leadership and power Flashcards
“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.
“I’m chief. I’ll go. Don’t argue”
Ralph’s short, declarative sentence in ‘I’m chief. I’ll go. Don’t argue’ shows a shift in his tone- from a democratic leader to someone forced into authority. The repetition of ‘I’ reflects his isolation and determination, but also hints at desperation, encapsulating his growing loneliness in leadership as order breaks down. His refusal to let others ‘argue’ suggests how leadership becomes strained under pressure, especially when fear takes over. It highlights the burden of responsibility and how power, even when well intentioned, can begin to mirror the control it seeks to oppose.
“The rules! You’re breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?”
Golding uses the contrasting exclamations in ‘The rules! You’re breaking the rules!’ with ‘who cares?’ to emphasize the tension between civilisation and savagery. Piggy’s desperate plea reflects his unwavering belief in the importance of order and structure, symbolised by ‘the rules’, which represents the last remainder of their civilised behaviour on the island. Whereas coupled with the blunt response of ‘who cares?’ emphasises how these ‘rules’ have become meaningless. This shift in tone reflects the fragility of civilisation when its principles are no longer respected, highlighting that ‘rules’ alone can no longer prevent savagery without mutual agreement and enforcement. This links to Piggy’s character arc, highlighting how his faith in civilisation ultimately isolates him, making his downfall inevitable. It could also allude to Golding’s wider societal commentary on power dynamics, such as how ‘rules’ like theirs can easily be broken when there are no consequences. Alternatively, these two phrases incorporate childlike language, perhaps suggesting that the boys still have not grasped the full gravity of their actions- they do not ‘care’.
“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.
“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.
“We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.”
Ralph’s logical tone and use of ‘we’ creates a sense of unity and democratic hope. The declarative statement highlights his faith in civilisation and structure, even though there are some cracks starting to show. Also, the juxtaposition of ‘rules’ with ‘savages’ emphasises how Golding positions civilisation and savagery as binary opposites, yet ironically this foreshadows the very breakdown of those ‘rules’. It becomes almost naïve in hindsight. Alternatively, it could be reinforcing Golding’s wider critique of society, where real-world civilisations impose ‘rules’ to distinguish themselves from ‘savages’, yet often fail to uphold their own moral codes, just as Ralph does when violence overtakes reason.
“You were going to do what I said but your hunting”
Ralph’s broken syntax in ‘you were going to do what I said but your hunting’ mirrors his frustration and helplessness. The lack of punctuation and grammatical error (‘your’ instead of you’re) implies emotional breakdown, but also reflects the collapse of clear communication. Ralph, the voice of order, is being drowned out by impulsive desires- represented by ‘hunting’. The sentence structure echoes the novel’s descent into disorder: even language, a tool of civilisation, starts to fall apart.
“You’re a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief”
Ralph’s desperate outburst, ‘you’re a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief’ towards Jack combines bestial and moral accusations. The tricolon of insults builds intensity, while the repetition of ‘bloody’ intensifies the emotion. The comparison of Jack to a ‘beast’ and a ‘swine’ reduces him to something animalistic and grotesque, highlighting Ralph’s horror of what he’s become. Alternatively, by calling him a ‘beast’, symbolically reverses their earlier fear: the beast is no longer mythical, but embodied. However, the outburst is full of insults, reflecting the boys’ childlike tendency to simplify conflict through name-calling, revealing how Ralph, despite his rationality, cannot fully grasp the deeper consequences of their descent into savagery. This is because ‘swine’ and ‘thief’ echo playground quarrels, juxtaposing with the gravity of their actions. Here, Golding is clearly critiquing the boys as emotionally immature, even as they commit unspeakable crimes. Also, the word ‘thief’ could not only suggest the theft of Piggy’s glasses, but the theft of order, friendship and human decency as well.
“The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist”
Golding portrays the breakdown of civilisation through the symbolic destruction of order when ‘the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist’. The ‘conch’, a powerful motif of democratic governance and structured communication, is violently shattered at the same moment Piggy is killed- suggesting that the physical death of logic is paralleled by the ideological death of order. The adjective ‘white’, symbolic of purity and innocence, being reduced to ‘fragments’ reflects the disintegration of societal rules. Meanwhile the hyperbole of ‘a thousand fragments’ evokes an irreversible rupture, not only of the object, but of the group’s last link to democratic values. Perhaps, through this metaphorical explosion, Golding is conveying his pessimistic view that civilisation is fragile and easily destroyed when confronted with humankind’s innate savagery. It is also key to note that when the ‘rock struck Piggy’ it was only a ‘glancing blow’, where the indifference of the verb ‘glancing’ acknowledges Piggy’s death as unimportant and normalised.
