an angle to weaponize againstRalph, whose leadership and natural popularity threaten Jack's own sense of status and strength. The spectral beastie, then, provides the entitled and vindictive chief chorister Jack a perfect opportunity to generate a fearful climate that he can then exploit to justify his claims to leadership. Jack uses the youngsters' terror and vulnerability to fashion the beast as a kind of malevolent "other" whose existence is an imminent threat to the group's survival.

Despite the bloodthirstiness that quickly emerges from Jack and his splinter faction, Golding emphasizes the fact of Jack's childishness in his hurt and petulant response to Ralph being chosen as leader. Jack channels his spite and anger into drumming up a fervor about being proactive in protecting themselves from the beast's inevitable rampage and redeems his pride and potency by dismissing Ralph as unsuitable to the violent duty at hand.

Jack exhibits a prodigious intuition about the unifying power of fear-mongering and an us/them mentality, and he is able to maintain his honor and privilege after his embarrassment before the others. The coup Jack leads with his choir against the boys' democratically-chosen leader, Ralph, is legitimized by Jack's ability to rally many of the boys behind his claims that only the hunters can protect the group and that only he has the merit to lead them.

Jack uses the beast to create an atmosphere of hysteria and manipulate the boys' fears in order to control them. Jack portrays himself as the ultimate hunter and fearless leader of his tribe. As the most successful hunter of the group, Jack plays the role of protector and guardian. Although Ralph is still the elected chief, Jack uses the beast to bolster his popularity and elevate his status among the group.

The majority of the boys believe that Jack can protect them from the beast and willingly follow his lead. Ralph cannot compete with Jack's role as guardian and provider, which allows Jack to easily usurp power. Many of the boys leave Ralph's group to join Jack's tribe of savages at the opposite end of the island, where chaos reigns supreme.

Jack does not deny the beast's existence, because he understands how fear affects the boys. He brilliantly contributes to the hysteria surrounding the beast by leaving a severed pig's head behind as an offering and leading an expedition in search of the mysterious creature. The boys subscribe to his theory regarding the beast and obediently follow his directives without question.

After the boys brutally murder Simon, Jack tells his hunters that the beast is still alive and says that the creature disguised itself on the beach. Jack then comments,

He [the beast] may come again even though we gave him the head of our kill to eat. So watch; and be careful...I expect the beast disguised itself...We'd better keep on the right side of him, anyhow. You can’t tell what he might do.

Jack knowingly uses the beast as a scare tactic to arouse fear amongst the group. The hysterical boys do not think rationally, allowing Jack to control them and make every decision. Essentially, Jack coerces the boys into following his directives by creating a hysterical environment and portraying himself as their only protector.

Jack uses the other boys' fear of the beast to bolster his own importance in the tribe:

"'Quiet!' shouted Jack. 'You, listen.  The beast is sitting up  there, whatever it is--' [...] 'Hunting,' said Jack.  He remembered his age-old tremors in the forest.  'Yes, the beast is a hunter'" (126).

In chapter eight, "Gift for the Darkness," the hunters and Ralph have returned from their search for the beast, and they have seen its billowing shape on the mountainside.  Jack uses the moment to play on their fears, pointing out Ralph's cowardice and lack of hunting ability as reasons why the other boys should choose him as chief over Ralph.  For Jack, the beast is an opportunity to make himself appear stronger and braver than Ralph; he uses the polarizing topic of the beast to draw attention to himself, capitalizing on the boys' fear of the unknown and dark jungle paths. 

Jack created the idea of a mysterious beast that no one has seen in order to make the members of his gang fearful. By instilling fear, Jack tries to make himself out to be a better leader than Ralph by offering his gang protection from the beast. By constantly alluding to the beast and reminding the boys of the existence of a beast, Jack can control them in two ways.  One, he can control where they go (and don't go) and he can make sure that they stay true to him for protection instead of defecting to Ralph's team.

Jack uses the beast in the same manner that real propagandists from history and today use scare tactics.  The beast represents a threat to the other boys and strikes fear in them.  Just like all scare tactics, it is not important rather a threat truly exists, it is significant for leaders to convince their audience simply that they need to feel fear.  This accomplishes two important goals of leaders like Jack.  First, Jack needs the other boys to believe him; so he creates the idea of the beast and provides just enough evidence of its existence in order for the boys to follow him blindly.  They rely upon him for information about the beast, and in doing so, they start to believe everything he says.  Secondly, because Jack seems to be the "go-to-man" when it comes to the beast, the boys view him as the solution to the problem.  This is the same tactic that Hitler and his propaganda machine used.  They convinced the German people that their economic crisis was caused by the Jews ("the beast" according to Hitler) and then convinced Germans that they alone could provide the only solution to this "dangerous, malevolent" threat.

In many ways, Jack Merridew, our main antagonist, proves himself to be a master manipulator. He is also a bully, a tyrant, and a murderer.

While Ralph had initially been elected leader, Jack manipulates the situation by telling the other boys that Ralph had been a coward when confronting the so-called beast. The reality, of course, is that the beast is a dead parachutist, and that Jack flees just as fast at Ralph does at the sight of the so-called “beastie.”

Later, in an attempt to lure more of the boys into his newly established gang of bullies, Jack successfully hunts and cooks a nursing sow, thus setting himself up as a hero and a provider of food. He also sets himself up as the proponent of the “fun” activities, such as swimming and hunting, instead of the hard work of shelter-building that Ralph is engaged in. By encouraging the boys to paint their faces, he sets himself up as the leader of a tribe of boys who, because they no longer look like they used to, feel empowered to do things that they would never have dreamed of doing before.

Throughout the novel, Jack uses the boys’ fears, including the fear of hunger and the fear of inciting his own wrath, to manipulate and control them. He creates an illusion that he alone can provide protection against the beast and incites such fear in the majority of the boys that they obey him simply to keep the illusion of peace.

When the littluns start getting scared of the Beast, this mythical creature that's supposed to be lurking round every corner, Jack gets mad at them. He berates them for what he sees as a sign of babyish weakness.

However, Jack soon comes to realize that the widespread belief in the Beast can be used to his own advantage. He vows that if there is a Beast running loose on the island, he and his hunters will hunt it down and kill it. Jack doesn't say this because he wants to assuage the littluns; he makes the offer because he sees it as an opportunity for a power grab.

The wily Jack has figured out that if the boys believe in the existence of the Beast, then they will turn to him as their protector. That's because they know that only someone as violent and as fearless as Jack will be able to dispatch the beast.

It may seem to the untutored observer that Jack is being a hero in vowing to kill the Beast. But in actual fact, he's cynically manipulating the other boys' fear in order to become their undisputed leader. It's therefore in Jack's interest for everyone to believe that the Beast exists and that it represents a real and present danger.

Jack primarily manipulates the boys by promoting their primitive instincts and playing on their natural inclination to satisfy their physical desires. Jack recognizes the boys’ affinity for participating in exhilarating, fun activities like hunting and swimming, which allows him to gain their favor over Ralph.

Jack knows the value of independence and gives his hunters the opportunity to express themselves freely by allowing them to paint their faces and dismissing them from certain responsibilities. He understands what fundamentally drives the boys and creates a tribe where everyone can embrace their uninhibited desires and satisfy their bloodlust. The boys prefer to relax, hunt, and participate in exciting rituals, which is exactly what Jack offers them. He uses these activities as positive reinforcement and simultaneously bolsters his popularity.

In addition to manipulating the boys’ primitive instincts, Jack also uses fear and intimidation to control his tribe. He takes on the persona of a successful, fearless hunter who can protect them from the beast. Jack leads the group on a hunting expedition for the beast and volunteers to climb to the mountain top where the beast supposedly resides. The boys admire him for his hunting prowess and respect him for his courage.

He also contributes to the hysteria surrounding the beast by acknowledging its existence and claiming that it can shape-shift. Jack also tyrannizes the boys and intimidates them by randomly torturing individuals like Wilfred. The members of his tribe fear they will incur his wrath and therefore obey Jack to avoid punishment. Jack even keeps a stake pointed at both ends to remind them that he is capable of hurting anyone who challenges him.

Jack plays emotion in order to manipulate the boys.  Ralph and Piggy represent reason in the story, and try to reason with the boys by explaining the "truths", as they see them - the importance of the fire, the unlikeliness of the beast, etc..  However, Jack, as the symbol of emotion and instinct, is ultimately more effective in the end, as we see in the breakdown of civilization upon the island.

The two emotions that Jack focuses on the most are excitement and fear.  The first he uses is excitement.  He leads his choir boys into a hunting party because hunting is fun and exiciting.  It is primal, and it makes the heart pump.  The boys relish the adrenaline.  Even Ralph is pulled in by the excitment of the hunt.  After he hits the pig with the spear, he gets so caught up in the excitment that he boasts:

"I hit him all right. The spear stuck in. I wounded him."  He sunned himself in their new respect and felt that hunting was good after all.

In the end, the boys turn the hunt into a play, and use Robert as the "pig."  It is this that eventually turns Ralph off, because he notices in himself his own desire to get at Robert, who ends up crying and hurt.  However, in all, the boys are enjoying their "games" and will remain loyal to jack for the excitment.

Back at camp, Jack uses the emotion of fear as a manipulation technique.  When Ralph tries to emphasize the need for the fire, Jack plays up the horror of the "beast" to insist that there needs to be more focus on hunting and less on the fire.  He scares the littleuns into hysterics, and Ralph loses control of the meeting, as Jack had planned.

Jack is tyrannical and selfish in his interactions with the other boys.

Jack’s first interaction with the other boys on the island is as leader of the choir.  He maintains control of that same group of boys for most of the book, transforming them into hunters.  Jack mocks the use of first names, insisting he be called “Merridew,” but it does not stick.  When Ralph is elected leader it is basically just because he has the conch, because Jack is the natural leader.

Jack cedes power to Ralph, grudgingly and partially.  His reaction to the suggestion that the group obey the leader with the conch demonstrates his personality and his view of power.

“And he won’t be interrupted: Except by me.”

Jack was on his feet.

“We’ll have rules!” he cried excitedly. “Lots of rules! Then when anyone breaks ’em–” (Ch. 2)

Jack doesn’t want rules to keep order.  His interest is in controlling others and inflicting pain if possible.  He is the perfect choice for leader of the hunters.  The hunters exist as a separate band, allowing him to maintain control, and with them he can satiate his appetite for blood. 

Behind Jack walked the twins, carrying a great stake on their shoulders. The gutted carcass of a pig swung from the stake, swinging heavily as the twins toiled over the uneven ground. The pig’s head hung down with gaping neck and seemed to search for something on the ground. (Ch. 4)

Being the head of the hunters also gives Jack power.  Although the boys have fruit to eat aplenty on the island, they naturally want meat.  Even after the schism when Jack and the hunters go one way and Ralph and his followers go theirs, Ralph is drawn to the meat.

Jack is a tyrant.  We know that he inflicts harsh punishments on his followers and that he rules in a most mercurial way.  He ties a boy to a tree and has him beaten.  Yet he has meat and war dances, so his is a much more attractive lifestyle than Ralph’s attempted order.  Copying adults and babysitting signal fires is pretty boring.