Jack in the first five chapters
Uploaded by max on Mar 21, 2000
At the start of the novel, there has been an atomic explosion, and the children have been evacuated in an aircraft with a detachable passenger tube. The aircraft has been attacked and released the tube while flying over tropical seas. The tube has crash landed in the jungle of a tropical island, and the plane has flown off in flames. This is the point when the novel starts. There are four main characters in the book – Ralph, Piggy, Jack and Simon. Simon is part of the choir, which is led by Jack, but Ralph and Piggy are not members of the choir, and are in no way related. There are no adults – "There aren’t any grown ups" (P.43)
Ralph has found a "conch" (P.21), and has used it to call all the boys on the island together. This is where Jack is introduced into "Lord of the Flies"
"Something dark was fumbling along" (P.26). This refers to the choir walking along the beach in the distance. This use of language shows us that the choir is dark, evil, and sinister, and immediately Golding tells us that this group will not be a "good" force on the island. The choir are a militaristic group – "marching approximately…with a hambone frill" (P.26). This shows us that their leader is in total control of the group. This leader is Jack – "The boy who controlled them…his cap badge was golden" (P.26) This shows the authority and status that Jack has over the choir. When the choir reach the platform, Jack shows off – "swaying in the fierce light…his cloak flying" (P.27). This is an attempt to impress the group, create a good impression, enough so he commands their respect as well as the choirs’, enough so that he can eventually control them as well as the choir. Jack does not introduce himself to everyone; he first words to the group are "Where’s the man with the trumpet?" (P.27). He just gives out demands, and expects the group to answer him. This is what he is used to. Jack is a direct contrast with Ralph – "peered down at Ralph…(the conch) did not seem to satisfy him" (P.27) This shows us that he believes no-one is as good a leader as him, and that the conch, which called the group together, is below him. This is "simple arrogance" (P.29) on the part of Jack....