Lord of The Flies. Jacks use of power is governed by his desire for power.
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winn96 (student)
Winner Oni JACK’S USE OF POWER IS NOT GOVERNED BY RULES. TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Ralph, the chief, is presented as the embodiment of civility, the glow of hope among the boys, being the one seemingly with the most impact considering their expectations of rescue. Jack, the subject of this matter, is depicted with the instinct of barbarism, the nucleus of the boys’ gradual descent into savagery. He antagonises Ralph; he antagonises the boys’ hope of rescue. To juxtapose these two characters allows us to see Jack’s unruly use of power coupled with his arrogance, pride and vanity. “Ralph is like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief.” – Jack. According to Jack, Ralph uses logic, ration and reasoning just like Piggy in his chiefdom; a boy with immense
intellect. To Jack, intelligence and reasoning are not comparable with strength, and the latter is necessary for chiefdom. Although the intent of this conspiratorial gossip is not yet backed up with power, Jack implies that he is more suiting for the role to take the lead than Ralph is, as he has put it upon himself to provide meat for the camp, to be a source of sustenance, and he does go just as far to achieve this, as it says that during one of his hunting adventures, he was “…streaming with sweat, streaked with brown earth, strained by all ...
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intellect. To Jack, intelligence and reasoning are not comparable with strength, and the latter is necessary for chiefdom. Although the intent of this conspiratorial gossip is not yet backed up with power, Jack implies that he is more suiting for the role to take the lead than Ralph is, as he has put it upon himself to provide meat for the camp, to be a source of sustenance, and he does go just as far to achieve this, as it says that during one of his hunting adventures, he was “…streaming with sweat, streaked with brown earth, strained by all the vicissitudes of a day’s hunting.” So, we see that while it is yet true that Ralph, being the leader, is obeyed and his service, which includes the producing of smoke for their rescue, the building of shelter for their safety, and the provision of food for their survival, is relied upon, the main person that provides the boys with food is Jack and hence his bone of contention - with his savage instinct and bloodlust, he is capable of providing the two that seem more important to him – safety and survival, so why should Ralph be chief? And so, it is with these same instincts and qualities that Jack intends to topple Ralph as he challenges him by saying, “You can’t hunt…” At this point, Ralph was devastated by what his reaction would have been to that remark – he would have been consentient with Jack. At this juncture, Ralph hoped to hit Jack with what he thought seemed most subjugating at the time – the rules! As he says, “the rules … you are breaking the rules!” But Jack arrogantly replies with, “who cares?” This is the point where I think Ralph’s power begins to entertain a huge challenge because I believe Ralph should not have had to resort to warning anyone, regardless of whom, against breaking the rules. But there is a reason he couldn’t challenge Jack without the rules. This reason is the focus of my perception on Jack’s cunning use of power. On page 74, the last sentence says: “Ralph stood among the ashes of the signal fire, his hands full of meat, saying nothing.” Vast meanings can be read from this quote. Firstly, “Ralph stood among the ashes...” suggests that Ralph has been reduced from his high estimable status to a common, valueless and dishonoured status. This extract of the quote could also imply that all of Ralph’s efforts and strife has come to nought – they have gone up in smoke, hence he is standing “...among the ashes...” All these have happened because he had “... his hands full of meat ...” rendering him “powerless” as his hands were “...full...” – unable to do anything else but feed himself. Jack renders him impotent by providing him with food, luring him into subjugation, which depicts a clear and indisputable dependency of Ralph on Jack. And Ralph stood there, with the “bait” in his hand, “...saying nothing...” Jack has displaced Ralph from his rightful position. He has brought to ashes Ralph’s work; he has broken the rules and barely cares. All these things he did through the power vested in him and his desire to assume the leadership role. Therefore, Jack’s use of power was governed, controlled and propelled by his desire to take the lead, his desire for vanity, his envy of Ralph, his pride and his arrogance. Jack’s use of power is not governed by rules. Jack’s use of power is governed by his desire for power.