Jack Merridew’s character development
The fourth chapter of William Goulding’s “Lord of the Flies” presents a young boy named Jack Merridew trying to adapt to the savage life after being stranded on an island due to a plane crash. This unfortunate event puts Jack into a downward spiral which leads him into becoming uncivilized, hunting obsessed, and power hungry. In Lord of the Flies, chapter four, William Goulding uses the character development of Jack to show how easy it is to decivilize when away from civilization. Over the course of chapter four Jack loses his identity, loses focus on the group goals, and gains control over the tribe.
Jack paints his face which represents his loss of identity. After the transformation is complete “He …show more content…
After putting the mask on Jack successfully kills a pig. He seems thrilled as he explains the gory details “‘I cut the pig’s throat’ Jack said proudly…’there were lashings of blood’, said Jack laughing…”you should’ve seen it!’” (69). Jack’s previous attempts to kill a pig have all failed, but after he gains confidence, he turns into a new person who could kill without hesitation or fear. Evidence as to why Jack craves leadership is that he would ruin someones reputation in order to make his better. An example of this would be when the fire was built as a signal for help and Jack was put in charge to make sure it didn’t go out, Jack abandons the fire to go hunting instead, Which leads Jack and Ralph to argue: “‘you let the fire go out’... ‘you should’ve seen the blood!’... ‘there was a ship...we might’ve gone home’... ‘we needed meat.’” (70,71). This proves that Jack’s main priority is hunting. He feels accomplished once he kills the pig that he disregards everything that Ralph is saying and continues to ramble about his slaughter . His obsession with hunting becomes so immense that he convinces himself that killing the pig was more important that being saved. Jack’s decision to let the fire go out in exchange for hunting reveals that he would take everyone’s chance to get saved just so he could feed into his obsession of capturing a …show more content…
Jack is able to obtain his power by manipulating his tribe with their fear of the beast, but since their previous leader, Ralph, says there is no beast, Jack tries to dethrone him by using his control over the tribe to make himself look superior. He does this by making Ralph look like the antagonist in front of the boys “‘- I apologize’. The buzz from the hunters was one of admiration at this handsome behavior. Clearly they were of the opinion that Jack had done the decent thing, had put himself in the right by his generous apology and Ralph, obscurely in the wrong.” (72). By apologizing, Jack is making Ralph look inferior to him. Jack is actually in the wrong for breaking Piggy’s specs but saves himself by apologizing to Ralph. When Ralph doesn’t accept his apology, it makes Ralph look petty and Jack look like the bigger man in front of the tribe, making him a better leader than Ralph. In the midst of getting yelled at for letting the fire go out, Jack remembers how he felt while capturing the pig. He reflects that “His mind was crowded with memories, memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away it’s life like a long satisfying drink.” (70). Killing the pig quenched Jacks thirst for power. The satisfaction did not
The fourth chapter of William Goulding’s “Lord of the Flies” presents a young boy named Jack Merridew trying to adapt to the savage life after being stranded on an island due to a plane crash. This unfortunate event puts Jack into a downward spiral which leads him into becoming uncivilized, hunting obsessed, and power hungry. In Lord of the Flies, chapter four, William Goulding uses the character development of Jack to show how easy it is to decivilize when away from civilization. Over the course of chapter four Jack loses his identity, loses focus on the group goals, and gains control over the tribe.
Jack paints his face which represents his loss of identity. After the transformation is complete “He …show more content…
After putting the mask on Jack successfully kills a pig. He seems thrilled as he explains the gory details “‘I cut the pig’s throat’ Jack said proudly…’there were lashings of blood’, said Jack laughing…”you should’ve seen it!’” (69). Jack’s previous attempts to kill a pig have all failed, but after he gains confidence, he turns into a new person who could kill without hesitation or fear. Evidence as to why Jack craves leadership is that he would ruin someones reputation in order to make his better. An example of this would be when the fire was built as a signal for help and Jack was put in charge to make sure it didn’t go out, Jack abandons the fire to go hunting instead, Which leads Jack and Ralph to argue: “‘you let the fire go out’... ‘you should’ve seen the blood!’... ‘there was a ship...we might’ve gone home’... ‘we needed meat.’” (70,71). This proves that Jack’s main priority is hunting. He feels accomplished once he kills the pig that he disregards everything that Ralph is saying and continues to ramble about his slaughter . His obsession with hunting becomes so immense that he convinces himself that killing the pig was more important that being saved. Jack’s decision to let the fire go out in exchange for hunting reveals that he would take everyone’s chance to get saved just so he could feed into his obsession of capturing a …show more content…
Jack is able to obtain his power by manipulating his tribe with their fear of the beast, but since their previous leader, Ralph, says there is no beast, Jack tries to dethrone him by using his control over the tribe to make himself look superior. He does this by making Ralph look like the antagonist in front of the boys “‘- I apologize’. The buzz from the hunters was one of admiration at this handsome behavior. Clearly they were of the opinion that Jack had done the decent thing, had put himself in the right by his generous apology and Ralph, obscurely in the wrong.” (72). By apologizing, Jack is making Ralph look inferior to him. Jack is actually in the wrong for breaking Piggy’s specs but saves himself by apologizing to Ralph. When Ralph doesn’t accept his apology, it makes Ralph look petty and Jack look like the bigger man in front of the tribe, making him a better leader than Ralph. In the midst of getting yelled at for letting the fire go out, Jack remembers how he felt while capturing the pig. He reflects that “His mind was crowded with memories, memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away it’s life like a long satisfying drink.” (70). Killing the pig quenched Jacks thirst for power. The satisfaction did not