Corruption’s Rise to Power Combined Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler killed 54 million people. This begs the question, why do people who are clearly corrupted and even murderous followed by many? William Golding in his novel The Lord of the Flies attempts to answer that question through his portrayal of the character, Jack. In the novel, a group of boys get stranded on an island and attempt to create a proper government. Initially a pure of heart child is chose in Ralph but this eventually changes when Jack decides to start his own tribe. This leads to the boys leaving Ralph for the preferable leader: Jack, who’s violence and intimidation entices the boys to join him. The boys live in constant fear of a beast that Jack also uses as a tool to garner support. William Golding shows that humans follow corrupt leaders because they provide protection, exude confidence and manipulate effectively. …show more content…
It is implied that when Jack convinces the boys to murder Simon that he knows the beast is just a figment of their imaginations. Despite this, Jack instills fear within the boys that the beast is still alive. “I expect the beast disguised himself.”(145) Here, to keep himself in power Jack tells the boys the beast is still alive despite knowing the truth. He uses his perceived knowledge of the beast to give himself an advantage over Ralph. Jack’s manipulation even is used to justify the death of Simon later. Simon is brutally murdered but Jack claims that the beast is just taking a different form rather than acknowledging the group’s wrong. The book suggests that Jack knows of the murder of Simon“This head is for the beast. It's a gift.”(146) In this instance Jack tells the boys that he somehow has control over the beast. This shows how Jack uses the beast to draw the children towards him as the leader of the group. He always desires to rule over the boys and the beast is his scapegoat to do