guilty as charged

597 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Lord of the flies essay

In William Goldings, The Lord of the Flies, an illegal killing took place. Unlawful homicides vary from First degree murder to Manslaughter. Second Degree, murder is a killing which is deliberate and planned in combination with felonies. When Piggy had gone to Castle Rock to retrieve his glasses, he ended fighting Jack. While the boys were disputing a rock was thrown at Piggy subsequently making him fall and die. Jack then proceeded to scream to Ralph that that’s what he deserved, approving Piggy’s murder. The Jury should find Jack Merridew guilty of Second Degree Murder in the death of Piggy.

Granted, Jack Merridew himself did not kill Piggy; however, he did plan to kill anyone who was in his way when stealing Piggy’s glasses. “We’ll keep along the sands. Then if he comes, we’ll do our dance again” Jack had planned to kill Ralph, just like they killed Simon in their dance, if he meddled with his plans. Piggy just happened to be the one who interfered with Jack’s plans. Jack’s followers listened to what he said, and Roger rolled the rock at Piggy, killing him. Jack never really cared for Piggy from the start. He wanted him out of his way so he could become chief; he was the only thing that kept Ralph in charge. Jack would have done anything for that position, and Piggy interfered, which resulted in his murder. Jack did plan to kill someone, and Piggy happened to be first.

In addition, Jack treated Piggy with extreme cruelty. Jack's brutal behavior toward Piggy exposed his evil side. This could be why he wanted to kill him, as they began arguing since they had first met. Jack also felt a desire for power; Piggy would never grant him this supremacy, which led to violence either physically or verbally. After Jack let the fire go out, Piggy reprimanded him leading to frustration in Jack; “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. He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach ” Jack could have hit anyone else but struck Piggy, showing his deep hatred for him. All Jack needed was the opportunity to kill Piggy, and he would have taken it just like when he punched him in the stomach.

Show More
Related

  • 4. How Do The Boys React To Simon's Fainting Spell?

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    Piggy is upset with Ralph before they leave the island because Ralph thinks it is ok to make their choir boy group into hunters to kill animals. For example in the story in chapter 1 it says “Ralph talked the group into becoming hunters and killing a pig stuck in rope. Another example is when they left to go to walk and look around the lagoon Ralph saw a pig and chased it but stopped himself and said “ next time I will show no mercy.” Piggy didn't want to be a killer nor wanted his friends to

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Confidence Analysis

    389 Words  | 1 Pages

    confidence. One of the leaders who demonstrates this quality is Jack. When Jack and the choir boys are first introduced at the meeting, “Piggy asked no names. He was intimidated by this uniformed superiority and the offhand authority in Merridew’s voice” (Golding 20-21). Jack shows such confidence from the very beginning of the book that it is obvious in his voice and even his posture. This confidence intimidates Piggy and makes him feel as if he should follow Jack. The

    Read More

  • Assertiveness In Lord Of The Flies

    467 Words  | 1 Pages

    They often obey his destructive orders just to avoid being punished. Jack tells Ralph, after Roger kills Piggy, “ ‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone—’ -He ran forward, stooping- ‘I’m chief!’ ” (Golding 181) Jack threatens Ralph and the boys by reminding them of the consequences of not succumbing to his authority. They are physically and emotionally tormented, forced to participate in Jack’s violent acts. As time goes by, they willingly join in on Jack’s brutal endeavors, such as hunting Ralph down in an attempt to sacrifice him to the beast. He

    Read More

  • Jack: Almost the Hero of Lord of the Flies

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the beginning of the novel Jack intimidates the other boys with his flaming red hair, his long black cape, and the brutal way he shouts orders to his choir. Although he is not a good-looking boy, he is amazingly arrogant. He always has to look good in people's eyes. Not that he cares if people like him, but more that they respect him. The only way he knows how to gain people's admiration is by getting them to fear him. He spots Piggy as an easy target and immediately starts to humiliate him in front of the others: "You're talking too much," said Jack Merridew. "Shut up, Fatty."(21) He sizes up Piggy right from the beginning knowing that Piggy wouldn't stand up to him and by making fun of him he was letting the other boys know that he not one to be messed with. When he feels that people are about to think him to be weak or gutless, he uses his knife as if it were a symbol of his superiority: "Jack slammed his knife into a trunk and looked round challengingly"(33). His knife gives him power, a weapon that he would use against anyone who dares to mock him.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Sophocles' Antigone: A Greek Perspective

    1306 Words  | 3 Pages

    Antigone herself is quite the character, her confidence is indubitable, and coupled with her righteousness, she stands as a key tool for Sophocles’ use in addressing gender roles. In an act of virtue, Antigone decides to bury her brother's body, and to perform all of the necessary rites associated with doing so, all while knowing that what she hopes to attempt is forbidden by royal decree. Confronting her sister, Ismene, with her idea, she is reminded that women have a certain place in society, being told, “[W]e were born / Women, and so not meant to fight with men” (Sophocles 63-4). Antigone takes this statement offensively, learning that her sister has a different understanding of what is important, and what is not. Ismene believes her own life has more

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Antigone

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    Antigone believes that a woman should be intrepid and strong, even at the risk of challenging men’s authority. When she proposes to bury Polynices, Ismene answers, “we’re not born to contend with men”. (75) Antigone’s response, “that death will be a glory” (86), does not directly address gender issues, but it expresses her fury at Ismene’s passivity. After the burial of Polynices, Antigone defiantly states, “I did it. I don’t deny a thing,” while being interrogated by Creon (492) and later comments that she was “not ashamed for a moment, not to honor my brother”. (572-3) Antigone’s gallant speech and defiance toward traditional gender identities audaciously shows her revolutionary desire for gender equality.

    Read More

  • Murder In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    465 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the show LOST an Air Marshal named Mars was injured in the plane crash. Jack tried to save his life but it was pointless and Mars knew he was going to die so he begged Kate to kill him but a character named Sawyer shot him in the chest. The shot didn’t kill him so Jack had to suffocate him to put him out of his misery. That's murder because the kill of another human is unlawful even though Mars wanted it. Sawyer should have not shot him because he just put Mars in more pain so Jack had to finish him off which he didn’t want to do.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    Piggy had an appetite to be needed and accepted as a person in the boys' society. Jack had to kill a pig; he saw no other way.

    Read More

  • Guns n' Roses' Song "Welcome to the Jungle" is Reflective of the Character Jack in "The Lord of the Flies"

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • charant Character Changes in Sophocles' Antigone

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.

    Read More

  • Feminism In Lysistrata

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play was considered comic by the ancient Athenians because of its rhyming lyricism, its song and dance, its bawdy puns, but most of all because the notion and methods of female empowerment conceived in the play were perfectly ridiculous. Yet, as is the case in a number of Aristophanes’ plays, he has presented an intricate vision of genuine human crisis. In true, comic form Aristophanes superficially resolves the play’s conflicts celebrating the absurdity of dramatic communication. It is these loose threads that are most rife with tragedy for modern reader. By exploring an ancient perspective on female domesticity, male political and military power, rape, and efforts to maintain the integrity of the female body, we can liberate our modern dialogue.

    Read More

  • Loss of Innocence in Lord of The Flies by William Golding

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jack begins the novel partially innocent, cruel enough to yell at the boys yet pure enough to hesitate when faced with the task of killing the pig. Jack obtains the tools necessary to kill the pig, yet claims to need help cornering the animal. Jack, not truly needing help to kill the pig but rather needing the support provided by the mob mentality, acquires the support of his choir and together the boys hunt and kill the pig, all the while chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood”...

    Read More

  • Roles of Women in Antigone

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite the male dominant society of Ancient Greece, the women in Sophocles’ play Antigone all express capabilities of powerful influence and each individually possess unique characteristics, showing both similarities and contrasts. The women in the play are a pivotal aspect that keeps the plot moving and ultimately leads to the catharsis of this tragedy. Beginning from the argument between Antigone and Ismene to Eurydice’s suicide, a male takes his own life and another loses everything he had all as a result of the acts these women part take in. The women all put their own family members above all else, but the way they go about showing that cherishment separates them amongst many other things.

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1658 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...no. His summation of revenge is to put the emotions aside and rise above repercussions as the bible says “turn the other cheek.” Bacon says, “For as for the first wrong, it doth but offend the law; but the revenge of that wrong, putteth the law out of office.” The new question arises, how would Hamlet’s revenge on the king be considered just? It is hard to tell, but he would have to remove the personal torment from his motivation.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Revenge In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare explores the theme of revenge. Throughout the work, Hamlet acquires a moral dilemma; he cannot decide how to carry out revenge without condemning himself. Thus, although the play promotes the idea of revenge at the beginning, the cultivation of dialogue, relationships, and complications provide evidence of the detrimental consequences and limitations of the theme.

    Read More

More about guilty as charged

Open Document