Priorities and Hunting in Lord of the Flies :: Lord of the Flies Essays

" We can help them find us. We must make a fire."(P. 41). While the boys were making huts for shelter, Jack was off hunting instead of helping with the huts. All he cared about was that the boys needed meat, which was indeed true, but they also needed shelter. As Ralph, Piggy and Simon are working on a shelter they are listening to, " And then," said Jack, " when I've had a bathe and something to eat I'll just trek over to the other side of the mountain and see if I can see any traces. Coming?"(P.62). In the beginning, the boys got along great, but I think that it works against each other. Ralph and Jack get along so good that when things get kind of bad it just goes way bad. "Almost too heavy." Jack grinned back. "Not for the two of us."(P. 43). The book starts by Ralph and Piggy meeting in the jungle of a stranded island. They wander to the beach wondering if there is any other kids on the beach. When they find a shell , "the conch", they blow into it and make a bellowing sound. At the sound of the "conch", every boy, big and small, comes to the beach. Along with a group of boys is Jack Merridew, the leader of a choir. When the assembly begins, they decide that they want a chief. The kids all believe that the boy with the "conch" should be chief. They also decide that there is no "beastie", which Jack also obsesses about hunting and takes much of his attention. Immidiatly Jack is offended and has something against Ralph, even though he seems to hide his jealosy. When Jack's obsession for hunting overrides all other reality he decides to start his own tribe. Many of the boys choose to follow. One night when they have a feast over a dead sow of the tribe a figure considered to be the beast is beaten and stabbed with spears. It was really Simon. The ones who don't join the tribe are now the outcasts of the island. One night Jack and two of his tribe members raid the huts of Ralph, Piggy and Samneric. They stole Piggy's glasses, which only had one glass anyway, now making him blind in both eyes. The next day Ralph, Piggy and Samneric travel to the other side of the Island to get the glasses back.