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Who Is The Authority In Lord Of The Flies

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In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the author uses Jack and his self-proclaimed authority to establish a concept of power that is derived from and maintained by fear. The concept of separable power leads to inevitable war. A struggle for leadership reveals how far Jack is willing to go to prove he is of the best intellectual abilities to carry out the role of Chief. Jack’s narcissistic mindset is adequately demonstrated to further establish how his authority derives from his own selfish desires. Jack symbolizes evil and a loss of innocence on the island. Jack believes establishing fear, asserting dominance and his urge to unify the boys of the island will prove he is worthy. Jack Merridew represents evil and all things vicious. After not being elected chief by his peers, Jack feels he must fight for any sort of power. He is unable to convince the boys to elect him as chief and quickly realizes the only way to achieve the role of leader is by branching off and forming his own tribe. Jack decides the best way to expand his tribe is by manipulating the boys into fearing a bloodthirsty beast. He believes the trepidation of the boys will leave them most vulnerable …show more content…

He tampers with the psychological state of the younger boys when he finds them to be the most vulnerable. While actively trying to recruit members for his tribe, Jack stages the stealing of burning branches on the beach to make a fire for the feast he later plans on having. He bribes the members of Ralph’s group by offering them an immense feast in hopes of them following after him. Jack performs ritualistic dances and chants to make those that idolize him feel that he is protecting them from any possible harm. These boys must rely on Jack for survival. Being isolated from civilization and a functional society has drastically impacted the way the “littluns” view and respect authority. A lack of order leaves the boys in

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