jack Flashcards
“Jack, painted and garlanded, sat there like an idol.”
The visual description of Jack ‘painted and garlanded, sat there like an idol’ evokes imagery of a religious ritual and worship, but instead of divine reverence, it becomes a symbol of primitive deification. The simile ‘like an idol’ portrays Jack as an object of blind obedience and fear, suggesting that his power is built on an image, spectacle and intimidation rather than reason. The oxymoronic combination of ‘painted’ and ‘garlanded’ also mixes brutality with celebration, implying that in the boys’ distorted moral code, violence is something to be revered.
“This head is for the beast. It’s a gift”
The declarative statement ‘this head is for the beast. It’s a gift’ mimics the tone of a sacred dedication, transforming the pig’s ‘head’ into a symbolic offering to fear itself. The phrase ‘for the beast’ conveys a shift from resisting fear to submitting to it, and the word ‘gift’ implies reverence, even worship. Yet, the ‘gift’ is grotesque, signalling their total submission to fear and savagery. Ironically, the ‘head’, meant to appease the beast, becomes the Lord of the Flies, representing evil itself. Perhaps Golding is critiquing how fear can morph into blind allegiance, replacing logic with ritual.
“I’m not going to play anymore”
The childlike diction of ‘I’m not going to play anymore’ is chillingly ironic. The word ‘play’ trivialises the chaos, implying that everything up to this point- including violence- has been treated as a game. However, Jack’s statement also signifies his rejection of democratic structures, marking his transition from a frustrated child to authoritarian leader. The refusal to ‘play’ with the others is a symbolic rupture: he no longer sees himself bound by the rules of society.
“The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness”
Golding presents the mask not just as face paint, but as a metaphorical shield from civilisation. It becomes ‘a thing on its own’, as if it has agency, separating Jack from accountability. The verb ‘hid’ implies cowardice or secrecy, but the phrase ‘liberated from shame’ reveals the seductive power of anonymity- Jack is freed from the constraints of morality. This suggests that savagery is not only natural, but pleasurable when unrecognisable.
“Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downwards with his knife”
The imagery of Jack’s domination over the sow is disturbingly graphic and laced with violence, symbolising the total collapse of innocence and the rise of perverse power. The phrase ‘on top’ implies control and violation, while ‘stabbing downwards’ suggests a frenzied, uncontrolled attack, highlighting how violence is not just survival-driven but pleasurable for Jack.
“Authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear like an ape”
Golding uses a simile and animalistic imagery here to show the deterioration of reasoned leadership into something primitive and chaotic. The idea that ‘authority’ has become something that ‘chattered…like an ape’ suggests that leadership is no longer rational or moral, but reduced to instinctual dominance and noise. This personification mocks the concept of ‘authority’, as an ape is often a symbol of regression. Alternatively, the idea that ‘authority sat on his shoulder’ evokes the metaphorical image of a devil and angel, symbolic of the conflicting influences on morality and decision making. Yet in this moment, ‘chatting authority’, likened to an ‘ape’, suggests that the voice of reason and morality (the angel) has been overwhelmed by instinct and savagery (the devil). This implies that Jack’s leadership style has completely regressed. Here, perhaps Golding is critiquing the superficiality of power, showing that without morality, authority becomes a hollow, almost a comical performance.
“I ought to be chief,” said Jack with simple arrogance, “because I’m chapter chorister and head boy.”
Jack’s justification for leadership is rooted in surface-level authority- titles and status- rather than moral or practical strength. It is almost ironic as his childlike achievements of being ‘chapter chorister’ and ‘head boy’ are meaningless in the adult world, yet this naivety is all they know. Golding uses the phrase ‘simple arrogance’ to suggest entitlement and ego. His need to dominate reflects the flaws in systems that reward appearance over action. Also, this moment hints that Jack’s desire for power isn’t about survival or protection, but control- foreshadowing his descent into tyranny as ‘chief’, and perhaps even reflecting Golding’s cynicism about how leadership is often claimed, not earned.
