Coordinated Care for the Older

¶ … Coordinated Care for the Older Australian Adult In the classic novel, the Lord of the Flies, William Golding traces the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. Golding uses the conch, Ralph and the Lord of the Flies to represent this symbolic dualism within human nature. The conch is obviously more than a symbol, rather it is used as an actual vessel of political legitimacy and democratic order. The conch represented all democracy, order and moral integrity that lay within the boys.

The break of order results, though, when the conch crashes down, and all former individual liberty is lost. "The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away" (82). But it is not necessarily the obvious symbols in the novel that epitomize the juxtaposition of conflicting attitudes, emotions and actions; instead, the character of Jack seems to focus the reader on the very nature of conflict. Indeed, it is Jack's evolving actions that express Golding's view of the natural defects in society -- the evil that resides within us all.

In Lord of the Flies, a group of British schoolboys have crashed upon a desert island while being taken away from a war which is destroying the world. The boys are lonely and forsaken, and enter a seeming paradise only to find that without structure, brutal primeval instincts remove every exterior of civilization. Leading this anarchy is Jack, an ugly little child who unfolds to become a fascist, power hungry tool of the devil, the Lord of the Flies. Jack progresses through the story at an incredible pace.

His evolution backwards into the core of human nature starts in the first chapter, and escalates up to a mighty crescendo, stopped just short of committing his ultimate act of violence. There are no parents to set limits on the island, and Jack seems to feel that adults are the only people worth paying any respect to, "...the fairheaded boy with the creamy shell on his knees [Ralph] did not seem to satisfy him" (20).

Without the boundaries set by adults to sustain them, Jack and all of the other children are prone to forgetting the dynamic structures that have kept their world organized and intact. As they forget these rules, memories of the past conflict with realities of the present, and the obligations to their survival become all encompassing. This human nature, this capacity for anger and violence in the boys, is also conflicting.

It is psychologically tearing the boys from their learned behaviors as civilized young men, to their innate, primitive selves -- their inner beast. For example, when Jack gets angry, the beast comes out in him and pushes him farther into his own savage being. When the book begins, Jack is known as "Merridew" since it's a name that makes him feel adult and in charge, one given to him by the English society. When he loses the election to Ralph, he becomes humiliated and angry.

This is his first push by the beast, for after the election, he is no longer known as Merridew, but just as Jack. From the outset, the reader is aware of Jack's violent tendencies, his rather Jekyll and Hyde conflicting nature. It is this dynamism that smolders from almost the opening pages that provides additional tensions for the character. For Jack, even without the help of the beast, is clearly evolving away from static orderly society.

Perhaps this is why Jack was able to "give in" to the beast so quickly -- his inherent conflicts were moving towards the surface of his personality and he had increased momentum in which to digress than some of the other boys. Jack marches through the story in militaristic (fascist) fashion, parading his band of choirboys up and down the beach -- order and control are the paradigm of the day.

The first two signs of his descent into darkness are the manner in which he "maintains" the troops, and his reverence for his knife. The knife, as a symbol of both psychological power and dominance, is used for nothing but violent behavior or, with apologies to Freud, as an extension of his masculinity when he uses it as an instrument of fear, to Piggy for instance. From fear, the knife is used to butcher pigs, and Jack's group becomes the hierarchical hunters.

Jack's position as leader of this unruly band is not enough for him, however, and until he and his knife attain sole power, neither will be content. An interesting, yet ominous portrayal of Jack's conflict between survival, violence, and the lust for power comes in a dialog between Ralph and Jack while on a foraging exploration and they find a well-worn path: "Men?" Jack shook his head. "Animals" (26). Jack of course, associating the path with savagery, Ralph with possible rescue and civilization.

In fact, again and again the two paths of bestiality vs. civilization pull Jack away from the other boys, but also show the nature of divisiveness and conflict within all the boys. All is not lost, though, the dualism in Jack is again shown in his inability to kill the pig caught in some thorns (Chapter 1). There is still rationality, still humanity, and still a concept of blood and pain.

But very shortly thereafter, Jack's transformation occurs and "the frustration claimed him," while he was carrying a spear but could find no prey (49). This bloodlust consumes him to the point which he gives into "the compulsion to track down and kill what was swallowing him up" (51). Bloodlust so deep and pervasive than any moral nature is gone, and he cares for nothing escape the butchery of the pigs, and the resultant scent, color, and spray of the bloodletting.

Jack's character clearly represents a path towards evil, a path towards the darker side of humanity. Jack uses verbal skill, physical intimidation, and fear as techniques of power. He becomes, if you will, the opposite of what he was. He finds no real reason to hold onto his pervious inner checks and balances, lest they control is animal urges which, he seems to believe, are the only manner in which he can survive.

Like many fascist leaders, however, Golding seems to remind us that ultimately, outwardly destructive behavior caves in upon itself and cannot perpetuate. At the end of the novel, Jack's ultimate right of passage into complete domination of the island is the assassination of Ralph. Planning to sacrifice him to the Lord of the Flies, Jack burns Ralph out of his hiding place. Ironically, the fire that Jack created to kill Ralph was the event that saved him from his death.