Jack's Transformation In Lord Of The Flies Analysis

William Golding, a 1950’s novelist, was the author of the infamous novel, “Lord of the Flies”. This book is about an island, containing stranded pre-pubescent teens. The island represents a mini society and the boys represent social constructs. Within this novel, we see many changes amongst the pre pubescent teens. Jack, the boy who represents savagery, has a very clear change in views as we read the novel. Jack was the leader of the choir boys, before arriving on the island. He wanted to be Chief, but Ralph had more votes. Ralph, the representor of civilization, gave Jack control over his choir boys, so he made them hunters. Throughout the novel, we see him grow from a hunter to a savage. This transformation affects all the characters in the book, as he decides to leave Ralph’s tribe and make his own.

Wearing a cloak, and being followed by all the choir boys, he looked mysterious, and controlling, and dark.

“Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness.” - this quote is in the very first chapter, meaning that even from the beginning he was intently serious and unattractive, implying that he is of a villain type. Jack allows Ralph to be in control, but still seems to act like he is the leader anyway. In chapter two he says

“Ralph’s right of course. There isn’t a snake-thing. But if there was a snake we’d hunt it and kill it.” - this implies that he is patronizing Ralph with the ‘Ralph’s right of course’, as if he is sick of Ralph always being right. And the ‘But if there was a snake we’d hunt it and kill it.’ shows us that he immediately resorts to violence, that maybe he believes that violence is always the answer - foreshadowing what might occur in the later events of the