefit.
Hitler killed anyone he did not like or agree with. He did this with zero remorse about his actions. Like Hitler, Jack would kill anyone he didn't agree with or like. Jack did not even realize what he was doing to people who used to call his friends. His tribe killed simon thinking he was some kind of beast. His tribe also attempted to hunt Ralph down and kill him all because he didn't agree with Jack's rules. An example of Jack killing with no remorse is when he Kills piggy and proceeds to say “See? See? Thats what youll get!”(Golding 181). Obviously one cannot compare Hitler's body count to Jacks but they both were horrible humans who killed just because they didn't like someone or one did not agree with them. One thing different about the two is Jack is killing for a god like figure. Jack was killing for the Lord of the Flies. Hitler was killing to try to gain world domination.
Jack Merridew’s intricate personality and its multiple layers are explored quite thoroughly in the William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, arguably more than that of any of the boys. Jack is a natural leader but considering his other qualities, is he really suitable to lead the boys? Even though Jack is more influential than Ralph is, he is a horrible leader and role model due to his negative traits such as his savagery, irrationality and a megalomaniac.
“There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs.” Being brought to a new location or environment can bring out the beast in a man. For Jack in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the island is his war. The new world brings out the worst in Jack, a beast and a savage. Jack’s interaction with killing in this novel is used to show the theme that a savage-like side can be brought out in anyone.
In conclusion, when Jack finds his way to power, controls his tribe with fear and intimidation, and nearly kills off Ralph's tribe through survival of the fittest, these points all clearly relate to some of of that of Hitler. Although Jack and Hitler do share some
Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the way Jack is described changes. Not only how other characters view him but also the way he is described throughout the book. At his first appearance he is described as tall thin and bony with red hair, that his face is ugly and freckled. His blue eyes looked like they were ready to turn into anger. The other characters progressively start to see him as evil and violent as he craves to become leader over Ralph. His main conflict is believing that he deserves to be in charge and Ralph does not. Killing turns into a nature although he struggled at the beginning. Jack becomes viewed as an animal as he becomes so obsessed with being leader, when he struggles to kill the pig it shows his true humanity.
Jack’s hunters show the “darkness of man's heart” and the evil of killing when they start to brutally kill pigs and enjoy it. When the hunters successfully kill their first pig, they start to celebrate in a not so sane way. They start chanting “Kill the pig, cut her throat, spill her blood”(69). By the hunters chanting this, it shows that they enjoyed killing the pig. Killing the pig was a necessary task for obtaining food but it was turned into a form of bloody enjoyment. Later when Jack and his group stumble across another pig, they kill it in a not so quick and efficient way. They all jump the pig and “Roger ran round the heap, prodding with his spear wherever pig flesh appeared”(135). Jack helps out by repeatedly stabbing down on it with
The children landed uncharted island far from any semblance of police, parents, or even teachers. The island was almost like the “Neverland” that Disney taught us about years ago, but without Tinkerbell and a magical home with all their needs. Jack and the children in this adventure were in a heap of trouble. They were many, some smaller and some bigger (littleuns and bigguns). These kids had to organize themselves into some sort of unit, to more efficiently find a way home. That is where the trouble begins. When one or more humans come together, a hierarchy is always established. Similar to when one goes to a restaurant and the waitress only addresses our father for the majority of the tables decisions. When this hierarchy forms, the decisions this leader takes will always be classified as good or evil, and the society will be judged by the character at their forefront. In William Golding’s novel “Lord of The Flies”, Jack Merridew is the character that takes leadership in the society and proves humanity is inherently evil by demonstrating human’s: selfish tendencies, competitive nature, and hopelessness.
In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding emphasizes the essential values of a democracy to the people on the island through Ralph’s democratic leadership style and goals and Jack’s controlling and manipulative. These two leaders of the tribes draw a parallel reflection on the two leaders of World War Two, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler. Lord of the Flies beings with a plane crash in the middle of the ocean; the boys are left alone on an island without any adults, fending for their lives. Ralph steps up after being elected leader, but Jack declares himself the leader of the hunting tribe and ends up recruiting most of the boys to transfer into his group using paranoia and abuse. Throughout the book, the boys lose their grip on humanity, civilization, and morality leading to deaths of some of the boys and the struggle to keep a democratic society to survive the island until rescue. Similarities can be seen between Ralph and Roosevelt as well as between Jack and Hitler throughout Lord of the Flies.
William Golding portrayed his past through a character in his novel, Lord of the Flies; Godling brought out what he truly believed to be the "darkness" of ones heart and incorporated it into the fictional character, Jack. William Golding, according to his family, was a violent man. His family described him as being a dictator, which showed a correlation between him and the fictional character, Jack. Throughout the story, Jack was a representation of savagery. His character was blood thirsty and a manipulator. Upon their arrival to the island, Jack desired power over all things. He wanted to be the leader and in control of the boys.
Lord of the Flies is a dystopian novel by William Golding and published in 1951, shortly after the end of World War II. The novel follows the ventures of a group of British boys stranded on an island and seeks to address the root cause of the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph represents order and civilized society, while Jack represents Hitler and his fascist regime. Ralph’s shortfall lies in his myopic point of view, developed by his father’s influence. His lack of foresight in his leadership role results in the neglect of critical responsibilities, poor decision-making and a weak society, which then allows for the rise of Jack’s fascist regime.
The novel " Lord of the Flies" focuses on the conflict that exists between two competing impulses that Golding, suggests exist within all humans; these being the instinct to follow the rules, act in a peaceful manner and comply to moral commands compared to the instinct to act violently in order to gain control over others and to satisfy our own greed and personal desires. The conflict exists within the novel in several forms; law and order vs. anarchy, civilization vs. savagery and the basic term of good vs. evil. Golding uses these themes consistently throughout the novel, clearly associating instinctive savagery with evil and the instinct of civilisation with good. The representation of this lies in Ralph and Jack, the two central
Hitler was the ruler of Germany during World War II, and he ruled over his people in fear. Jack is commonly described to being similar if not exactly like Hitler. Golding leaves many examples in the novel to show how Jack and Hitler are alike. Both of them promised their “citizens” a better life, they both promise their country “meat” (Golding 140), and they both lead as a dictator, taking their power with force and leading as the only chief of the state. Jack is described in the book as “a terror” (Golding 189) and Hitler has been