Power and Violence: Historical Parallels in Lord of the Flies

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Hitler’s use of power and violence carried into this novel, as the character of Jack. As Jack becomes more in control of the littluns and gains more power, he starts treating them as lesser, and does not let them have a say. As Jack wants to recreate the killing of a pig he had done earlier in the day, Jack wants a kid to pretend, insisting to "use a littlun" (Golding 115). Jack volunteers a littlun to act like a pig when they recreated the killing of the pig. After this, the boys laughed at Jack volunteering someone, even though the littlun obviously did not want to participate.When the boys laughed at the littlun being volunteered, Ralph chimed in and said that it is only a recreation. The littlun in this case is involved in violence with the recreation, as violence is now one of the principles of Jack’s life. This littlun is portrayed as being lesser, as Jack can volunteer him, with the littlun not being able to contradict him. Fear is the main reason why the littluns do not stick up for themselves against Jack, and because of this, it is like they have no rights on the island. As Ralph, Piggy, and SamnEric are trying to get Piggy’s glasses back from Jack after he stole them for his fire, Jack becomes furious and '"glanced back at Ralph and then at the twins,” and tells the hunters to "grab them!" (Golding 141). Ralph, Piggy, and SamnEric are trying to get Piggy's glasses back so Piggy can see and to help start the fire. As they are trying to get Piggy's glasses, Jack gets a hold of the twins and pulls them to the ground. As this is happening, Jack shows his violence that he uses to get SamnEric into his tribe, and the fear he delivers towards the boys. Jack is gaining power as this is happening, and the control he has, rubs off on the boys as they feel they do not have a place on the island.

Just like Jack, Hitler gained more power when he started getting more followers. Violence occurred when Hitler did not feel comfortable in a situation and wanted to solve the problem quickly. Hitler’s violence soon grew towards Kristallnacht, a time where Jews’ businesses and homes were destroyed. When Hitler came to power, he allowed violence against the Jews. Hitler was crazy in that he was okay with tolerating and encouraging violence. As violence became a constant in life in Germany, "street violence against Jews was tolerated and even encouraged at certain periods” (Introduction to the Holocaust par. 3). Kristallnacht is thought of as the start of the Holocaust, as the hatred that Hitler had towards the Jews got taken out on their homes and businesses. As shown in the following picture, two Germans are looking in at a [pic 1]

“Kristallnacht”

business owned by a Jew that was destroyed during the Night of Broken Glass, better known as Kristallnacht. The Kristallnacht began with the assassination of Ernst vom Rath, a Nazi German diplomat and a German Jew. After his death, Jews were murdered and were sent away to concentration camps. When the Nazis planned on setting harsh pogroms against the Jews, “organized mobs rampaged through the streets of every major town and city” (Kristallnacht par. 4). These mobs destroyed almost everything that belonged to Jews, as Hitler did not care what happened to the Jews. He wanted them out of Germany. During this time, hospitals, Jewish homes, and schools were destroyed. In addition, more than 1,000 temples were burned down and more than 7,000 businesses owned by Jews were destroyed.

Wanting something that involves violence does not always turn out for the better, as shown when Hitler became overruled. Just like how Hitler was rude and impatient, as Jack gains more power, and wants to be in control of the boys, he starts being rude to all of the boys, starting with Piggy, the innocent, smart kid, who always gets picked on. When Piggy wants to speak for instance, Jack does not allow him to. In one instance, as Piggy started to talk in front of all the boys, Jack interrupted him. Even though Piggy had the conch and should be allowed to speak, Jack, wanting all of the power, decided, “the conch doesn't count on top of the mountain... So you shut up"'(Golding 44). In this case, Jack is acting like a dictator, and changing rules so that they benefit him, acting how Hitler did during WWII. In this book, Jack is trying to have power over all the boys on the island. He starts by telling Piggy what to do, and does not care about any of the boy's’ feelings. Even though a rule on the island, whoever had the conch, would be the only person that could speak at a meeting, Jack ignores the rule, and alters it so it can benefit himself. The littluns, Piggy, and the older boys are getting treated lesser than Jack, as Jack just wants to be in power, and to control all of the boys. The boys on the island are too afraid to stand up for themselves, as they think that Jack will punish them. This shows the way Jack talks and acts around them, scare them. Through the book, the boys grow to learn that Jack is a constant threat to them, and to not get hurt, they have to follow what he tells them. After learning about the beastie, all of the boys are nervous to various extents. They do not feel safe, even though Jack keeps telling them that they have nothing to worry about. As the boys decide that they should leave the beastie food so that it does not come after them when one debates, “What a beast [would] eat,” another responds, “Pig” (Golding 83). All of the boys are afraid and cautious that the beastie may be on the island. The boys debate what the beastie eats, so that the beastie does not come after them. Even though they are not sure the beastie is real, they are discussing what the beastie eats, as a way for them to feel safe.

Hitler’s violence shown towards the Jews in WWII is translated in the novel as shown by Jack’s cruel treatment towards the littluns and other boys. The disrespect and violence from Jack towards the other boys show that all he wanted was to be in control. Jack gains followers when he starts talking badly about the leaders at the time. He then makes himself more important on the island, by taking control of meetings, and being the leader of the hunters which allowed him to act out at times and turn to intimidation, later turning to violence. The treatment that the littluns got from Jack was brutal. The littluns acted that they believed everything he said, so they would not get hurt. These boys were victims of violence as Jack’s main principal on the island dealt with violence. Jack’s violence and abuse of power against the littluns and other boys was clearly inspired by Hitler’s use of the concepts towards the Jews during WWII.

Works Cited

Cornwell,