Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

Lord Of The Flies Essay “The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it” (Adolf Hitler). In William Golding’s 1954 novel Lord of the Flies, Jack Merridew’s rise to power demonstrates a similar trend. After the boys crash land on the island, Jack is the first to break off from the tribe, symbolizing his detachment from sensibility, and subsequently giving into his savagery and temptation. As time goes on, Jack coerces the other boys into similar actions through implementing fear and offering solutions to their vulnerabilities. This behavior that Jack demonstrates throughout the novel exemplifies that of many dictators throughout history. Historically, dictators have obtained power by rising to the occasion when their country is in a time of crisis and vulnerability and offering solutions.

In Lord of the Flies, Jack rose to authority because he promised pig meat to the susceptible littlest who were hungry and scared. At one point in the book all the boys are in such dire need of food that they miss their chance to signal a nearby ship for rescue, and when confronted about it by Ralph they claim, “But we want meat!” (pg. 54. The aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid Eventually the boys were unable to resist their hunger and Jack convinced them to join their tribe by promising, “We’ll hunt. I’m going to be chief.” (pg. 133) Jack had the solution to the little problems and vulnerabilities. He used this as a catalyst to amass a following and gain power. Evan Esar famously wrote, “In a democracy, you believe it or