Have you ever come across difficult people to deal with? The kind of people that is ever brutal, cruel and violent even when you try to pacify them. If not, you will discover one, Jack, a violent character in the novel, Lord of Flies. The novel is written by William Golding as an allegory of the savagery of the group of boys that were stranded in an isolated island. The book reveals two major themes; civilization and savagery. Both of the themes are metaphorically represented by Ralph and Jack respectively (Golding, page). In the novel, the author displays the conflict between the two themes which reflect the reality of the society we live in. In this paper, the focus will be on the outlining of the behaviors of Jack that reveals him as a savage.

To be a savage requires the evidence of a couple of behavioral characteristics. The behavior of a person defines someone’s character. It can be said that behaviors are the building blocks to the character. From the article, intrinsic motivation, “When people are playing and learning in this eager and willing way, they are intrinsically motivated” (Deci et al, page). Intrinsic motivation is an internally driven behavior. Most of the times, the character of a person is formed from such motivation. From the word go, Jack was a leader, and he would feel that he deserves the top position in every group of people. Jack began as the best choir person who would sing C sharp accurately. Besides that, he was a ‘head-boy’ at his school. When he came to the island, he thrived by controlling the other boys by dominating the choir through a militaristic attitude. This is seen when the author claimed leadership that he is “chapter chorister and head boy” (Golding, page).  Right from his childhood, there has been intrinsic motivation within Jack to be a leader. He felt that leadership was his call. He would craft ways to ensure he enthrones himself as the king of the people. Since the island wasn’t easy to rule while through civilization, Jack began to shift from being a choir person to a hunter and savage.

He is once described to be wearing a mask on the face. The author says that “a thing on its own, behind which Jack is hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness’ (Golding, page). That is the emergence of a savage from Jack. Jack couldn’t stand to face his world with his face uncovered. He was pursuing his dreams of being a leader that he had tasted of their first fruits through domination in the choir and being the head-boy in his school. In his efforts to do that, he turned into a violent person that brought down anybody that opposed him. His savagery is seen clearly on how Jack and some of the boys killed the first pig. Jack shouted that the pig should be killed by cutting her throat and spilling the blood. He became so cruel and aggressive that he doesn’t care how the pig dies. Finally, Jack is a violent man that doesn’t allow anything to stand on his path as a limitation.

It has been revealed from his actions that Jack is a savage. In all the instances he assumed leadership; he ensured manipulation for his success. Jack is an individual you wouldn’t want to crisscross paths with because; he is ever troublesome.

Work cited

Deci, Edward L., and Richard M. Ryan. “Intrinsic motivation.” The corsini encyclopedia of psychology (2010): 1-2.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin, 1987.