The definition of authoritarian is to have complete power and control over the will of others. Many authors incorporate an authority to influence other characters decisions demonstrated in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. The evolution of Jack’s need to be authoritarian explains why people become violent. Jack displays need to be in control through his belief that he is superior, his envy and aggression.
Jack demonstrates his need to have power over the boys by volunteering himself to be chief “I ought to be chief… because I’m chapter chorister and head boy” (Golding 18). Jack shows his need to be a leader as he believes he is the only who deserves to be chief. Jack thinks he is superior over the other boys. Consequently he considers himself to be the only one who can be the authoritarian figure. The boys elect a chief and Ralph is given authority over all of the boys; however, “The choir belongs to you
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We’re strong, we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat-” (99). Jack’s envy continuously grows and he ceaselessly defies Ralph’s rule and order. Jack rebels and becomes more violent; willingly offering to kill. As the novel advances, Jack’s desire to revolt against the society Ralph is trying to build continues to grow. Jack disregards the rules and attempts to convince the other boys that “We don’t need the conch anymore. We know who ought to be saying things… It’s time some people know they’ve got to keep quiet and leave deciding to the rest of us-” (111). Jack’s self esteem develops and he makes an effort to have the other boys rebel against the society Ralph is trying to restore as Jack’s envy and greed for Ralph’s position of power steadily arises. Jack’s desire for authority results in him defying Ralph’s control to gain respect and dominance over the
Authority plays a vital role in the modern world through contrasting forms of government and the struggle for power between leaders. The leader of a society asserts power over its citizens with the aim to create the laws, which hold the society together. Once authority is demolished within a community, the power spreads to its citizens in which total chaos collectively overtakes the society. The process of law-making and a struggle for power takes precedence in William Golding’s allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, through the conch shell found upon the shore. The conch grants superiority to one member of the group over the others, it is used to call assemblies and assists in choosing the speakers during important meetings. When the conch
Jack, William Golding’s antagonist in Lord of the Flies, reveals through his experience on the island that it is an individual’s assertiveness, manipulative abilities, and charisma which dictate who commandeers power and privilege over others, and that possessing these traits often negatively impacts the lives of the people leaders seek to control.
Director Peter Brook based Lord of the Flies on the novel by William Golding. The film, released in 1963, is the tale of a group of upscale British schoolchildren who are being flown out of London to the supposed safety of the South Pacific before war erupts. Their airplane crashes and the lads are left to fend for themselves on a remote island. The storyline takes the boys from innocence to savagery. The film did not receive rave reviews from critics. “The film version takes away some of the creative imagination that comes from reading the story, but its images are as shocking as one might imagine – little boys turned into violent savages”(Webster, Apollo Guide). The reviews could be in part from the inexperience of the actors. “The little boys were almost all non-actors whose parents volunteered them for the job out of respect for the book” (Webster, Apollo Guide). However, Peter Brook did an excellent job of depicting the possible outcome of the situation with which the children are faced. This film shows human nature in its truest form. Society is faced with people who are vulnerable to others, those who are capable of making the right decisions, and some who feel the need to violate the rules.
Jack has lots of experience in being in control since he’s the head boy of the choir. "I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp." (1.228-30)
Jack likes to govern in a savage way. He likes to hunt, being savage like, and killing things. In the text it states, “ ‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You're breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?’... ‘Bollocks to the rules! We're strong--we hunt! If there's a beast, we'll hunt it down!’” (Golding 91). This demonstrates that Jack doesn’t want to follow the rules and just wants to do whatever he wants and wants to hunt and kill things. The boys slowly look at Jack for leadership.
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding suggests ideas about human nature such as the grasp for power, manipulation, barbarism, anarchy, and destruction which are prevalent in today’s society. As the article 2011 Libyan Civil War Fast Facts by CNN describes the event as a power struggle, mob mentality, international desire for new leadership, and displays the internal challenges of a population, traits of human nature such as these are present the struggle between Jack and Ralph which effectively made two groups and created violent divide. Articles such as this one back up the Golding’s ideas that there is evil and a violent side to the world which as those grounded in the Libyan population.
It can be seen from the very beginning of the novel that the schoolboy’s divided themselves into groups. When Ralph calls the first meeting by summoning them with the conch shell he decides they should vote on a leader. Ralph’s decision on voting for a leader is democratic and civilized. Unlike Ralph Jack Meridew claims he should be the leader because he is "chapter chorister and head boy." (“I ought to be chief,” said Jack with simple arrogance, “because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.” Pg 29).When it came time to vote the choir members voted for jack while the other boys voted for Ralph. Ralph lets Jack be in charge of his choir. This causes the group to be divided into two groups, one led by Ralph and one led by Jack.
Throughout the Novel lord of the flies’ author, William Golding uses man different themes. Many of Golding of Goldings themes are based off of nature of man, individual, and men group together. Golding shows many different themes such as such as loss of identity, fear of the unknown, loss of innocence and more. A theme that is very commonly seen is abuse of power. Golding Shows abuse of power when the boys ignore the law of society and are given authority, man may start it abuse the power
The conflict arises between the Jack and Piggy in Chapter 2. Ralph blows a conch which is Shell for a call to the boys. Ralph wants share what he, Simon, and Jack discovered, he told them they were obviously on an island because they were on top of mountain, water was on every side of all angels, they saw no, houses, smoke, no boats, no people. There was adults to help them. Jack saw a pig and was hunting it down, but got away. Ralph tells the boys that they should have meetings and if they want to share or express their idea they must raise their hands just like when they are at school and will get to hold the conch while speaking,piggy grabs the conch from ralph and then at the same time Jack agreeing with Ralph. Piggy says that no one know where they
Accepting responsibility that an individual has, is a key factor that plays an important role in the maturing of a person. This key factor has the potential to make horrors which have been experienced, to be When the boys who are stranded on the island in William Golding’s allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, are aware of the situation that they are in, they emulate society from back home by electing a leader: Ralph. Civilization can be defined as the state of human social development and organization that is considered most progressed. Civilization is the human knowledge and reason, over the animalistic savage instincts. The key parts of this definition are what Ralph displays: human and progress. Ralph accepts responsibility and does not
Golding believes that all people are selfish, wanting to satisfy their own requirements and desires before considering others. Jack, the leader of the choir, has a selfish desire for power. With “simple arrogance” Jack says, “I ought to be chief because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C-sharp” (22). His motives for wanting to become leader are ultimately egocentric as he mentions nothing about his utility or his contribution to the group of boys. However, Jack's wish to become leader is partially granted when he leads a hunting expedition. As a result, the boys' unattended signal fire burns out, but when Ralph mentions this, Jack becomes “vaguely irritated by this irrelevance” (69) but is also “too happy to let it worry him” (69). The self-absorbed boy has no desire to be rescued and even wants to stay on the island, thus he puts his desire to hunt before everything else and endangers everyone by not tending to essential chores. The boys who hunted with Jack also seem enjoy the experience selfishly, albeit not without regret (some hunters agree that the signal fire should not have been let out) – this i...
Jack, on the other hand, is doing nothing but causing chaos. Jack fails to realize that the boys need security, stability, and order on the island. Jack was a leader of the choir before the boys landed on the island. These boys, who were in the choir, still want to follow Jack; however, they have no discipline at all. The only thing that is on Jack’s mind is hunting.
In William Golding’s novel, the Lord of the Flies, even though Ralph became chief of the stranded boys, Jack eventually rose to power through scare tactics, confidence, determination, and control. When Jack demonstrated his leadership skills, it was evident that he was superior to Ralph and would use his sense of Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest) and his oratory skills to surpass and isolate Ralph completely. Regardless of Ralph’s strengths, such as his conch, democratic maneuvers, firm motives, and kind demeanor, Jack’s mere presence ousted Ralph’s chances of taking effective leadership. By using propaganda against Ralph, gaining support from his partisan tribe members, and overpowering Ralph through his persuasive techniques and appearance, Jack clearly demonstrated how his leadership of the island was inevitable.
When it comes to Jack’s fear of not being chief, it brings out the worst in him and it has an effect on others. For instance, when the boys are deciding on who should be the chief, Ralph wins by a landslide. “Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification” (Golding 19). That is the first physical evidence of Jack being humiliated by Ralph and judging by Jack’s personality, he is not used to failure so it has a big impact on him. This motivates him to destroy Ralph and the rivalry between the two begins. Another point is that Jack uses fear and threats to control the boys. For example, when Robert tells Roger “’He’s going to beat Wilfred.’ ‘What for?’ Robert shook his head doubtfully” (Golding 176) it shows that Jack is violent and is using his...
After the boys accept Ralph as chief, Ralph gives power over the choir boys to Jack.