Jack’s Life After the Rescue From the Island
Upon hearing Ralph tell the naval officer that he was the “boss” on the island, Jack stepped forward to contradict Ralph, and to assert his power as chief. But he suddenly stopped in his tracks, because if he claimed leadership, he would have to take responsibility for slaughtering Simon, for Piggy’s death and for pursuing Ralph. He knew that the officer and the captain of the ship would talk to all the boys in order to find out their versions of what happened, and he was thinking about ways that he could absolve himself from taking any of the blame. On the other hand, he didn’t want to seem weak and lose his power in front of the other boys, however he realized that in the face of real authority, he had no power so he was forced to swallow his pride. He thought about threatening Ralph, but he realized that Ralph was no longer afraid of him, and as well, he realized that all the other boys would tell about the evil and violence that he incited.
Once on board the ship, all the boys, and especially the Little’uns, refused to talk to him, and treated him like a pariah. When the captain questioned him about what happened, he insisted that it was Ralph who murdered Simon and Piggy, and who incited the boys to savagery despite the fact that the statements of all the other boys proved that he was lying. The captain forbade him from approaching any of the boys, and put him in a cabin by himself where he had to stay until the ship arrived in England. He was terrified that his parents would punish him when they were told what horrific things had occurred, and that they wouldn’t understand, but when they arrived at the ship to collect him they were strangely silent. He tried to engage them in conversation on the drive back to their house, however they refused to listen to anything that he tried to say. When they arrived at home they informed him that he was being sent away to a public school, and when he...