How Does Jack Change in Lord of the Flies Essay Example

Initially a well-behaved boy in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Jack is influenced by isolation from civilization, causing him to transform into a reckless and vicious man. While Jack has a self-confident outlook on his own acceptance of the role; Ralph assumes leadership, thus sparking the greatest change of personality in the novel; Jack’s corruption. 

The policies and values of society remain secure in Jack's grasp. He is inexperienced in the act of killing for survival, which is clearly shown within the scene where he catches a pig and attempts to kill it; however, “he hadn’t because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood.” (Golding 23). Golding uses the word 'enormity' to describe the intensity of the action. As Jack strives to carry out a large act of violence, he describes the knife the way it descends, as if it has been there for an eternity. Additionally, using words like "living flesh" and "unbearable blood" conveys the fact that the pig is a living being, personifying it. The use of personification justifies Jack’s reasoning of not killing the pig, it lives just as he does and the act of cutting into a live animal was too much for him.  Having only spent little time on the island, society's teachings of right and wrong are still fully intact. Despite the need to hunt for survival, his humanity overpowers his survival instincts and he chooses not to kill the pig. Jack couldn’t kill, not yet.

We are starting to see a more violent change in Jack’s behavior. This is depicted in the scene where he engages Ralph in a heated argument regarding Ralph's plans as a leader and his selfish ideas. Ralph states that "I was chief, and you were going to do what I said'' (Golding 54). Jack, unable to handle adversity, decided to choose violence, “He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy's stomach,” (Golding 54). Ralph's words were belittling and challenging, leading to Jack's physical attack on Piggy. Jack is “able at last to hit someone”, that target being Piggy, the most vulnerable of the group and someone that Ralph cared about. He intends on inflicting the most pain possible, although only within his increasing capabilities of violence. Jack's choice to use his fist instead of words signifies that he has lost his composure, and he no longer wants to listen to authority unless it is his own. Jack's actions have proven that he is starting to lose his grasp on society and is falling into animalistic ways. 

As the book comes to an end, we are given an inside look at Jack's true nature. Someone vicious and reckless, someone who is controlling. Using his newfound power and authority, he reigns terror upon the island's kids. His twisted mindset is best shown after Piggy's death, "See? See? That's what you'll get! I meant that! There isn't a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone--- I'm chief!" (Golding 142). He completely disregards Piggy’s death simply because he doesn’t care, the only matter of importance to him is that “the conch is gone”, he wields the power. As the conch symbolized a civilized society, Jack's true character emerges without it; making him chief and causing him to lose sight of any morals he once had. Jack further shows his violence by stating, “That's what you'll get!”, threatening Ralph that he will suffer the way Piggy had. By the end of this scene, we see that the character of Jack has lost his humanity that is rationality and empathy; he has succumbed to his animalistic and impulsive tendencies.

In summary, Jack certainly had the greatest change in personality. Transforming him from an orderly boy to a vicious and reckless leader. He was a dynamic character who went through the most changes that led to his greatest change of all; a selfish dictator who led with violence and not by reasoning, he became an embodiment of irresponsibility and selfishness.  With these stated reasons, we can conclude Jack's character changed the most dramatically in Lord of the Flies.