Power in the Lord of The Flies In the story The Lord of The Flies by William Golding, A group of boys are stranded on an island with no adults, and are forced to collaborate and work together to survive. Throughout the novel two boys named Jack and Ralph, face off in a major struggle for ultimate power. As the novel continues, Jack uses many oppressive methods of ruling to keep the boys under his control. In the Lord of the Flies Jack is able to seize, maintain, and abuse power through scare tactics, fear, and aggression. The use of oppressive power methods are pinnacle to the overtaking of power in Jack's favor. He uses these methods to take control away from Ralph, and make the boys feel protected and provided for when they are in his care. Jack is first able to gain control through creating a monopoly of food, making it so he and his band of hunters were able to provide …show more content…
He uses the strength of his group to take things with force to provide. As his group restrains Piggy,”His specs-use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 168). Through restraining Piggy and stealing his glasses Jack is making the boys think that it is okay to use force and oppress others to survive. These fear tactics and aggression are what helps Jack to maintain power over the boys throughout the novel. Another example of this is after the raid when Ralph is hiding he sends his boys after him. As the night rages on,”Then Ralph was running beneath trees, with the grumble of the forest explained. They had smoked him out and set the island on fire.” (Golding 197). Not only does this show how little the boys care about escaping or surviving peace, it also shows that Jack is able to use oppressive scare tactics to control the boys thoughts and emotions. This is ultimately what helps him to maintain his ever growing power throughout the