He uses to his advantage here his authority, not his ability to sing a C sharp.įrom his first appearance as a dark creature, leading his group from the jungle, making them march in columns until Simon faints, Jack is represented as evil. While Ralph entertains others with his trick of standing on his head, Jack successfully practices authority: "With dreary obedience" his choir votes for him as chief. Jack's warlike nature is evident from the start, as a choirboy who carries a knife and volunteers his choir to be the army, amending its role to hunters at Ralph's direction. Note that the talents that set Ralph apart from the others (acrobatics and swimming) serve no practical purpose in the jungle, while Jack's recreational activity as choir leader serves him as a leader in training. In Chapter 1, however, Ralph engages in play - standing on his head, blowing jets of water while swimming, rolling a boulder downhill, gleefully scuffling with Simon - which he has no time for once he is leader of the group. In later chapters, he learns that, as a leader, he must be prepared to take a hard line with his friends if he is to achieve his goals for the group. While allowing Jack control of the hunters turns out to be political (and almost personal) suicide ultimately, Ralph himself is still under the spell of polite society, looking more to make friends than to lead strategically. With his calm, self-assured manner and the poise with which he allows Jack to retain control of the choir and places Piggy in charge of names, Ralph is much more of a diplomat than Jack or Piggy. Therefore, the boys choose Ralph for his charisma and possession of the compelling conch over Piggy, who lacks the physical stature or charsima of a leader despite his intelligence, and Jack, who is "ugly without silliness" and possesses a less civil manner. Although it was Piggy's quick thinking to use the conch to summon the others, hampered by asthma, he must allow Ralph to do the summoning.Īnd while Jack clearly has some experience in exerting control over others, making his choirboys march to the assembly through the tropical heat in floor-length black cloaks, the sheer arrogance of his open grab for power probably puts off some of the boys, raised as they have been in a society that values politeness and decorum. He is a personable and handsome boy who appears to be in charge because of his use of the conch, which functions for him at the moment of his election (and throughout the novel) as the symbol of authority. True to the dynamics of democratic politics, Ralph is elected leader for superficial reasons. While the jungle may represent nature, the beach provides the conch and the platform, both of which symbolize institutionalized order and politics (civilization). Here civilization with its technology has dealt a blow to nature nature counters by sweeping the wreckage out to sea. The novel opens with a description of the "long scar smashed into the jungle," a reference to the snake-like damage done by the plane as it crashed into the island. Using the characters to embody these forces allows Golding the opportunity to compare and contrast with rich shadings of meaning rather than with simplistic oppositions. As the characters interact with each other and with their environment, so do the forces they represent. To illustrate this theme, Golding uses several major motifs: civilization versus savagery humanity versus animality technology versus nature hunters versus gatherers men versus women adults versus children and the intellect versus physicality. In Chapter 1, Golding introduces the novel's major characters as well as its theme: that evil, as a destructive force in man, society, and civilization, is present in us all.
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