Like all the other boys in this version of the story, Jack is American and attends an unnamed American military boarding school. He is sixteen, two years older than Ralph, and has blond hair. In the 1990 film adaptation, Jack is portrayed by Chris Furrh. Jack Merridew in the 1990 movie, portrayed by Chris Furrh. Throughout the film, Jack speaks in an elegant, dignified manner, even after leading the other boys in a descent into savagery. In this version of the story, no one follows Jack at first when he declares he is leaving to form his own camp, and he can be briefly seen struggling with himself as he walks away. He leads the school choir, which lends him his early authority, and never takes well to Ralph being voted as Chief instead of him. In the 1963 film adaptation, Jack is portrayed by Tom Chapin.

Jack Merridew was inspired by the character of Jack Martin. Jack does nothing to curb Roger's behavior and increasingly relies on Roger's cruelty to eliminate anyone who gets in his way. He is not so cold or sadistic as Roger is for Jack, sheer ambition and hunger for power are what matters. He is selective about rules when someone else came up with the rule, Jack chafes and rebels against it, but when he is the one making the rules, Jack will gladly use draconian methods to ensure they are followed. In any version of the story, Jack is brash, arrogant, and hates listening to anyone except himself. By the end of the novel, Jack has learned to use the boys’ fear of the beast to control their behaviour-a reminder of how religion and superstition can be manipulated as instruments of power. Jack’s love of authority and violence are intimately connected, as both enable him to feel powerful and exalted.

Indeed, apart from Ralph, Simon, and Piggy, the group largely follows Jack in casting off moral restraint and embracing violence and savagery. The more savage Jack becomes, the more he is able to control the rest of the group. But Jack soon becomes obsessed with hunting and devotes himself to the task, painting his face like a barbarian and giving himself over to bloodlust.

The first time Jack encounters a pig, he is unable to kill it. Early on, Jack retains the sense of moral propriety and behaviour that society instilled in him-in fact, in school, he was the leader of the choir-boys. He is furious when he loses the election to Ralph and continually pushes the boundaries of his subordinate role in the group. From the beginning of the novel, Jack desires power above all other things. The strong-willed, egomaniacal Jack is the novel’s primary representative of the instinct of savagery, violence, and the desire for power-in short, the anti-thesis of Ralph.

Jack knotes