Analysis of Jack’s Character: Lord of The Flies by William Golding

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Question: How can the article help you understand the behavior of one of the characters in the book?
Analysis of Jack’s character in the Lord of The Flies by William Golding
The Lord of The Flies by William Golding is a novel published shortly after the World War II. The author, who participated in the war, seemed to have lost faith in humanity after he experienced what man could do to a fellow man. In this novel, he explores the evil and dark side of humanity through the allegorical story of children tragic adventure on a tropical island without adult supervision. The events that unfold in the island illustrate the intrinsic evil nature of humans and how they pursue their personal desires at the expense of other’s suffering. Sigmund. Psychoanalytic theory can be used to understand the behavior of the boys on the island and the decisions they took to ensure their survival till their rescue. CITATION Lux12 \l 1033 (Luxmoore) attempts to explain why young people often make wrong decisions adversely affecting themselves and the society. The author attempts to explain who young people often find themselves aggressive or violent. Through the article, a direct correlation to the issues expounded by the author can be used to conduct an evaluation of the factors that led to the overly extreme character depicted by Jack The article can be used to understand the behavior of the boys on the island. Thus, in this essay, Jack’s behavior, personality, and decisions are critically described based on Luxmoore article on what influences extreme behavior and anxieties in young people.
Jack is unhappy when the boys choose Ralph to be their leader, and he embarks on a plan to hunt and kill Ralph. According to CITATION Lux12 \l 1033 (Luxmoore) young people ‘behaviors defend against extreme anxieties’ and thus, they find themselves erecting a defense to guard themselves against imagined attack. When young people are intimidated by their peers who lead them, sometimes they go to extremes to reclaim their pride and become the leaders. Jack was unhappy that the group chose Ralph to be their leader instead of him. He broke all the rules set to maintain the boys orderly and objective in surviving the stay on the island till help came their way. Jack’s anxiety stemmed from the inferiority feeling he felt after the group chose Ralph to be their leader. His extreme behavior came when he decided to kill Ralph, ‘Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph’(pg.163). Jack intentionally wanted to kill Ralph who was a threat to his leadership. Luxmoore points out, ‘when I’m in danger of being humiliated, I humiliate others.’ Young people tend to ensure they hold themselves with highest regard and pride when their egos are hurt; they turn to hurt other people. Jack had the imagined fear that Ralph would regain his authority over the group and possibly plot revenge against him. He also had the imminent fear of losing his leadership to Ralph. He felt humiliated by the group’s decision to choose Ral...