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Danae Sinclair

Ms. Damico

English Block 1

10 January 2011

Satan in a Littlun

People in a choir always stick together, no matter in what situations. In Lord of

the Flies a bunch of little boys get stranded on an island. The leader of the choir group,

Jack, gradually starts to lose his sanity. In Lord of the Flies Golding implies through the

characterization of Jack that in times of crisis, the devil in hiding can and will emerge.

After the plane crashes the boys start to gather to see who else is on the island. A

group of kids walking in straight parallel lines come forward. They are all dressed in a

black cape with a silver badge kid except Jack; he had a black cap with a golden badge.

Jack was the leader of the choir group; he basically controlled some of the things they

did. When Ralph and them first meet Jack, they describe that “his hair was red beneath he

black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness” (Golding 17).

At first he was nice and sort of angelic-like but his hair did not appeal to it “he is

distinguished by his ugliness and his red hair, a traditional demonic tribute” (Rosenfield

262). They automatically made Ralph chief of the island, because he was the one to find

the conch. Jack was not really satisfied with them making Ralph chief, because he felt he

did not have qualities that Jack did ‘“I ought to be chief,’” said Jack with simple

arrogance, “because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp” (Golding

19).
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So it gets to the point where they start to realize that they might be there for a

while. While Ralph’s main focus is on getting rescued, all Jack wants to do is hunt. So

Ralph builds this fire to cause smoke for people passing by, and made a rule for people

not to mess with it. On Jack’s first hunt he basically takes away most of the fire to hunt

for pigs. While looking for pigs to capture he would chant “Kill the pig. Cut her throat.

Spill her Blood” (Golding 63). Jack finally catches a pig with a knife he had; but still

does not realize that he messed up when he took the fire. As he comes back to the

platform he suspects everyone to be happy. But has disappointed when Ralph is

extremely angry about the ongoing boat missing them, because Jack took the fire. At that

moment it becomes the turning point of Jack and Ralph. Jack is starting to show his first

sign Satan emerging from within. So the longer they are on the island the more Jack and

Ralph run into conflict. Ralph is so focus on trying to get rescued and have sheleter while

all Jack thinks about is hunting. It gets to the point where Jack wants to take over and try

to be the leader. They take a vote but Ralph wins, causing Jack to break off from the

group ‘“I’m not going to play any longer. Not with you”’ (Golding 118). Jack soon

symbolizes the knife he brought with him, because he tries to use it off when hunting.

Soon after Jack breaks off from Ralph’s group he makes his own tribe offering

anyone who joins gets to have meat and will have fun. A lot of people join Jack’s tribe

lessening Ralph’s. Then at this moment this is where Jack changes into savage stage. He

soon covers his face with paint his face as if lost all humanity. Piggy a victim gets his

glasses broken and eventually killed Roger, who is under Jacks wing. He even takes

hunting so serious. “After an indefinite passage of time, he appears almost dehumanized,

his nose only a few inches from the humid earth” (Rosenfield 268) when trying to sniff
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pigs’ trails. Jack and his crew had a huge feast after killing a boar, and invite anyone. The

after eating it seems that the whole tribe has lost ther humanity “drunk with tribal

excitement, the are responsible for killing the one individual on the island who has real

insight into the problems of their lives, (Peter 231) Simon, thinking he was the beast. As

Ralph figures that he helped killed Simon he tries to get them to realize, but it was no use

at this point. Jack who no longer is sane sends out commands to his tribe for Ralph to be

killed, Sam n Eric runs into Ralph tell him “They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do

you,” (Golding 174). Jack now symbolizes a killer that he is, and you can see it on his

face; even with the painted mask. He has his own tribe and controls them, just like how

he used to control his choir.

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies the devil in Jack comes out of hiding, and

has taken over him the “Evil is inherent in the mind itself” (Peter 232). He created his

own tribe by bribing the littluns with meat and fun. Jack was a semi-innocent choir boy

that got lost in wanting power and to spill blood. The devil in “Jack, whose lust for blood

is finally not satisfied by killing merely wild pigs…” (Niemeyer 217), by him trying to

hunt Ralph. He broke away from Ralph and his conch because Jack did not have power.

He always wants to fight; he acts if everyone is below him, and somehow causes

everyone to be animalistic. If the Police Officer had never come, it would eventually lead

to Jack becoming the beast.