Jack Character Notes Lord of the flies

William Golding

Images from Lord of the Flies 1963 film.
Copyright © Iestyn Tyne 2013

Character Notes


 Jack is the head choirboy. His choir become the
hunters. He is Ralph’s rival, and eventually declares
himself chief of the island.
 Main actions in the novel...
 Decides that the choir should be the hunters
 Takes Piggy’s glasses by force to light the fire
 After killing a pig, he organizes a dance and ceremonial
chant to celebrate its death.
 Disregards all the rules.
 Leaves when Ralph is re-elected chief.
 Becomes the cruel leader of a savage tribe.


 Jack evidently has complete control over the choirboys from the
very start.
 They all march in step - he orders them around in a military fashion.
 Orders them to stop but won’t let them take off their cloaks first, even
in the sweltering heat.

‘Choir! Stand still!’

Jack


 Says he was head-boy at school - arrogantly assumes that he should
be chief on the island.
 The quotation shows that he is very immature - as if this is enough of a
reason to make him chief.

‘I can sing C-Sharp’

Jack


 Jack thinks that first names are for kids - he feels he is too important
to be called by his first name alone.
 He is used to being called ‘Merridew’ by his choir, who fear and respect
him.

‘Kids’ names ...
Why should I be
Jack? I’m
Merridew.’

Jack

 Piggy notices an offhand authority in Jack’s voice, as though ordering
people around and being in charge comes as second nature to him.

‘...the offhand
superiority in his
voice...’


 Jack tries to make up new rules to suit himself all the time - for
example saying the conch ‘doesn’t count’ at his end of the island.
 When the rules don’t suit him so well, he rejects them, shouting the
above.

‘Bollocks to the
rules!’

Jack


 Jack hates Ralph being in charge and often challenges him.
 He tells the tribe that Ralph can’t hunt and provide them with food so
he has no right to tell them what to do.

‘He’s not a hunter.
He’d never have got
us meat. He isn’t a
prefect...’

Jack

 Jack is vicious with his words - he is especially nasty in the way he
talks to Piggy - he says this to make the others laugh.

‘You’re talking too
much ... Shut
up, Fatty!’

Jack


 A suggestion of Jack’s aggressive character given early on in the novel -
Ralph sees something in his eyes that suggests a violent temper.

‘...turning, or ready
to turn, to anger...’


 When Piggy criticises Jack for letting the fire out, Jack punches
Piggy, smacks him in the head, and breaks his glasses.
• Jack takes out his humiliation and anger out on the weakest
member of the pack.

‘... Able at last to hit
someone, stuck his
fist into Piggy’s
stomach’


 He is proud of having slit the pig’s throat for the first time.
 He shudders at the thought of the blood, and yet it excites him - it will
become easier and easier - foreshadowing.

‘I cut the pig’s throat,’
‘said
Jack Jack, proudly, and
yet twitched as he
said it.’

 Jack’s violence is open and totally deliberate.
 After Piggy’s horrific death, Jack shouts this, and immediately hurls his
spear straight at Ralph.
 He no longer cares about any morals, and his conscience is non-
existent.

‘I meant that!’

Jack


 At the beginning, Jack likes the idea of severely punishing anyone who
breaks the rules - at Castle Rock he is able to carry this out.
 We never find out why Wilfred is beaten - perhaps just to inspire awe
amongst members of his tribe.

‘He’s going to beat
Wilfred’

Robert


 Jack suggests to Ralph that they could use his choir as a group for
hunting to provide meat.
 Here we see he has absolutely no hesitation - he knows exactly what
he wants.

‘ - what do you want
them to be?’
‘Hunters.’
Ralph
Jack

 Jack is always the one who is stressing the importance of hunting and
providing meat for the boys.
 He is the one who keeps saying they could catch animals on the
island, and immediately says that the choir will be the hunters, without
consulting them.

‘We want meat!’

Jack


 Jack spends time improving and developing his hunting
techniques while Ralph works hard building shelters.
 He paints his face to camouflage it and talks of developing his spears so
they work better.

‘If we could only make
barbs -’
‘We need shelters.’
Jack
Ralph

 A ‘madness’ comes into Jack’s eyes at the thought or mention of
hunting.
 He tries to explain to Ralph how he feels a blood-lust, or a
compulsion to kill.

‘...the compulsion to
track down and kill
that was swallowing
him up.’


 This is as they are about to set out and hunt the ‘beast’ - Ralph Is
reminding Jack that their goal is rescue.
 Hunting has become such an obsession for Jack, that he forgets about
the fire and rescue.

‘Don’t you all want
to be rescued?’

Ralph


 He is excited at the prospect of tracking down the beast.
 He sees this as a ‘real hunt’, as though all the hunting and slaughtering
of pigs has just been a game, or practice for the real thing.

‘This’ll be a real
hunt!’

Jack


 Jack lets the fire go out while he is out hunting, even though he
volunteered the hunters’ services in keeping it alight from the
beginning.
 They lose the chance of rescue, yet Jack does not see the seriousness of
the matter.

‘We can light up
again -’

Jack


 While Jack claims that hunting is work for him, and that he is doing it
to provide meat for the rest of the boys, Ralph points out that he enjoys
hunting, and this is the real reason.

‘But you like
it!...You want to
hunt!

Ralph


 Castle Rock appeals to Jack as it seems to be a good fort for playing and
having fun in.
 He is so short sighted mentally that he doesn’t stop to consider that
there is no food or shelter for them here.

‘What a place for a
fort!’

Jack


 The main appeal of Jack’s new tribe is that they will have fun, feast
, and hunt.
 They have no thought for the future and of being rescued -
everything they do is for enjoyment.

‘We hunt and feast
and have fun.’

Jack

 Jack is sarcastic when Ralph keeps Piggy from danger. Jack says that
Ralph always favours Piggy - almost as though he is jealous.
 When they go exploring, Jack bluntly tells Piggy they don’t want him
with them.

‘That’s right. Keep
Piggy out of
danger.’

Jack

 Jack tells the others to leave Simon alone when he throws a faint -
shows no concern towards Simon although Simon is under his
command.
 He just says he’s always doing it.

‘He’s always
throwing a faint,’

Jack

 When he fails to kill the first pig they come across, Jack is furious with
himself.
 His face goes white and he feels embarrassed and ashamed that he
couldn’t bring himself to do it.
 This makes him all the more determined to kill the next one.

‘I was choosing a
place. Next time-!’

Jack

 Jack blushes with embarrassment when Ralph is elected chief and
leader in favour of himself.
 He is so used to being a leader, that this really knocks his pride.

‘... And the
freckles on Jack’s
face disappeared
under a blush of
mortification.’


 Jack holds a vote to see who doesn’t want Ralph as chief.
 When this fails he cries with humiliation and leaves the other boys.
 His pride has suffered a blow and he cannot face the other boys after
this failure. It also shows a very childish side to his character.

‘I’m not going to play
any longer. Not with
you.’

Jack

 He hates being criticised for letting the fire go out - this makes him
guilty, then angry and aggressive.
 He takes this out on Piggy, the weaker character - hitting him and
breaking his glasses.

‘Jack, faced at once
with too many awful
implications, ducked
away from them’


 Jack triumphantly exhibits his power over his tribe when Ralph
visits.
 He points out how they do whatever he wants and has complete control
over them - he is in his element.

‘Give me a drink.’

Jack

 Jack makes a big deal of not being a coward - he wants to be seen as
braver than all the others.
 He is often seen taunting others for being afraid.
 However at Castle Rock for the first time, when Ralph goes on, Jack
hangs back.

‘Jack sneered at him.’
‘Frightened?’

Jack

 By the time Jack forms his own tribe, he develops his painted face into a
fully painted body, and he is like an ‘idol’ - almost as though the
members of his tribe actually worship him.

‘...painted and
garlanded, sat there
like an idol.’


 Jack leads the procession of hunters back with their first pig they have
killed.
 They have already developed a ceremonial, tribal hunters’ chant.

‘Kill the pig. Cut
her throat. Spill
her blood.’

Hunters

 Jack gets his warriors to say this when he invites the others to his feast.
 It is all about impressing them and looking good.

‘The Chief has
spoken’

Maurice & Robert


 Jack has an idea which makes him look all the more awesome - to leave
the pig’s head on a stick as an offering for the beast.

‘But we’ll leave
part of the kill
for-’

Jack

 At the end of the novel....

‘A little boy who wore the remains of an
extraordinary black cap on his red hair and
who carried the remains of pair of
spectacles at his waist...’


Jack Character Notes Lord of the flies

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Jack Character Notes Lord of the flies