At the start of the novel, there has been an atomic explosion, and the children have been evacuated in an aircraft with a detachable passenger tube. The aircraft has been attacked and released the tube while flying over tropical seas. The tube has crash landed in the jungle of a tropical island, and the plane has flown off in flames. This is the point when the novel starts. There are four main characters in the book ? Ralph, Piggy, Jack and Simon. Simon is part of the choir, which is led by Jack, but Ralph and Piggy are not members of the choir, and are in no way related. There are no adults ?
“There aren? any grown ups” P. 43 Ralph has found a “conch” P. 21, and has used it to call all the boys on the island together. This is where Jack is introduced into “Lord of the Flies” “Something dark was fumbling along” P. 26. This refers to the choir walking along the beach in the distance. This use of language shows us that the choir is dark, evil, and sinister, and immediately Golding tells us that this group will not be a “good” force on the island. The choir are a militaristic group ? “marching approximately? with a hambone frill” P. 26. This shows us that their leader is in total control of the group.
This leader is Jack ? “The boy who controlled them? his cap badge was golden” P. 26 This shows the authority and status that Jack has over the choir. When the choir reach the platform, Jack shows off ? “swaying in the fierce light? his cloak flying” P. 27. This is an attempt to impress the group, create a good impression, enough so he commands their respect as well as the choirs? , enough so that he can eventually control them as well as the choir. Jack does not introduce himself to everyone; he first words to the group are “Where’s the man with the trumpet? ” P. 27.
He just gives out demands, and expects the group to answer him. This is what he is used to. Jack is a direct contrast with Ralph ? “peered down at Ralph? the conch did not seem to satisfy him” P. 27 This shows us that he believes no-one is as good a leader as him, and that the conch, which called the group together, is below him. This is “simple arrogance” P. 29 on the part of Jack. He uses his cloak as a prop ? “Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony” P. 27.
He uses the cloak a sign of power to make him into something he’s not, he uses it to gain authority. His hair was red beneath the black cap” P. 27. The colour of his hair shows signs of a fiery temper, and the colour of his cap reinforces his sinister side. Jacks main aim of the assemblies in the novel are to first become chief, and then control the group. He says on page twenty-nine with “simple arrogance”, “I ought to be chief. ” Jack believes that no-one else has the right to control him, and he should be in control of everyone. During the assemblies, he rejects Piggy ? “Shut up, Fatty” P. 28. He has no respect for Piggy due to his appearance, even though Piggy could be a very useful asset to the group.
He takes control of the assembly ? “We? ve got to? ” P. 29. Jack does this because he wants to decide and be in control of what the group does. When the boys on the island say they want to vote on a chief, Jack “started to protest” P. 30. This is because Jack knows that he is not in control of the boys on the island who are not in the choir, which is the majority, and therefore they will not vote for him. He also believes that he should be proclaimed the leader of the group without voting, because in his opinion, no-one has the right to be in control of him.
This is because he is a natural leader, and has never been in a position without control. This is born out when Ralph is voted chief ? “and the freckles? a blush of mortification” P. 30. Jack is very embarrassed when he is, for the first time in his life, not in total control. Jack’s personality makes him use violence to command respect ? “Jack snatched from behind him a sizeable sheath-knife and clouted it into a trunk” P. 32, “Jack slammed his knife into a trunk and looked round challengingly” P. 43.
At this stage, his violent side doesn? extend beyond this type of violence, but later in the novel, he can ruthlessly hunt to murder a human. Again on page fourty-three, Jack “broke in” when Ralph was talking, in an attempt to take control of the assembly. He wants the assembly to be focused on hunting, not rescue and shelters ? “All the same you need an army ? for hunting” P. 43. When the rules are created by Ralph, Jack does not see that Ralph created them for keeping order. He sees the rules as an opportunity to carry out punishment. He is not a sadist, but by physically punishing people, he gains authority, and people fear him.
This is what Jack wants from the assembly. Later in the book, as in chapter five, he has changed his identity to the extent that he is no longer governed by the rules set by Jack ? “Bollocks to the rules! ” P. 114. This phrase can be cross-referenced to “We? ve got to have rules and obey them” P. 55. In “Lord of the Flies,” Jack and his “hunters” take on many roles on the island, mostly the physical, violent ones. On page fifty-one, he decides that his choir shall be hunters ? Ralph: “What do you want them the choir to be? ” ? Jack: “Hunters. By making this change, Jack takes on the responsibility of finding food, and also a sort of protection from any wild animals. Jack also refers to himself, Ralph and Simon as being “explorers? ” P. 33. This shows Jacks adventurous side, and how he wants to be seen in the eyes of the group as a brave, fearless adventurer. When the matter of the beast arises, Jack says that he doesn? t think there is a beast, “but if there is, we? d hunt it and kill it” P. 48. Jacks takes on the responsibility of protecting the group from the beast here, and it also shows the bloodthirsty nature of Jack.
Again, by taking on this role, Jack commands respect from the group. He also does this by saying “We? ll be responsible for keeping the fire going” P. 55. He does this to improve his status amongst the group, and also the get on the good side of Ralph, who sees the signal fire as the most important thing on the island. He wants to be seen as a responsible person as well as a brave person. There are many major comparisons which need to be made concerning Jack and most of the time Ralph. Most of the differences are about Rescue against Hunting. Jack sees the use of the fire as one of cooking meat ? the pig roasted” P. 92, while Ralph sees the fire as a signal fire for rescue ? “We must make smoke” P. 49. Throughout the novel, Ralph sticks to the rules in hope of rescue ? “We? ll have rules” P. 43, while on page 114, Jacks gives up on the rules ? “Bollocks to the rules! ”
Ralph sees the rules as a form of law and order, while Jack sees the rules as an opportunity to carry out punishment ? “Then when anyone breaks ? em—” P. 44. Ralph wants to dismiss the rumour of the beast ? “There isn? t a beastie” P. 47, while Jack wants to kill the beast ? “we? d hunt it and kill it” P. 8. Jack paints his face to help him hunt and make people fear him ? “He smeared on the clay” P. 79, while no-one else does until a later stage in the book. On page sixty-eight, Jack shouts “Got it! ” Ralph immediately presumes that he is referring to a ship ? “What? Where? Is it a ship? ” P. 68, but Jack is talking about a pig ? “They? ll lie up there the pigs” P. 68. This clearly shows the difference in priorities between Jack and Ralph. Jacks wants to live naturally, under the guidance of natural time. This shows us he is quite happy to forget civilization and rescue.
As an opposite, Piggy wants to make a sundial ? “We could make a sundial” P. 81. This shows Piggy wants to remain living under clock time, to show that he is still living in a civilized world, and that he wants to be rescued. The differences between Jack and the others are summed up on page seventy ? “They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate. ” When Jack first hears about the beast, he sees it as a way to gain authority and status. He dismisses the existence of the “beastie,” but “If there was a snake, we? d hunt it and kill it” P. 48.
This shows the determined and fearless image Jack has created for himself. After the fear of the beast has started to dismantle the civilized force inside the group, Jack looks for someone to blame ? the littluns ? “You littluns started all this? ” P. 103. He again repeats that there is no beast, but maybe at this stage of the novel, he is a little less sure than on page fourty-eight. Jack uses the fear in the group to make himself look good. After he repeats “I? ve been all over this island? there is no beast in the forest” P. 104, the “whole assembly applauded him” P. 104.
Jack had used the beast to his advantage, to gain status. He still remains defiant, even after it has been claimed that the beast comes from the sea, that if there is a beast, “we? ll hunt it down” P. 114. As I have already pointed out, Jack is obsessed with hunting, and his preoccupation with it has increased ever since he was introduced into the novel. Everything he sees on the island he links with hunting. He sees the fire as a way to cook meat P. 92, hunted by himself. When he hears about the beast, he says he will hunt it and kill P. 48. The major changes in his identity occur, however, in chapters three and four.
He has become animalistic, like a dog ? “his nose only a few inches from the humid earth? dog-like… bolting… he became a furtive thing, ape-like. ” P. 61-2. His physical characteristics have changed ? “His hair, longer? peeling sunburn? he was naked” P. 61. He has changed his image from a choirboy to a furtive hunter. He has become “primitive” P. 62. His eyes give away his inner-self, a mad animal ? “eyes that in this frustration seemed bolting and nearly mad. ” P. 62. He is on the edge ? “The madness came into his eyes? rage? compulsion” P. 65. He has become a physical hunter – “swung? urled’strength? hard? castanet’seductive? maddening? rushed’snatched” P. 63. Jack is totally taken with hunting, for when he tries to describe hunting o page sixty-seven, he is unable to describe the excitement he feels for it ? “That’s how you can feel,”
“He flushed suddenly” P. 67. Jack has become so obsessed with hunting, that he has forgotten about being rescued ? “Jack had to think for a moment before he could remember what rescue was. ” P. 67. As he becomes more and more primitive, his grasp on civilization weakens, and eventually dies. By smearing his face ? He smeared on the clay” P. 79, he covers up the old Jack, and replaces him with an “awesome stranger” P. 80. The mask covers up Jacks face, and gives something for Jack to hide behind ? “the mask? behind which Jack hid” P. 80. This shows that Jack wants to give himself this awesome new identity in order to gain more control and power, and to start the formation of a tribe, which can hunt. When Jack eventually kills a pig on page eighty-six, he is terribly excited ? “There were lashings of blood. ” P. 86. He is happy to recite the horrific details, he is proud of the kill.
This is a syntax, and we can cross reference it to page fourty-one, where Jack lets a pig escape because of the thought of “cutting into living flesh? the unbearable blood. ” P. 41. When Jack is introduced into the novel, we recognize him as an organised natural leader with evil potential. Over the first five chapters of the book, this is born out in his transformation from a choirboy to a fearless, furtive hunter. His priority has changed from being rescued to hunting and killing pigs. He has become less and less civilized, until his appearance becomes one of a tribal nature.
