"They don't smell me. They see me, I think. Something pink? Under the trees." ― Chapter 4
Jack Merridew is the main antagonist in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
Jack is the leader of the choirboys who wants to be the chief himself and have all the boys worship him. But it goes downhill as Jack descends into savagery and becomes even more ruthless. He symbolizes dominance, evil and power.
Description[]
Jack is seen as a specific character who craves power and control. Having been the head of the choir in his school, he was used to have a demanding leadership with the others. He was picked as a candidate of being a leader, and when he was defeated by Ralph, he was humiliated even though Ralph decides to lighten up on him by assigning him to be the leader of the hunters. Even if he was chosen as chief, Jack would have made his leadership harsh, such as making up strict rules and severely punishing those who break them. He pushes the boundaries to get exactly what he wants: Ralph's title as chief.
After Jack was chosen to be a hunter, he takes such pride into killing prey because it gives him a chance to be powerful and dominate nature. He also wears face-paint to make him feel more camouflaged and barbaric. When he failed hunting the first time, he is willing to do it again. When he finally pulls it off, he succeeds and is satisfied to make his hunting more brutal and savage.
When Jack leaves Ralph's group after he fails to have the chief voted out of power, he demands to have everyone go with him. He soon gets what he wants when all the other boys become his allies. With his dominance, Jack was able to overthrow Ralph from power and be a leader in his own right. In addition, he becomes so corrupted by savagery, that he ends up destroying the whole island while trying to hunt Ralph down. In the end, Jack wept after reality had set in upon being rescued and that he had lost his own boyhood innocence to the Lord of the Flies.
Storyline[]
Arrival on the Island[]
Jack and a group of British schoolboys are evacuated from England during a nuclear war, when their plane crashes onto a remote island, killing the pilot but many of the boys survive.
Later, after a boy named Ralph blows a conch shell he finds along with another boy, Piggy, Jack and his choir boys arrive on the beach, walking in parallel lines and still wearing their choir clothing and carrying their other clothes such as shorts and shirts.[1]
Life as an Island Hunter[]
The Beast[]
Rise to Power[]
End of Innocence[]
Personality/Appearance[]
Jack is a sadistic, rude boy who mistreats the other boys who are weaker than him. He is eager to make the rules and punish anyone who breaks them. He suffers from an explosive temper and easily lashes out at those who either evoke him or when the boys try to stay civilized when things go wrong, such as when he hits Piggy and breaks his glasses when he’s confronted about not watching the signal fire, or when he yells at Ralph and Piggy during a meeting. He hates it when his role as a hunter is criticized, as he feels ashamed he’s not being respected for approving Ralph and receiving praise for his tasks to find food and feed the boys,
Initially the choirboys’ leader, Jack is determined to be chief from his experience leading the choirboys; in fact, he is eager to demonstrate the importance of leadership to Ralph, such as what they will find and eat on an unknown, remote island. But when Ralph wins the role of chief, Jack is furious and humiliated by his defeat. However, he agrees with Ralph’s suggestion that he and his choirboys can be hunters, with Jack as their leader. During the expedition on the island, Jack finds a piglet trapped in a thicket. He tries to kill it but hesitates until the pig frees itself and escapes. This is because he previously lived in a civilized world where adults make the rules and has been used to adjusting to them. Since he’s never killed a living thing before, Jack is empathetic to the pig as he feels like he shouldn’t kill it, but after this incident, he vows to really do it next time; he even shows his malice when he says that he will show no mercy when he slaughters a pig.
From this moment on, Jack becomes obsessed with hunting and killing pigs, mainly because he has felt like a failure for failing to kill one, and is so determined to kill one to prove he’s strong and masculine. But doing so causes him to lose his sanity and humanity, slowly descending into savagery. When he paints his face to camouflage himself from the pigs, he feels liberated from any self-conscience and only feels bloodlust. When he finally does hunt and kill a pig, he is so overjoyed that he doesn’t flinch from the blood on his hands, and he and his hunters dance and sing a disturbing song that shows that blood and gore won’t scare them and it only makes them more excited.
As time passes, Jack starts to challenge Ralph’s authority and leadership. He views him as a coward who doesn’t deserve to be chief. When the boys become terrified of a beast lurking on the island, Jack declares that he and his hunters will hunt and kill it and be hailed as heroes. He manipulates the boys’ fear to take advantage of them, such as deciding that the beast lives on the mountain, and it makes the boys too scared to go near the hill, but he assures them there is nothing to fear. However, he does this to get the power and leadership role he wants. He no longer considers the conch important and wants to make his own rules.
While he does share similar, charismatic leadership traits like Ralph, he becomes a violent, ruthless dictator who rules his tribe with an iron fist and takes pleasure in hurting and torturing boys for his own amusement, such as when they attack Robert when he pretends to be a pig, or when Jack and the hunters laugh when he suggests they use a littlelun next time, showing that Jack and his hunters have become such bloodthirsty savages, that they find enjoyment in attacking, and even killing, other boys rather than just animals. At this point, he’s no longer interested in civilization or getting rescued, and he even worships the beast like a god to manipulate the boys into becoming his loyal members, such as when he leaves a severed sow’s head as an offering to the beast, mainly as a sacrifice to end civilization. Additionally, he often makes reckless decisions that affect civilization and the island. The first example is when he spends so much time hunting he ignores his task to monitor the signal fire, which results in a ship passing by and dashing the boys’ possible chance of rescue. Another example is when he and his hunters kill a female sow, they endanger the lives of her young piglets, and they don’t think straight of how the piglets are going to fend for themselves without their mother. Lastly, in an attempt to hunt and kill Ralph, Jack and his tribe set the forest on fire to smoke Ralph out of his hiding spot, and they unknowingly set the entire island ablaze, attracting a British naval officer’s ship. When Jack and all the boys chase Ralph to the beach and meet the naval officer, he remains silent. Having been trapped on the island for so long, he has forgotten his own identity, and when he and all the boys burst into tears, it seems as though they have snapped out of their savage minds and returned into frightened young boys once reality finally sets in.
Jack is described as having red hair and freckles. After landing on the island, he originally wore choir clothes. Later, he wears face paint as a sign of his savagery.
Relationships[]
Ralph[]
Jack's rival and opposer. Even after he was assigned to be the hunters' leader, he is still resentful of the praise and power that Ralph receives, while he was given the leading role just for providing food for the group. They quarrel on civilization and savagery, and Jack often sees Ralph as a coward and wants him to step down. In the end, Jack had successfully managed to defeat Ralph by overthrowing his position as chief and taking over in his own right.
Roger[]
One of Jack's closest allies. He often accompanies Jack while on hunting expeditions and is his second-in-command. He even aids in his hunter leader's cruelty and savagery such as hurting the littleluns and eventually killing Piggy with a boulder.
Piggy[]
Another of Jack's opposers. He mocks Piggy for his scientific and civilized ways and even makes fun of his nickname and obesity.
Quotes/Relatable Quotes[]
Portrayals[]
References[]
- ↑ Chapter 1