In The Lord of the Flies, Jack was a powerful representation of the evil instinct of all humankind and society due to his desire to have power and authority, his thrill for violence and “bloodlust” that evolved from his growing savagery, and his inability to control the evil instinct or darkness of a man’s heart. From the beginning the novel, Jack was seen as a leader of his choir group. They were very well trained and obedient to him. It was obvious that he enjoyed the ability to have control over them.
Every action taken by the group was commanded by him, even the smallest detail like moving around or taking off jackets. But when Ralph was chosen as the leader for the entire group, Jack was “under a blush of mortification” (23). As of that point on, Jack began to crave for power. Moreover, it wasn’t merely a search for a dominant supremacy. Jack’s envy for Ralph was the fodder that kept his fire blazing. Then as he began to build up that control over the boys by the blood of pigs, he needed to feel more and more of that power.
After another victorious kill, he cries out, “I gave you food, and my hunters will protect you from the beast. Who will join my tribe? ” (150). The accomplishment of feeding an entire group of boys with meat was a sufficient reason for him to now take over the whole group, which he eventually achieved. The violent, hostile, and menacing part of him also commenced to enlarge as a more intensified state that was almost incontrollable.
From the actual moments of slaughter to the reenactment of the gruesome killings, and then to the chants and dances, Jack, above all, found thrill and excitement from each experience. The blood of the pigs on his own hands and body enlivened his emotions. Yet the first attempt at murdering the pig was unsuccessful because of the remaining bit of humanity in Jack. On account of that, Jack wanted to prove even more that he was able, and that he had the power to accomplish the deed. The butcheries after that incident though, were unmerciful and appalling.
A certain, yet strange kind of exhilaration was derived from the horrific blood and the dissonant squeals of pain that even Ralph, the protagonist that represented order and civilization, “too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering,” (115). So Jack soon becomes addicted to these high unexplainable emotions that ultimately take him to complete savagery. After being trapped inside the strict society of civilization in Britain, landing on the island was a chapter of revelation in Jack’s life.
The freedom from the proper and orderliness manner in which he grew up with, was too much for him to handle at such a young age. Instead of controlling the natural instinct that lied in all men, he revealed it to himself and to the others, and then allowed it to take over him, revealing the truth of how adverse and threatening human nature could be. Although the appearance of the evil nature takes a rightly negative outlook, to Jack, this was what he had been looking for. This state of immorality was all the freedom that he never had.
Just a taste of it drove him deeper and deeper into the pit of darkness and had him conform into a finalized state of savagery. So from then on, Jack started to thrive on the blood, murders and power that came with sacrifices of humans, animals, and morality. Jack had no fault with his behavior. He himself did not realize the power that freedom had on him. Instead he merely looked at the exhilarations and thrills that it brought. Then he was led on by the desire for authority and violence, while being unable to control any of his inner instincts. All this shows society that the freedom Jack had was and is dangerous.
