Jack's Responsibility In Lord Of The Flies

“With great power comes great responsibility” (Uncle Ben-Spider man). Power has been one of the greatest driving factors for mankind since ancient times. There were kings in Mesopotamia, pharaohs in Egypt, medieval kings in Europe, all the way to modern day presidents and dictators. One common thread between these rulers is the need to treat the people well and be responsible with their power. If irresponsible, the people revolt and choose a different, stronger, leader. This is shown in Lord of the Flies when Ralph is overthrown and Jack becomes the leader. However, power was not handed to Jack, he had to work to show he could be a leader. The ways he gained power were by showing he was a good hunter, by showing Ralph's weaknesses, and by exploiting the boy's fears.
Jack legitimizes his power by showing the boys his ability to hunt and feed the group. He shows this by hunting and killing a pig, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (Golding 58). By capturing and killing the pig, Jack proved not only that he could supply food, but also that he was powerful and could supply meat. His hunting skills help him gain power again when Ralph cannot supply meat and must rely on Jack and

For those reasons Jack gained power and social standing by using his ability to hunt.
The second method Jack used to gain power was slandering Ralph. Jack slandered Ralph's hunting skills by saying, “He isn't a hunter. He'd never have got us meat” (126). This proved to the group that Ralph was an incompetent leader who could not provide food for the group, and that Jack could provide food. Another example of Jack insulting Ralph is when Jack lied about Ralph when he said, “Ralph thinks your cowards running away from the boar and the beast” (126). When Jack lied to his group of hunters it made Ralph look bad and the hunters would be more loyal to Jack so that gained power for Jack. For those reasons slandering Ralph gained power for