Essay About Jack Merridew And Tropical Island

Lord of the Flies
Essay title: Lord of the Flies
In his first novel, William Golding used a group of boys
stranded on a tropical island to illustrate the malicious nature of
mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with changes that the boys underwent
as they gradually adapted to the isolated freedom from society. Three
main characters depicted different effects on certain individuals
under those circumstances. Jack Merridew began as the arrogant and
self-righteous leader of a choir. The freedom of the island allowed
him to further develop the darker side of his personality as the Chief
of a savage tribe. Ralph started as a self-assured boy whose
confidence in himself came from the acceptance of his peers. He had a
fair nature as he was willing to listen to Piggy. He became
increasingly dependent on Piggys wisdom and became lost in the
confusion around him. Towards the end of the story his rejection from
their society of savage boys forced him to fend for himself. Piggy
was an educated boy who had grown up as an outcast. Due to his
academic childhood, he was more mature than the others and retained
his civilized behaviour. But his experiences on the island gave him a
more realistic understanding of the cruelty possessed by some people.
The ordeals of the three boys on the island made them more aware of
the evil inside themselves and in some cases, made the false
politeness that had clothed them dissipate. However, the changes
experienced by one boy differed from those endured by another. This
is attributable to the physical and mental dissimilarities between
them.
Jack was first described with an ugly sense of cruelty that
made him naturally unlikeable. As leader of the choir and one of the
tallest boys on the island, Jacks physical height and authority
matched his arrogant personality. His desire to be Chief was clearly
evident in his first appearance. When the idea of having a Chief was
mentioned Jack spoke out immediately. “I ought to be chief,” said
Jack with simple arrogance, “because Im chapter chorister and head
boy.” He led his choir by administering much discipline resulting
in forced obedience from the cloaked boys. His ill-nature was well
expressed through his impoliteness of saying, “Shut up, Fatty.” at
Piggy. (p. 23) However, despite his unpleasant personality, his lack
of courage and his conscience prevented him from killing the first pig
they encountered. “They knew very well why he hadnt: because of the
enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh;
because of the unbearable blood.” (p. 34) Even at the meetings, Jack
was able to contain himself under the leadership of Ralph. He had
even suggested the implementation of rules to regulate themselves.
This was a Jack who was proud to be British, and who was shaped and
still bound by the laws of a civilized society. The freedom offered
to him by the island allowed Jack to express the darker sides of his
personality that he hid from the ideals of his past environment.
Without adults as a superior and responsible authority, he began to
lose his fear of being punished for improper actions and behaviours.
This