Savagery In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding (Book Analysis)

In the fictional novel, Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, Jack, one of the main characters, fights over leadership of the island while slowly descending into madness. The book tells the tale of a group of boys who are stuck on an uninhabited island with no adults. They create a society and even elect a leader, but without adults controlling them, their society crumbles and slowly descends into chaos. Jack, the main antagonist of the novel, was an innocent boy who during his time on the island evolved into a savage with a strong desire for bloodlust and power. He was feared among the boys on the island due to his bullying and advocacy of violence. Jack developed a desire for power during his descent into madness, which caused his ultimate demise.

Firstly, Jack evolves from an innocent boy into a savage after the idea of hunting enters the novel. While returning from a journey with Ralph and Simon, they encounter a wild pig tangled in vines. Jack, eager to kill the pig, grabs his knife but hesitates and is unable to bring himself to kill a living thing. This proves that Jack is still innocent and has good morals, but his failure to kill motivates him for future hunts. Jack, now addicted to the idea of murdering a pig, decided to camouflage his face with clay and charcoal to kill a pig. The mask marks the point for Jack’s transition into a savage. After making the mask, Jack successfully kills a pig, and he becomes addicted to hunting and killing pigs. Jack is filled with bloodlust and during his transition into savagery, he starts to have leadership complications with Ralph.

Furthermore, the conflict between Jack and Ralph begins with Jack frequently ignoring the power of the conch. Jack always had different ideals than Ralph. Jack wanted to hunt and enjoy themselves, while Ralph wanted to make sure civilization is intact and that the boys get rescued. Jack despised Ralph's ideals and in his desire for power, he started to challenge Ralph’s leadership with his savagery. Jack hated the conch because it signified the rules that kept him from doing what he pleased. Even though Jack hated the conch, he still used it to his advantage to try to convince the boys that Ralph is a coward and not fit for leadership of the island. After being unable to impeach Ralph, Jack formed his own group and became a dictator. After the conch had become powerless, Jack had established his leadership and was able to control his group with savagery.

Finally, after Jack’s murderous takeover of the island, he began his hunt for Ralph’s head. Jack, after having murdered all of Ralph’s advisors, had taken control of the island. Jack and his tribe had started their hunt for Ralph, to destroy the last bit of civilization on the island. Jack, having descended into complete savagery, decided to set the island in a blaze to lure Ralph into the open. Jack and his tribe chased Ralph to a beach, but instead of killing Ralph, they were greeted by a naval officer. When the naval officer asked who was in charge, Jack began to step forward but stopped because he realized that the rules of civilization will now be enforced. Jack understood that his decision of burning the island in his bloodlust, attracted the attention of the naval officer’s ship and that Ralph’s agenda of always keeping a signal fire alive was correct. Jack had come face to face with civilization again.

In conclusion, during his spiral into madness, Jack developed a yearning for power, which ultimately led to his detriment. Jack’s evolution from an innocent boy into a savage, was influenced by his obsession for killing a pig and ended with him starting to challenge Ralph's rule over the island. The conflict between Jack and Ralph was initiated by Jack’s hatred of the conch, after the conch had lost its power, Jack took advantage of the situation and created his own group. After taking over the island, Jack started a hunt for Ralph’s head, which ended in the boys coming face to face with civilization again. Personally I was able to understand Jack’s perspective of leadership, even though it demonstrated murderous and savage tendencies.