Power In Lord Of The Flies

The negative uses of dominance in a society can lead to its complete downfall. Throughout William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, there is an ongoing conflict with authority among the boys stranded on the island. When the first characters are introduced, three main voices emerge: Ralph, Jack, and Piggy. When the children elect a chief, Ralph is the chosen leader. Jealous of the group’s preference of Ralph over himself, Jack eventually descends into madness, transforming from a civilized schoolboy to a savage-like megalomaniac. As these changes take place, his craving for superiority grows. The progressive worsening of his power obsession is shown through different stages of the novel. The election was the first source of tension between

He originally toyed with the idea in chapter four when he believed that he needed camouflage in order to hunt pigs. He explained to Roger, “they don't smell me. They see me, I think. Something pink, under the trees” (63). His makeshift mask was met with only confusion. He quickly clarified, “for hunting. Like in the war. You know–dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else–” (63). This can also be tied in with his prolonged self-esteem issues. Though not as obvious as Piggy’s or Simon’s, Jack shows signs of having low self-confidence. When first introduced to the readers, he is described as “ugly without silliness” (20). Additionally, he feels the need to prove his toughness and strength to the other boys constantly. With the paint, he can “cover up” his insecurities and live out his personal fantasies with no responsibilities. The paint is used by the other hunters as a hunting device, but also as an excuse to do practically anything they want, especially for violent purposes. They wear the masks while killing the sow, or in other words, during the creation of the Lord of the Files, and during the brutal death of Simon and Piggy. The paint ultimately turned into a sinister symbol for Jack and the other

After having his ideas and demands challenged repeatedly, he exploded and lost control. Although Jack has had his outbursts prior to this, most, if not all of them were eventually resolved. This time, however, was different. When Ralph mentions that even the hunters are no match for the beast, Jack gets upset and calls an assembly. He proceeds to call Ralph “a coward”, “not a proper chief”, and more (126). At the peak of his frustration, he attempts to convince the boys to impeach Ralph, ending in failure. Overwhelmed with humiliation, Jack says “I'm not going to play any longer. Not with you” in tears as he runs away (127). This quote is extremely important because it really emphasizes the fact that they are all children going through the trauma of being on the island, and not in possession of the qualifications to survive in a situation like this. Despite that being the case, Jack only speeds up the collapse of their society by taking power of his own savage tribe. His detachment from the group eventually leads to the death of Simon, Piggy, and almost