Jack Merridew Leadership Analysis

the injustice and cruelty that runs rampant in the world, it is unsurprising to become determined to make things better for tomorrow. A moral grey area is the only thing separating those making positive changes and playing judge, jury, and executioner. Commendable yet unreasonable, leaders’ whose sole purpose in life is to fix what they see as wrong with the world fall prey to thinking there is only ally or enemy. They harm those they are trying to liberate in the long run. This is the downfall of leaders in many works of literature, including Harrison Bergeron and The Lord of the Flies. If given power, individuals obsessed with achieving their glorified ideals will revert to an aggressive and uncompromising leadership style, ultimately

He becomes one of the prominent leadership figures and his interest in establishing a society aligns with Ralph’s, the first elected leader, but he shows a propensity for aggressive behavior by yelling that it would "serve [them] right if something did get [them], you useless lot of cry-babies!" (Golding 64). Choosing to attack the young boys for their fears plays into Jack’s fanaticism about his nearly-embraced island life. Becoming defensive about what he is doing for the group, he attacks the same people he attempts to govern. Later, the ideological differences between Jack and Ralph prove too great, and Jack sets fire to the island in his bid to kill him, “smoke...seeping through the branches in white and yellow wisps, the patch of blue sky overhead turned to the color of a storm cloud” (152). The moment that Ralph opposed Jack, he became an enemy, no matter that he and Jack had worked together before. Jack’s own bloodlust also sabotaged his goal of never returning to their past lives since it alerted a passing ship to their presence. In essence, Jack wasn’t a destructive character, but rather a leader who compromised his morals to a point where he had almost