Anyway, how is Jack presented in Lord of the Flies?
Jack is probably the main antagonist (besides human nature) in William Golding’s 1957 novel Lord of the Flies, whose plot centers around a group of boys stranded on an island, and their descent into savagery.
Right
from his presentation he is presented as something of an antithesis to
the book’s main protagonist, Ralph. He insists on being known by his
last name in (going off his “kids’ names” remark) what is clearly meant
to present him as having a superiority complex, although he soon
relents. He is also presented as being markedly different in physique to
Ralph, their faces in particular: Ralph had “a mildness about his mouth
and eyes that proclaimed no devil”, yet Jack’s face “was ugly, without
silliness” (immediately presenting him in a negative light), and his
“light blue eyes” were “turning, or ready to turn, to anger”. At this
stage, it is also worth noting that the choir is “wearily obedient” and
he seems to wield total control over them. He, as “the most obvious
leader”, also attempts to seize control undemocratically (“I ought to be
leader”), presenting him as a possible dictator at even this early
stage. He also shows a strong dislike of Piggy (who is intended to be a
symbol of civilization, and is essentially golding’s mouthpiece
character). Despite this, the violence (not to be confused with his cruelty towards
the weak shown in his actions towards Piggy) that marks him out
particularly is only exhibited after his earlier inability to face “the
unbearable blood” and the enormity of killing, and when exploring with
Ralph and Simon he seems to act like a protagonist in books like The Coral Island
(from which he takes his name, the book is also referred to by name on a
few occasions - Lord of the Flies was in part a response to it) - “This
is proper exploring”.
By
chapter 3, Jack is already shown to be succumbing to the allure of
savagery, with a “compulsion to track down and kill” “swallowing him
up”, and him being reduced to “running, dog-like, on all fours” by this.
Golding presents this as “madness”, outright stating it to be such in
the narrative (which appears to be not from any character’s
perspective). This aspect is furthered by him becoming “the mask” in
Chapter 4, which ‘liberates’ him “from shame and self consciousness”,
fully confirming his conversion towards a focus on the “brilliant world
of hunting exhilaration and tactics” as opposed to “the world of longing
and baffled commonsense”. This presentation is furthered by him letting
“the bloody fire out” through his desire, showing how his savagery is
getting the better of civilization due to the lack of a true authority
beyond the symbol of the conch. His violent, dictatorial, side is shown
once more in his use of the chant (“Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill
her blood!”) and him whacking Piggy, breaking one lense in his glasses. A
degree of cruelty, but cunning, is shown in his ‘apology’ (a “verbal
trick”), and the very fact it’s directed at Ralph shows that he’s
already starting to see his leadership as invalid.
This
strain is later shown in him disparaging the conch in chapter 6,
instead suggesting that the bigguns form a sort of cabal to decide
things “We don’t need the conch any more... it’s time some people knew
they’ve got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us”,
and earlier showing that he doesn’t care about the littluns at all
(“Sucks to the littluns”), also showing a lack of compassion. Yet, at
the same time, his own childishness shows up but a few pages later, his
immediate response to Castle Rock being “What a place for a fort”,
although the nature of this observation is also an early sign of the
warmongering tendencies which would become so major later on.
Jack’s
desire to gain control, and hypocritical tendencies in his attempts to
do this, come to a head in Chapter 8 in which he tries to take control
of the group (“Hands up... whoever wants Ralph not to be chief”) after
disparaging Ralph for being “ a coward” in the face of the Beast (which,
at this moment, he is presented as believing in, and responded to in
the same way), only to fail humiliatingly, his childishness showing once
again in his declaration that he isn’t “going to play any longer” and
him outright crying in humiliation. This leads to the split and the
clear presentation of the difference between his and Ralph’s leadership
styles, the savagery of his becoming evident in the spearing of the sow,
and desecration of Simon’s eden in order to put the eponymous Lord of
the Flies (the pig’s head) in place.
By
chapter 9, he has become “decorated and garlanded like an idol”,
similar to the cult of personality that many dictators around the time
Golding wrote the book had had (and still do have). He also seems to be
the catalyst for the descent of all those present at the feast into
savagery through forcing them to do the “dance”, leading directly to
Simon’s death (although he later maintains (probably knowingly falsely
(albeit possibly hidden to himself through some form of doublethink))
that the Simon they killed was in fact a guise of the beast).
Come
Chapter 10, he is the Chief, and is hinted to be something of a fascist
bully, having one kid beat up for nothing. His desire for control
extends to stealing the fire (rather than asking, in part to show that
“we’re strong, we hunt”), and ultimately forcing everyone but Ralph and
Piggy (who he doesn’t like (since he’s the bad guy and they’re Golding’s
mouthpieces mostly, although Piggy’s outsiderness is something else as
well) and the littluns (who he simply doesn’t count) to join his tribe,
using implied torture. His “full intent” to kill Ralph is presented, he
is a “terror” (“but Roger” is implied to be worse), and his tribe are
presented as nothing but “painted savages”, in contrast to the nice
britishness of Ralph and Piggy (“Is it better...”).
In
conclusion, Jack is presented wholly as Ralph's antithesis and is a
representative of savagery, dictatorship and anarchy (these are all
contradictory ideas, but he still somehow manages to be all 3). However,
this said, perhaps the last time he is referred to is meant to be what
he really is being presented as, nothing more than “a little boy”
(mainly because it appears Golding thinks little boys are, in fact,
naturally “terrors” and would regress to being such if left alone for
too long).
