Power In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

Superior Essays
“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power” (Goodreads). John Steinbeck’s quote asserts that people do not get corrupted because of power, they get corrupted because of the fear of the power. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Jack does not use his dominance to control the other boys; he instills authority into the boys making them fear him. By doing so, Jack controls the actions of the boys and changes their morals. The boys turn into savages who are inhumane and stolid to the environment around them. Jack uses fear and his response to the daily struggles of living on the island to show that man is born innocent and is corrupted by society.
When the Jack first arrives on the island, he tries to cooperate
…show more content…
At the beginning when Jack explores the island, he is too scared to kill a pig that comes to him as stated on page 31, “They knew very well why he hadn’t: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood.” Jack is not fully overcome by savagery yet, and as a result of that, he does not kill the pig that comes to him. Jack becomes more and more savage like through his time on the island. Near the end, he is so overcome by savagery that he decides to kill a sow that is with her babies. At this climax, all the humanity within Jack seizes to exist. Jack would not have killed an innocent being had he been part of a civilized society. Jack’s obsession concerning overthrowing Ralph’s leadership over the boys leads him to become a mindless savage. Jack wants all the boys to be on his side, and he does whatever it takes to get the boys on his team. He kills innocent beings, steals property that is not his, and even uses the boys on his side as an example to show what will happen if they do not surrender to him. Because of the lack of rules and society around him, Jack’s worst features are brought out of him. He becomes a stolid killing machine that will do anything for power. Along with Jack, the worst parts of the others boys are brought out of …show more content…
Jack is an innocent schoolboy when he arrives on the island, but as the struggles of surviving get worse, his humanity deteriorates. He turns into an unemotional killer who is concerned about only his well being. Because of the absence of humanity in Jack, the other boys turn into savages just like him due to the powerful influence Jack has over the young boys. Jack also makes the boys fear him so that they obey his orders. He uses many persuasive actions in order to attract the boys to his side. Through the use of fear, Jack has a way to turn the innocent boys into stolid savages like himself without anyone realizing that he is corrupting them. Jack is an example of an innocent man getting corrupted by society. He has evil desires within him, but he does not show them because he knows he will get into trouble if he does, so when the boys arrive on the island and are exposed to a violent environment, Jack brings out the ill desires he has inside of him. Man enters the world as an innocent being, but due to a corrupted society that only cares about itself, man is left no choice but to get corrupted

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the end, the island is on fire and shows that human nature is all about bad behavior and disorder and there needs to be someone in charge. The island being on fire at the end is a clear example to the Thomas Hobbes ideal of a one leader and must never overthrow because overthrowing and disagreements will end in problems and chaos. Jack was the perfect vessel to show how much Thomas Hobbes was right about human…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jack later starts a new trip on the Island and convinces all the other boys through fear and killing that he is a better leader. In the Novels, true context William Golding explains that people are born with a Darker more savage side as shown through Jack In the Novel. Through the Novel, The reader can see how Ralph and Jack collide with…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Instead of killing for food and survival, he is killing for fun. Jack is separated from Ralph's society after getting embarrassed more in front of the society. Jack made his own society with his choir and went hunting for pigs and got to a mother pig with her children and they attacked her. “Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing her downward with his knife.” (Golding-135)…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The 1954 novel Lord of the Flies encompasses the aftermath of World War 2 and draws heavy parallels to a post-World War 2. Written by Robert Golding, the novel is set on a dystopian island and illustrates that with the absence societal responsibilities, civilization degrades into fear and chaos by Jack’s dictatorial reign over the island. His rise to power originates through his evident denial of taking on his societal responsibilities. Naturally, human nature objectifies the strong and turns to them for guidance, Jack manipulates the others into sacrificing their freedom and sense of identity with his appeal to their needs of food and security. In turn, savagery and chaos ensue as everyone begins to blindly follow and conform to his ideologies.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He always wants something to do with blood and likes to boss people around. Right from the start Jack makes himself leader for the choir boys and nominates himself as chief. (p.22). When he is made leader of the hunters and they find a pig he can’t kill it. “He snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    (75). He does not understand why things change on the island. Therefore, he is left to be more dependent on himself instead of the others. “He pushed his hair up and gazed at the green and black mask before him, trying to remember what Jack looked like before” (177-178).…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    True leadership is represented by standing up for the greater good of a group without selfishness and ignorance towards others. The story The Lord of The Flies by William Golding demonstrates a constant struggle for power and leadership between Jack, Piggy, and Ralph. The malicious actions that result draw out specific aspects of leadership from each boy. Apart from Jack and his aggressive attitude toward others or Piggy with the lack of respect he receives from the others, Ralph 's rational thinking is the trait, that as a leader, trumps the others and clearly shows how his endless efforts for the greater good of the boys make him the distinct leader.…

    • 1659 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While Jack is the unbridled savagery or the desire for power in men; we realize this right away as Jack strictly governs the choir boys, and almost right away once he realizes there are no authority figures he has to listen to, and then makes his first kill, sends him into a complete psychopath as he scours to obtain ultimate power over the island, and of course feed his bloodlust. The blind following of Jack represents social…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jack suggest that the beast still remains on the island and warns his tribe that they should take precautions when dealing with the beast. Jack wants to make sure that his high power still remains intact by retaining the tribe’s greatest fear, the beast. Jack deceives his tribe by constantly reminding them the fear that causes the tribe to panic and become anxious…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Being completely unphased by the death of another human being, Jack sees Piggy’s death as he would see the death of a pig or wild animal. This proves how a lack of influence from authority and civilization has caused Jack to lose his moral integrity, showing no sentiment in response to a situation as such. With Jack wanting to eliminate Ralph so that there can be no dispute over who is the true leader, he sends his group of boys on a manhunt for the old chief. Jack rallies up every boy to go after, and kill Ralph, and “[smokes] him out [by setting] the island on fire” (192). Long term isolation from the guidance of civilized society and authority has caused Jack to completely lose his moral integrity.…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jack Vs Ralph

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Jack rules by fear and violence. The boys on the island follow him because they are scared of the consequences if they do not. Jack's plans are superficial, he does not plan for a way to be rescued like Ralph does, and instead he organizes hunts and fun. Jack only wants to focus on one thing and that’s hunting. All he wants to do is to kill a pig.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    LOTF Essay Could modern day society function without clear rules, laws, and enforcement of those rules? In Lord Of The Flies, William Golding uses symbolism and characters to show that humans need rules and enforcement of those rules in order to function effectively. Without them, humans naturally become savages, which leads to an unsustainable and dangerous society. The diminishing power of the rules, and the results of this is shown through the fire, the power and respect towards the conch, and Jacks changing attitude.…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As a reader, this is interpreted as how exactly the life of the boys on the island gradually fell apart which then creates vast separation and fatal situations. The factors that make things break is based on the boys going against one another, their own obsessions, and their experiences on the island. At first, the boys have a government set up, where…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The more savage Jack becomes, the more he is able to manipulate the rest of the boys. Besides Ralph, Simon, and Piggy, the group follows Jack in giving up moral restraint and gives into violence and savagery. By the end, Jack learns to use the boys’ fear to control their behavior which is a reminder of how certain beliefs and superstition can be manipulated as instruments of power in a civilized…

    • 1438 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Leaders tend to destroy or mend a nation together. With two conflicting leaders facing each other throughout the novel, it brings tough times for the boys. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies follows Ralph and Jack, the two leaders, plus a numerous amount of boys as they face challenges on the island that they are trying to survive on. In Lord of the Flies, Jack displays his strength in leadership using power, charisma, and dominance to triumph over Ralph.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays