3.1.3

Jack

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Jack

Jack is immediately presented as an egomaniac (dangerously self-centred). He represents evil, chaos, violence, and an obsession for power.

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Jack

  • Jack is the main antagonist (villain) in Lord of the Flies.
  • He was the head chorister at school and is an upper-class boy.
  • Because of this, he appoints himself leader of the hunters.
  • He neglects the signal fire and enjoys acting savage and hunting, eventually hunting Ralph.
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Arrogance

  • One of the first things Jack does in the novel is show his arrogance and lack of common sense.
    • “"I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.""
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Leadership

  • He argues that he should be elected leader of the island purely because he can sing the highest note.
  • He has no real understanding of what leadership is, but simply expects to be the leader because of his singing skill.
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Savagery

  • Jack illustrates a severe slide from civility and proper behaviour to savagery and loss of humanity.
  • At first, he tells the choirboys that they must wear their uniform robes at all times, and he is unable to kill a pig.
  • However, by the end, he encourages the boys to wear very little clothing, paint their faces and bodies, and is obsessed with killing animals and people.
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Identity

  • By the end, Jack hides the civilised part of himself behind the face paint.
    • “Jack planned his new face… he looked in astonishment no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger.”
  • With his identity hidden, he feels as if he can behave however he likes because he is no longer the same person:
    • “The mask compelled them.”

Jack cont.

Jack illustrates a severe slide from civility and proper behaviour to savagery and loss of humanity.

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Warning signs

  • Despite his failure early on, Jack becomes obsessed with killing the pig:
    • “ “The madness came into his eyes again. “I thought I might kill” “.
  • When Jack successfully kills a pig later on, “he giggled and flecked” the other boys with blood.
  • Murder has become a game, something funny, which shows us that Jack is finding the idea of killing living things easier and easier – this is a warning for the reader.
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Foreshadowing

  • Very early in the novel, Jack is described in very violent, animalistic ways (he “began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling”).
  • Golding uses this behaviour to foreshadow (give clues about the future) Jack completely losing his humanity.
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Savagery

  • Strangely, as Jack becomes more and more savage, he seems to have more control over the rest of the boys – they listen to him and are eager to be part of his tribe.
  • Golding uses Jack to show how dangerous it can be to blindly follow someone who takes control.
  • Because they follow Jack, the other boys also fall deeper into savagery and enjoy causing fear and pain more.
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Religion

  • Jack uses the boys’ fear of the beast to control them.
  • He takes control of the hunt for the beast, offering to save the boys from this threat.
  • The boys see him as strong and powerful, as someone who can help them, so they leave Ralph’s group to join Jack’s tribe.
  • Golding could be referring to how people can manipulate religious and superstitious beliefs to cause fear and danger to others.
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Irony

  • It is ironic at the end of the novel – even though Ralph had been focused on, and obsessed with, saving the boys with a signal fire, it is Jack who saves them all by starting a wildfire to smoke out Ralph for the boys to kill.
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Summary of Jack

  • He decides that his choir boys will be hunters.
  • He steals Piggy’s glasses to make fires.
  • He kills the first pig and encourages dancing and chanting.
  • His urge to hunt and kill becomes an obsession for him.
  • He does not care about Ralph’s rules (because he thinks he should be in charge).
  • With his own tribe, he is a cruel and evil leader.

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