Lord of the Flies Corruption Essay

Lord of the Flies Analysis of Corruption Essay Can power truly corrupt someone or are they borne corrupt? William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, starts the novel in the midst of the war where a group of young British boys get isolated on an island. Throughout the book, the boys grow more savage as long as they continue to stay on the island. Jack is corrupted the most out of all the boys by the power he feels he needs. Jack becomes more corrupt by power and less stable as a person. Prior to arriving on the island, Jack is already corrupted with power. Once Jack reaches his destination of where the conch is blown he tells his “‘Choir! Stand still!’ Wearily obedient, the choir huddled into line and stood there swaying in the sun” (17). Jack is the leader for his choir and it already reveals that the power is corrupting Jack to be a strict dictating leader. Power begins to corrupt Jack and continues to debauch him. Another example is when Jack becomes enraged when he does not get to be the leader. The rage made “...the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up…” (20). Jack’s thirst for power causes him to get angry and not think who would be a better fit for leader in order to survive which ultimately corrupts and blinds him from morals. A pig, an animal that motivates Jack to become a more savage and brutal person. Jack, embarrassed that he failed to kill a pig before made sure he “‘Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.’ …’Look! We’ve killed a pig…’” (63). Jack has lost his innocence the moment he kills the pig and shows that he continues to be corrupt. Consequently, turns Jack into a savage killer. The slaughtering of the pig also coaxes Jack to think he can create his own tribe. He asks everyone on the island “‘Who is going to join my tribe?’” (139). Jack’s power that he feels from killing creates his savage and rash actions that make him crooked. Jack disregards all rules and morals that is created from adults. He believes it “‘ …is better-to have rules and agree, or hunt and kill?” (139). Jack, who is overcome by power, completely disregards that rules should exist and would rather hunt and kill. He goes as far as to kill his own kind and completely ignore any logical morals of life. Ralph witnesses and understands that Jack has changed when “Ralph heard the great rock long before he saw it… The rock struck Piggy… the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (167). Piggy, who represents the last of any morals left, is killed and the conch, the last of any rules they have left, is destroyed. Piggy was the only one that logically thinks through problems and since Jack kills him, he essentially kills his logical ways of thinking which simultaneously destroys the conch or the rules. The corruption by power causes Jack to be an unstable and leads to his undoing. Humans are naturally corrupted by power. Power feels relieving to people but ultimately causes problems from being corrupted by it. What must come with power is control. Control will help balance out power and help stop it from corrupting someone. Choose to help someone out when they are corrupt with power before it’s too late to change them.

Works Cited
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Putnam, 1954

Cited: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Putnam, 1954