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What is the importance of Jack in the novel "Lord of the Flies"
In the novel Lord of The Flies, there is a moral behind the storyline and its about the way society works and peoples beliefs on aspects of the world we live in. Jack is very important in the novel because he is the ‘fly in the ointment’ and very easily stops things running smoothly on the island. To create this role in the novel, the author has focused on the characteristics of Jack and straight away from the beginning of the novel, Jack makes his presence known and shows he will not be pushed around by the other boys. He claims he should and would make the best leader. Even when first described the author makes him sound unattractive to go with his personality and mannerisms. Jack is described as having ‘red hair’ and being ‘ugly without silliness’.
In society, things do not always run as smoothly and as calm as people would like. There are always going to be people with opposing beliefs and faiths to other people. Jack is a symbol of this and he is the opposing force.
If Jack did not oppose to Ralph and Piggy’s ideas and actions regarding the island, the novel would be in my opinion rather bleak and missing content. When somebody decides to watch a video or read a book, they usually do not want to read/watch fiction with no ‘twists’ or ‘shake ups’ because we like to see drama or tension. This is a reason why soap operas are so popular.
Although Jack may not be the readers favourite character, without him or a character with his personality, the book would not be as affective or successful. Also, as a result of Jack not being in the novel, it would lack the moral.
In Lord of the Flies, it is similar to a real life situation in the fact that Jack gains a lot of power and respect from the other boys on the island by using force, just like some current world leaders. By giving Jack a small bit of respect when allowing him to instruct the choir, Ralph made the situation unknowingly worse. Without the respect and power over the choir, Jack would not have been able to force Ralph and Piggy out. Jack’s tactics were simply to overpower the voted leader Ralph by gaining an army of his own. Jack saw that the other boys were clearly hungry and therefore by using hunting as the bate, he quickly reeled the boys in and they too were blinded by their hunger and were quick to join Jack’s elite group and opposed to keeping the fire going although it would have been a good hope of being rescued.
In conclusion to Jack’s importance in the novel, he is heavily linked to the moral and ‘real life’ connection of it. He used the same tactics as other world leaders have done. Just as Hitler did, Jack used propaganda to recruit help in the form of people. At the end of the novel, Jack seemed to have [next page]