Jack In Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis

Throughout Lord of the Flies, Jack proves himself to be a very aggressive and forceful leader who always seems motivated by self-interest. From the beginning of the novel, Jack instills fear within the boys to maintain control. For example, during the scene in which the boys are to vote on a leader, Golding clearly coveys that although the boys do not really want to vote for Jack, but they reluctantly do so. “With dreary obedience the choir raised their hands. ‘Who wants me?’ Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air” (23). Another defining moment of Jack Merridew is when he apologizes to Ralph for letting the fire go out. “‘I’m sorry. About the fire, I mean.

I—‘ He drew himself up.‘—I apologize.’ The buzz from the hunters was one of admiration at this handsome behavior. Clearly they were of the opinion that Jack had done the decent thing, had put himself in the right by his generous apology and Ralph, obscurely, in the wrong. They waited for an appropriately decent answer” (72). Golding includes the reaction of the hunters to give the reader the intimation that Jack’s apology may not be sincere and he just wants to regain the respect of the boys. This shows that Jack is acting in self-interest and uses deceitful tactics to gain the trust of his supporters. Despite this, Jack continues to fulfill the role of the bully by calling the littluns cry babies and sissies, not to mention his constant jabs at Piggy. This lets the reader know that Jack takes advantage of his power when he knows he will not face any consequences. Another example of Jack becoming more savage is when he steals Piggy’s glasses by means of violence. When Ralph Nd Piggy go to retrieve the glasses, Piggy is killed. Jack then admits that he meant for Roger to kill piggy to prove to the boys that he has the power to control whether or not they live or

From the very beginning of Lord of the Flies, the author shows the power struggle between the two boys in the scene where the boys vote for chief. Another example of their differing views is when Ralph is upset with Jack because they missed their opportunity to be rescued when the choir boys did not keep the fire going. Meanwhile, Jack is trying to express that fact that he had the guts to kill a pig. This is a key moment because it demonstrates how Jack is focused on proving himself to others, but Ralph is focused on getting rescued. Another example of the power struggle between the boys is when Ralph yells at Jack for breaking the rules but Jack says he does not care (93). Slowly but surely, Jack is breaking away from his role as “the choir boy” and becoming a rebel in the eye of society. All the boys seem to begin to follow Jack. Although he does not make it known to the boys, Jack is threatened by Ralph and decides to try and kill him. This is Golding’s way of proving that Jack, too, is motivated by fear. Lastly, in the very end of the novel, Ralph claims to be leader to the officer and Jack does not argue. “‘Who’s boss here?’ ‘I am!’ said Ralph loudly. A little boy…started forward, then changed his mind and stood still” (201). This shows how Ralph still believes he is the leader, even though he has no followers. Also, Jack is no longer regarded as the