At an assembly, the boys talk about the supposed beast that Sam and Eric saw. They try to decide what they should do about it. Piggy asks what they should do if, while Ralph, Jack, and some of the other older boys are off hunting the beast, it should attack Piggy and the younger boys. At that point, Jack bursts in with a negative comment toward Piggy and Jack is reminded he does not have the conch. Then he says they don't need the conch any longer because everyone knows who should and who shouldn't talk, "...It's time some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us." Jack represents the dictatorial type of government that Golding implies is the result of letting man's inner evil come out because of a lack of society's restrictions. Golding tries to point out, in this book, that man has a basic inner beast that, if the conventions of a civilized society are removed, will emerge and take over. His book is a caution to people to recognize this beast and stop it before it takes over. Jack does become the dictator of the boys, leading them with cruelty and prejudice. It is typical of a dictatorial government to presume that it knows what is better for people than the people themselves know. Jack says the conch is no longer necessary because "they" know who to listen to and who to allow to speak because he is worth listening to. He insinuates that only a chosen few (himself and a few of his henchmen) are the only ones worth listening to because only his ideas are right.
No comments:
Post a Comment