Jack Merridew Flashcards
initially, jack is presented… (ch.1)
through his authority over the choir boys and superiority
finish the quote: ‘the boy who…
…controlled them’
‘the boy who controlled them’
- first description of jack - presented immediately as a leader
- dictator figure
- power hungry
finish the quote: ‘he shouted an order and they…
….halted, gasping, sweating, swaying’
‘he shouted an order and they halted, gasping, sweating, swaying’
- ‘shouted’ and ‘order’ - hints at militaristic behaviour Jack is exhibiting at first impression
- non-finite verbs show the choir fears him
- denotes jack as a tyrannical leader
start the quote: …daring them to contradict’
‘he looked around fiercely…
‘he looked around fiercely, daring them to contradict’
- wants people to fear him (tyrannical)
- domineering and controlling
- likes to be superior and in power - an egomaniac
- hints of violence
initially, jack is presented… (ch.1,3 and 4)
through appearance
finish the quote: ‘his cap badge…
…was golden’
‘his cap badge was golden’
- presented as superior in the hierarchy
- higher class than other boys
- ‘gold’ - high rank - powerful before he even set foot on the island
start the quote: …and ugly without silliness’
‘his face was crumpled and freckled…
‘his face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness’
- jack described as the contrast of ralph
- instead of being handsome with fair hair, he’s ugly with a crumpled face and freckles
- used to reflect his ugly nature
finish the quote: ‘except for a pair of tattered shorts held up…
…by his knife belt he was naked’
‘except for a pair of tattered shorts held up by his knife belt he was naked’
- the clean, formal appearance of jack and his uniform as head of the choir has been replaced with a disturbingly savage, almost animalistic appearance
- belt isn’t part of uniform anymore, but a tool to help him with his violent, destructive hunting
- losing his old public-schoolboy identity
finish the quote: ‘ he looked in astonishment…
….no longer at himself, but at an awesome stranger’
‘he looked in astonishment, no longer at himself, but at an awesome stranger’
-‘dazzle paint’ ‘like in the war’
- losing his identity further and further
- no longer restricted by humanity - feel at liberty of doing whatever he wants without taking responsibility
initially, jack is presented.. (ch.1+2)
through his ambition for power
finish the quote: ‘“I ought to be chief” said jack with simple arrogance….
“because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp”’
“I ought to be chief”, said jack with simple arrogance, “because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp”
- presented as an egomaniac
- seeks power, not leadership like ralph
- doesn’t care about group’s opinions
- brings up useless skills to impress others and prove he’s superior and better than the others
finish the quote: ‘jack’s face…
…disappeared under a blush of mortification’
‘jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification’
- jealous at ralph’s authority
- embarrassed he didn’t get elected as chief
finish the quote: ‘if there was a snake..
…we’d hunt it and kill it’
‘if there was a snake, we’d hunt it and kill it’
- manipulates the boys’ fear and uses it to his advantage to increase his power and the need for him
- uses the fear of the beast to control them
- like Hitler with communism
- political allegory
over the course of the novel, jack is presented…
…as a bully/mean
finish the quote: ‘a lot of…
(ch.5)
…cry-babies and sissies’
start the quote: …you useless lot of cry-babies!’
‘serve you right if something did get you…
finish the quote: ‘contempt..
….in his voice’
finish the quote: ‘shrank away…
…defenceless’
finish the quote: ‘you shut up…
…you fat slug!’
over the course of the novel, jack is presented…
(ch.5,6,8+8)
as undermining ralph’s authority
finish the quote: ‘you can’t hunt…
…you can’t sing’
‘you can’t hunt, you can’t sing’
- questioning ralph’s authority
- egomaniac - thinks that he is the ideal leader
finish the quote: ‘the supreme sting..
…the casual bitter word’
‘the supreme sting, the casual bitter word’
- power struggle
- jack undermining ralph’s power
finish the quote: ‘he just gives orders…
…and expects people to obey for nothing’
throughout the course of the novel, jack is presented..
(ch.5,6,7+8)
…through his rejection of civilisation and democracy
finish the quote: ‘bollocks..
…to the rules!’
‘bollocks to the rules’
- presented as savage
- lost civilisation
finish the quote: ‘it’s time people knew they’ve got to…
…keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us’
finish the quote: ‘we don’t…
…need the conch anymore’
finish the quote: ‘remained..
…standing’
finish the quote: ‘he laid the conch with great care…
….in the grass at his feet’
‘he laid the conch with great care in the grass at his feet’
- after trying to gain power through democracy - ‘hands up’, he rejects democracy, law and order and isn’t ‘going to play any longer’
- moves onto dictatorship and savagery to gain power
finish the quote: ‘wore the damp darkness of the forest…
….like his old clothes’
‘wore the damp darkness of the forest like his old clothes’
- simile
- replaced civilisation with savagery
throughout the course of the novel, jack is presented…
(ch.8)
through his growing sadism when killing the mother sow
finish the quote: ‘wedded to her…
..in lust’
finish the quote: ‘hurled..
..themselves at her’
finish the quote: ‘stabbing…
…downward with his knife’
finish the quote: ‘he giggled and flicked them..
…while the boys laughed at his reeking palms’
finish the quote: ‘the boys…
…cried with laughter’
throughout the end of the novel, jack is presented…
(ch.11,12)
through Goldings’ use of the phrase ‘the chief’ instead of jack’s name by the end of chapter 11
‘the chief’
- has completely lost his old identity as jack merridew, choirboy and is now a nameless chief of a tribe of nameless savages
throughout the end of the novel, jack is presented..
(chapter 11,12)
- through the setting of castle rock - ‘high above’
finish the quote: ‘a log had been jammed under the..
…topmost rock and another lever under that’
throughout the end of the novel, jack is presented..
(ch.11+12)
as merciless through the deliberate death of piggy and through his abuse of power
finish the quote: ‘they do..
…what I want’
finish the quote: ‘I meant…
…that!’
finish the quote: ‘viciously, with full intention…
…he hurled his spear at ralph’
