Jack Merridew's Leadership In Lord Of The Flies

The most outstanding example of this discrepancy, in my opinion, is Jack Merridew. Jack views himself as a sort of alpha, a chief among the boys. He believes that he has a right to be chief, beginning with his trivial ability to sing, but later includes his ability to hunt. “There was a moment’s struggle and the glimmering conch jigged up and down. Ralph leapt to his feet. ‘Jack! Jack! You haven’t got the conch! Let him speak.’ Jack’s face swam near him. ‘And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can’t hunt, you can’t sing—’ ‘I’m chief. I was chosen’” (101). Despite his glorified self-opinion, the protagonist, Ralph, clearly sees through his skewed perception of proper leadership qualities. Ralph, prioritizing their rescue, contests Jack’s attempts to grab for leadership. Although Jack eventually

“‘What about my hunters?’ ‘Boys armed with sticks.’ Jack got to his feet. His face was red as he marched away. Piggy put on his one glass and looked at Ralph. ‘Now you done it. You been rude about his hunters’ (142). The discrepancy between Jack’s opinion of himself and his associates shows yet again when Ralph forces the reality upon Jack. Jack’s hunters were, indeed, no more than boys armed with sticks, and their yield rate (54) testified against their capabilities. Jack doesn’t realize that he really was the only one hunting, and the others’ presences were mostly trivial, which gave him a false sense of empowerment, continuously building his conflicting ideas between his “important” role as a hunter, and the reality that meat wasn’t an absolute necessity.

What types of images are used in conjunctions with the character? What do they symbolize? Jack’s role as the id in Lord of the Flies is arguably the cornerstone of discord among the boys. Jack’s appearance throughout the novel never entails anything beneficial to the boys. His appearances are often associated