Throughout the story, Ralph and Jack are two of the characters who probably have the least in common mainly because they are trying to outdo each other by making the others ideas and beliefs seem obscure. They are similar in their desire for control over the group, however they are completely opposite pertaining to their leadership qualities and their objectives. Author William Golding creates these characters as opposites so he could have a general conflict, which is based on man against man to contribute to his other conflicts of man against environment and man against himself. Personal reflections of this author conclude that the bizarre setting and plot are difficult to comprehend upon the first reading yet further readings would create a more enjoyable story to understand.
Jack is the leader of the boys choir group in civilization and he is the complete opposite of Ralph. Jack wants to be leader and won’t let anyone stand in his way he rules through fear and shows signs of militarism and dictatorship. He is cruel, sadistic and preoccupied with hunting and killing pigs to help the rest signal for help. His sadism only gets worse throughout the novel, and eventually turns cruelly on the other boys. Jack pretends to show an interest in the rules of order on the island, but he views the differently because they only allow him to inflict punishment. Jack represents greed, savage and the anarchic aspects of man.
In Lord of the Flies, Jack struggles to surrender to the orders of Ralph, the elected chief, and ridicules the other boys who do not possess his natural prowess for commanding the group. For example, when Ralph reprimands the hunters for not tending to the signal fire and ignoring their responsibilities, Jack angrily replies, “‘and you shut up! Who are you anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can’t hunt, you can’t sing’” (Golding 123). Jack does not understand why Ralph was chosen over himself. Having always maintained the top position of the choirboys, he cannot accept ceding power to Ralph. Jack rationalizes his superiority over Ralph as being the boy who possesses singing and hunting abilities and a previous leadership role, therefore the rightful chief. Because Jack is obsessed with the thought that he deserves to rule, it never occurs to him that Ralph’s orders are logical, simple, and civ...
William Golding used the character Jack to portray that when away from civilization for a long enough period of time, one will loose sight of what is truely right and wrong. As many would see the good in this particular novel to be Ralph, and the evil to be Jack, there is another perspective. Each and every boy on that island has moments of savagry, and then moments of regret. They understand what is morally right, but on occasion, listen to the demon in their head that tells them to disobey their concience.
Jack’s purpose in the novel is to become a leader, but Jack does not want to intervene in his leadership, in the world today people do this happens very often. Even though, Jack is important in this novel, William Golding portrays Jack like a manager of a company because he has many demands.” Who will join my tribe. My hunters will protect you”(Golding 137).This quote says that Jack wants to be over more people. In William Golding’s mind, this can be interpreted in the world by getting a job and having people you work with to help you. Ralph’s purpose in the novel, is that he portrays that there are complications with Jack like in the real world people do not always like who they have to work with. Although, Ralph is an important character, William Golding shows that Ralph stands up for himself and his friends.” I have come to see about the fire and Piggy’s specs”(Golding 160). This quote shows that Ralph portrays a person who stands up for friends and family. Even though, Jack and Ralph have different purposes in the novel, they are still
When Ralph blows the conch, Jack is introduced to the reader for the first time. He is represented as an audacious and selfish boy who likes to order others around when he says "I ought to be chief, because I'm chapter chorister and head boy"(Goldberg p.22). It also confirms his hunger for power and wanting control over everything. His choleric and petulant personality can be seen when he says "Shut up, Fatty."(p.23), also revealing that he is rude and inconsiderate of others. Despite his obnoxious personality, his conscious of civilization keeps him from killing the first pig they see. He even recommends that the boys should have rules to keep things in order.
Ralph is the novel’s protagonist and tries to maintain the sense of civility and order as the boys run wild. Ralph represents the good in mankind by treating and caring for all equally, which is completely opposite of Jack’s savage nature. Jack is the antagonist in the novel and provokes the most internal evil of all the boys. Jack is seen at first as a great and innocent leader but he becomes t...
Then again, Jack is a lot like Ralph. Like Ralph, Jack is charismatic and inclined to leadership. Unlike Ralph, he gets off on power and abuses his position above others. If Ralph is made better through his role as chief, Jack is corrupted by it, becoming worse and worse as he gains more control over the others. Like Ralph, Jack is brave: the two of them together climb the mountain to face the beast, one of many odd moments between the two. Yet while Ralph clings to the rules and order of his upbringing, Jack revels in the fact that there are no grownups! He gets to swear, play war games, hunt things, and paint his face, without risking being sent to his room for playing rough and accidentally killing the neighbors. Piggy is more of the social outcast, but in this chapter, he tells the boys not to give up just yet. Fear and desire for acceptance influence human behavior because it causes both sides to push for what they want their desire to be. For example, Jack wants to fight against Ralph and cause a commotion so that the other boys would make a fool out of him and vote for Jack rather than Ralph. He desires to be a leader. On the other hand, Ralph was accepted by vote of the boys, he was accepted by vote of their
The protagonist of the novel does his best to control all the boys. Ralph displays initiative, responsibility, courage and determination on the island, transforms himself into the remarkable leader he is. Without Ralph’s leadership skills, the boys may not have been able to survive during their time on the island, although the boys start getting out of control, Ralph still keeps trying his best. The boys did pick Jack over ralph because Jack's priority was to hunt and Ralphs was to get rescued.
At first, Ralph is the leader of the boys and he is fair ruler. Then, Jack begins to come to power; he isn’t so fair. He is extremely violent and mean to the other boys. When he is the new leader, most of the children decide to follow him and not Ralph. With his power, Jack makes his follower do a ton of work, bring things to him, and listen to his rules but doesn’t do anything for the boys in return. He is also very rude and violent towards them.
In book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Golding uses different characters to represent different types of people in the real world. One of the two main characters he used this for was Jack and Ralph. When the boys crash landed on the island, they all group together and decide on a leader. Although Jack has the support of the choirboys, Ralph wins by popular vote. Jack is unhappy that he didn't win but Ralph allows Jack to be the leader of the hunters. As the novel continues, Jack and Ralph begin to clash more and more. The power switches towards the end of the book to Jack. Jack leads the boys into a more savagery way and focuses more on hunting than getting rescued. Throughout the book, Jack and Ralph shows similarities and differences. Jack and Ralph demonstrate
However, he lacked the abilities and qualities that allowed him to become a strong and efficient leader. Alongside Jack, Ralph also desired to become the leader and rule the others. Despite the personalities and characteristics of each of the boys, power struggles between the two often emerged, resulting in a period of conflict. The different beliefs and perspectives of Jack and Ralph often led to competition between them. This negatively impacted the society and civilization of the island that the boys had formed. However, the conflict that emerged among the boys was able to benefit the civilization and society on the island, as it expressed their ambition and desire to guide the others. Although Jack and Ralph faced issues, they were able to determine their strengths and weaknesses in order to fulfill the role of a
The boys live a new life without adults and social norms. Roles in their makeshift society have been carried out but Jack’s self-imposed responsibility only aims to fulfill his personal agenda. Jack’s fervent character is aggressiveness masquerading as passion. This destructive behavior sends Jack to a faster decline to savagery in relation to his peers.
Jack still would like to think that he is the better leader because he was more aggressive than Ralph. He would like to think that he is the better leader because he put priorities before play. Although unsaid, both boys suffer from this conflict at the end of the story. When the officer asks who is in charge, Ralph is quick to say he is. Jack does not speak up because he is fearful that problems with start between him and Ralph. Ralph had little to no control over most of the boys’ towards the end of the story. Jack would believe he was the leader because he had more children on his side by the end. This conflict is unresolved because the boys cannot settle on which was
Ralph and Jack are both powerful and meaningful characters in William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies. Ralph is an excellent leader; responsible, and stands for all that is good. Jack is a destructive hunter, selfish, and represents evil. These two main characters can be compared by the actions they take as leaders, their personalities, and what they symbolize in the story.