William Golding’s post World War II novel, Lord of the Flies, illustrates the significance of bullying and friendships in the story. British school boys were sent off away from WWII to be safe, but parents and relatives were left behind. The school boys got in a plane crash and ended up on a deserted island with no adults. The boys assembled leaders, friends, and enemies while on the island. Ralph, a natural born leader, was chosen to be a chief and resulted as a good friend for most at the time. He also makes a very good friend named Piggy that stays along his side throughout the story. Jack, a destructive main character, is not chosen to be a leader but really wants to be one because he is used to being in charge as he is the leader of his …show more content…
Most of his bullying towards him was because of his weight. He is a little overweight and Jack constantly makes Piggy feel bad about it. Nearing the beginning of the story, the boys all meet and Jack starts to be dominant. Jack says, “Shut up fatty… We don’t want you” (31). Jack bullies Piggy in the very beginning of the story in one of the first times the boys meet. Jack did this not only to hurt his feelings but also to get attention. Piggy does get hurt by Jack's words but Ralph is there to help him. Jack constantly points out everything Piggy does to embarrass him in front of all the boys. Piggy isn’t the bravest character in the story but he does a lot to help out. But Jack picks on him for everything he does slightly wrong. Jack says, “You’re always scared. Yah-Fatty!” (62). Jack bullies Piggy for being scared of something when more people are too. Jack also forgets all the things PIggy helps with and contributes too in the story. His glasses are also super significant as if he never had them, the boys would have no fire. Jack constantly picks on Piggy for the only reason that he is a little overweight and is a friend of Ralph. Jack is angry over the fact he was not chosen to be the leader of the group in the beginning of the story. Therefore, Jack decided to be cruel to the leaders Ralph and Piggy. Later on in the story, Jack continues to be mean and bully Piggy for no reason. Jack says, …show more content…
Ralph is a great character and is described as the Protagonist. Throughout the story, Jack singles out and bullies Ralph. In the story, the boys were going hunting and doing tasks to make themselves survive. Jack singles out Ralph for his poor leadership and work. Jack says, “He’s not a hunter. He’d never have gotten us meat. He isn’t perfect and we don’t know anything about him. He just gives us orders and expects us to obey for nothing” (182). Jack dislikes the way Ralph is leading the boys even though they end up succeeding in survival. Jack’s bullying is nothing but jealousy as he isn’t the leader of the group. When going out to hunt, Ralph wants to go and Jack makes him stay because of his lack of experience of hunting. Jack says, "You're no good for a job like this” (31). Since Jack is not the leader, he proceeds to exclude and bully Ralph because he is the leader. When Ralph tells the hunters that they could not face up against the beast Jack expresses himself by bullying him and leaving the tribe. Jack says, “See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone” (260-261). Jack attacks Ralph for his doubtful comment that he could not go against the beast safely. Jack proceeds to turn against Ralph that instant, leaving the tribe and making a new one with his choir. Jack bullies Ralph a lot in the story making Jack the antagonist in the story.
[Ralph] is like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief”[ Golding, 138]. By saying this, Jack is showing the other boys that to survive you need to hunt and be strong, not use your brain. This paints a negative image in the little boys and about Ralph and Piggy, resulting in Jack looking like the best.
Jack does not like Piggy for some reason, maybe it is the way Piggy looks and acts. But Piggy cannot help that he stutters, has asthma, and wears glasses. Jack is one of those kids that has really high standards for other people, so if the other boys do not meet his expectations then Jack will put them down like he is doing to Piggy. Jack keeps telling Piggy to shut up every time Piggy goes to talk. This might be because Jack feels threatened by Piggy since he is a little bit smarter and is right about making shelters, and getting a list of all the boy's names.
When Jack was called out for letting the fire burn out he simply deflected and started making fun of Piggy, such as calling him “fatty”, mocking him and smacking “Piggy’s head” (Golding 71) . This ends up with Piggy’s specs being broken, which are very important to the survival of Piggy and others. It is sad to see how Jack responded to this by calling names and acting like a five year old instead of owning up for what he did by just apologizing, moving on and fixing his mistake. It is very obvious that he can not handle not getting his way considering how he is so persistent with being in charge and not paying any attention to the rules created by others. (Golding 90-91).
From the moment the boys grouped, Jack reveals his ambition and lack of empathy. Jack uses verbal abuse towards everyone in order to gain control, but especially Piggy. When Piggy tries desperately to be heard while creating the fire, Jack tells
Jack’s harsh demeanor makes him do impulsive things like grabbing piggy’s “specs use them as burning glasses! Piggy was surrounded before he could back away. ‘Here- let go of me!’ His voice raised in terror (40).” This was one of Jack’s first signs that he would do anything to get his way without even thinking of the outcome.
Jack took the only thing that was left of Piggy. He not only took his confidence and personality but he took the last thing that makes Piggy a useful individual. It gives more power to Jack because he takes a person away from Ralph. Jack does what needs to be done to protect his tribe and he is very selfish about it. It is extremely obvious that his power dominates all the other boys’ power and it makes Piggy weaker.
Jack, a hunter, splits off from Ralph’s group to become another group that stands for savagery, hunting, and eventually outnumbers Ralph’s group. This leaves Ralph with no alleged allies.
Jack has had a dislike for Piggy from the beginning of the novel and often spoke to him very harshly. In one instance toward the beginning of the novel, Jack had let the fire go out as a ship was going by and Piggy had addressed Jack with his mistake. “This from Piggy, and the wails of agreement from some of the hunters, drove Jack to violence. The bolting look came into his blue eyes.
Jack’s influence among the boys is gradually growing, and calling his own meeting grants him with more immediate power than he has ever had before. Jack instantly abuses this power by criticizing Ralph and challenging his authority. Jack here is also making fun of Piggy, saying that he has no power and is weak, therefore so does Ralph. Jack is beginning to show more power than Ralph, showing the boys who the true leader of the group is. Jack's decisions are based on the return to civilization.
His need for hunting shows how he craves violence and power-hungry. He is cruel to Piggy and is intimidated by Ralph, because he knows that Ralph has more authority than he does. In the beginning of the book, when they are choosing who is leader and Ralph is chosen, this is the start of Jack's transformation. While Jack represents savagery, Piggy, who Jack is awful to, represents knowledge and
In the book Jack is always making fun of Piggy. Jack was being rude to Piggy and saying his fat behind doesn’t do nothing to help while piggy was trying to talk. However some of the time Piggy stands up for himself, “I got the conch … you let me speak!”(Golding 33). Piggy illustrates how its not easy to have integrity. This is because whenever he tries to talk the others mainly Jack just tell him to shut up or take his glasses from him making him feel uncomfortable.
In this part of the book Jack steals piggy's glasses and hurts him when he becomes the leader. It is clear that this is him trying to show off his power. This was an extremely unnecessary act toward Piggy that was only meant
Piggy is fat, brilliant, lacking in social graces, and wears glasses, in other words the outsider on this island. Due to Piggy being such an foreigner, Jack feels that he is above Piggy, and feels better when he causes Piggy pain and sorrow. For example, “‘You’re talking too much,’ said Jack Merridew. ‘Shut up Fatty,’” (21). In this scene you can see power in Piggy’s lack thereof.
In the quote above, Ralph is attempting to hide when the boys pass by him. Jack however notices him and Ralph realizes this may be the end. Jack, along with his tribe and their spears and painted faces run down Ralph through the forest even setting it on fire. In the end Ralph ends up being saved by luck, running into an officer. If it were not for the officer, Jack’s evilness would have got the best of him, and Ralph would not have survived.
At the beginning of the story, Golding introduces a boy named Piggy, a fat, intelligent boy, who feels shy about himself and loses his self-confidence through the story. The other boys at the island start bullying him, especially verbally by calling him a fat, useless boy in the group. We can understand Piggy’s feeling when in a community with a democracy, he is scared of bully boys, especially Jack, and refuses to talk; “ Piggy opened his mouth to speak, caught Jack’s eye and shut it ...” narrator says (Golding, 42). This shows