Corruption And Power In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Corruption and Power in Lord of the Flies

Corruption and power slowly evolves in the book Lord of the Flies. Throughout the book there is always a struggle for power between Jack and Ralph. Eventually this thirst for power by Jack leads to corruption and evil. From the first chapter in the book Jack wants to be chief and doesnt care if others want him to be chief or not. The conch is a very significant symbol for democracy and how it is used throughout the book is also a symbol for how the boys change. Jack and Ralph are the main reason that there is corruption for power in Lord of the Flies because they are the only two that truly desire power. Towards the end of the book, Jack uses savage methods of forcing people to join his tribe. The main character that shows how power leads to corruption is Jack. He is the one that eventually leads the boys into savagery. There are many instances in this book in which you see how power leads to corruption.

In the first chapter Jack declares himself as chief when they decide that they need one. He came into the island as head of the choirboys and clearly the little power that he had made him want power over more people. The boys immediately needed an authority figure and he jumped at the chance of having power.

Hunting in the book becomes a symbol for savagery and corruption. Ralph, who represents democracy, is never interested in hunting. Whereas when Jack loses the vote of being chief, Ralph still gives him power over the choir. He immediately decides that they should be hunters and makes hunting a priority even though there are clearly more priorities like building shelters. Jack has no interest in building shelters, from the first chapter of the book he is focused on hunting the pig. The second he accomplishes that, he and the other hunters switch to a different mindset. This is a significant point in the book because when they kill the pig, they have crossed the line from civilization to savagery. This is also when Jack really starts becoming thirsty for power. Throughout the rest of the novel Jack and the boys become obsessed with hunting. They make hunting seem like a fun game that is also important for surviving. Jack uses hunting as a way to lure in other kids to gain power over the people that he has lured in. Hunting for pigs eventually turns into hunting for humans and you see how society disintegrates Jack is clearly the one that leads the boys into savagery and causes civilization to disappear.

The power struggle between Ralph and Jack is one of the prominent factors in the corruption of the society in Lord of the Flies. There is one very important point in which their relationship begins to deteriorate and this power struggle begins. In the beginning of the book, the hunters volunteer for two jobs. They volunteer to be in charge of hunting and they volunteer to keep the fire alive so that everyone will be rescued. Ralph gives full priority to keeping the fire alive and Jack gives priority to hunting. While Jack is hunting a ship passes by the island. However, Jack never kept the fire alive and focused all of his energy on hunting. You see from this that Jacks main objective from the beginning isnt to get rescued but to gain power by hunting. When this happens, Ralph becomes furious with Jack and tells him off in front of everyone. This is one of the main causes of Jacks hatred towards Ralph. The last thing that Jack wants is to be told off like a minority in front of everyone. This event strikes Jacks mind with revenge. Jack then focuses all of his energy on demeaning Ralph and getting all of the power from him. The power struggle in the book also shows how jealousy for power leads to corruption.

The conch is a very powerful symbol in Lord of the Flies. It serves as a symbol of democracy in the book. In the beginning of the novel, the boys are civilized, everyone agrees on a leader and is relatively happy. Jack from the beginning is against the conch because he knows that the conch gives other people a chance to voice their opinions. This is when the conch is mostly used. As the days go by the conch is used less and less. Jack then makes the suggestion of stopping the use of the conch. We dont need the conch anymore. We know who ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking, or Bill or Walter? Its time some people knew theyve got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us. (p.110) You see how Jack rejects the idea of the conch because it takes away his own power. Later in the book, Jack breaks the conch. When he breaks the conch it symbolizes the complete breakdown of society. As the use of the conch changes, the way in which all of the characters act, changes.

Towards the end of the book, when Jack gains power over the majority of the children on the island through temptation, Ralph loses all of his power and has very few people still left with him. Him and Piggy are left practically alone in the shelters. This is when Jack decides to steal the glassed to make fire. Ralph goes to confront Jack and tells him that if he had asked Ralph for the glasses, he wouldve given the fire to him. This shows how Jack thinks about his power and about Ralph. He would rather steal than ask for the glasses because he knows that if he asks for them he is giving a tiny bit of power to Ralph. Before Jack steals the glasses, the only thing that Ralph is in charge of, is the fire. After he steals them, Ralph is left with nothing. This shows how throughout the book Jack tires to steal power away from Ralph.

Throughout the book Jack tries to persuade everyone into liking him and joining his tribe. At one point this changes and he turns into a dictator. When Jack gets full control of the kids, he has his mind set on taking all power from Ralph. He forces Samneric to join the tribe by torturing them. At this point in the book he attains all of the qualities of a corrupt leader in search for more power. He uses his right hand man, Roger to do so. By torturing them and forcing them to join the tribe he has taken away everyones right if free choice. You can also see how the power that he has makes him hungry for even more power over more people so he abuses his power.

This book shows effectively how a society can disintegrate if there is a lack of civilization. The main reason that society disintegrates is because of the greed for power by Jack and Ralph. They are both very strong and outgoing characters that are in search of the same things and this causes conflict and corruption. They have different views and this is seen by how they use the conch. They hold different priorities. Jack is the character that mainly leads all of the boys into savagery and due to jealousy takes chief from Ralph and persuades everyone to join his tribe. He then commits murder and he robs Ralph and piggy of their glasses to completely strip them of their power. These instances show how power leads to corruption in Lord of the Flies. Both characters want power so badly that it leads to the corruption of one of them.