Jacks Embodiments Essay, Research Paper

Jacks Embodiments

The Young man who has not wept is a savage. This quote explains Jacks Character in Lord of the Files by William Golding. The quote shows that a savage person would not cry, but crying does not make you a wimp eventhough that is what most people think. Through Jacks violent actions he symbolizes the idea of brutality and savagery, he also shows that he prefers destruction to creation. He enjoys to rule by force and this shows that he is heartless. Jack is only concerned with himself and hunting and that is what makes him a conceited person.

In the beginning Jack is not portrayed as a boy who would want anything to do with getting saved, because he was only interested in hunting and having fun. All the same you need an army for hunting, hunting pigs. (Golding 33) Jack starts to show this during the middle chapters when he first sees the piglet and tries to kill it and fails. He then tries to make up an excuse of why the pig was not killed like he said it would be. It broke away before I could kill it. (31) Ever since then he has had an idea of becoming the hunter on the island. Ralph was never into hunting and wanted Jack to only care about getting saved. Since Jack was only into hunting he went out to find some more pigs, eventhough Ralph did not want him to. When Jack kills the pig his savage side comes out because he cuts the pigs throat open and enjoys every minute of it, and shows that all he cares about is eating the pig and not being saved. When Ralph suggests that they build huts Jacks response was why, all he wanted to do was go and hunt. Jack would stop at nothing to hunt pigs, he went into the woods with a camouflaged face and this shows that Jacks character symbolizes savagery because he is into the brutal hunting just to feed himself, and his other hunters.

When Ralph finds out that Jack has been hunting behind his back he is not happy. Ralph needs help with being rescued and all Jack wants to do it hunt. Jack realizes that he can not follow Ralph s rules any more and says he is going to the other side of the island to make is own tribe and anyone who wanted to go with him could. Jack then becomes the leader of the other savages on the island. He tries to convince people to come to his side of the island and promises that he will supply them with meat and they will never be hungry. He also tells them that there will be no rules to follow and there will be no worries on their side of the island. When Ralph decides to visit Jacks side of the island Ralph tries to bring up the rule of the conch and Jack tells Ralph, The conch does not work on the top of the mountain, so shut up. (43) Jack likes to rule by force on his side of the mountain and Ralph sees that when he visits as well, Jack for no reason beats Wilfred. This shows brutality in Jacks character because Wilfed had done nothing for Jack to do what he did to him. He just decided to have him tied up and beaten and people found amusement in this. Roger finds amusement in this and is not afraid to hide it. He has been tied up for hours now, waiting. (145) This shows that Jack rules by violence as well as force and does not care whom he hurts in the process and this is the savage in him.

Jacks character is also very conceited and only cares about what he wants. When Ralph decides that they were going to build a fire on the island so that they can get saved Jack is only interested in the pigs on the island, as usual. At the meeting that Ralph calls all Jack could talk about was the pigs. There are pigs and there is food: and bathing water along that little stream. (32) Eventhough Jack helps at first with the building of the fire it was a short time after that he got distracted with the pigs that he forgot all about the fire. Jack was the one who was supposed to watch the fire so that it did not go out and while Jack was watching it he let the fire go out and that shows that he is careless and could really care less if they get rescued or not. He did not just ruin the chances for him he also ruined it for everyone else on the island.

Golding really shows brutality and savagery through Jack s character and does a really good job doing so. While reading the book Jack becomes worse, the more that is read. That was the main thing that made Jack who he was, and what made people relate to his character and keep them reading.

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