In 1954, William Golding published the highlight of his career, Lord of the Flies. Lord of the Flies demonstrates the depraved nature of mankind by telling the story of a group of boys abandoned on a desert island. After a tragic plane crash, the boys realize they are the only survivors and begin to organize themselves to build shelters, find food and water and ask for help. Led by a boy named Ralph, the boys soon light a signal fire and establish a routine for civilian life away from the adults. However, the peace established by Ralph is soon compromised by the group's hunters, led by a boy named Jack. Jack challenges Ralph's leadership and, by appealing to selfishness and fear, wins the loyalty of most of the boys. After Jack's rise to power, the story quickly worsens as human nature begins to tear apart the boys' sense of order and drive them to savagery. Although Jack's role in the group initially begins as one of cooperation, the end of the novel leaves more traces of beasts than humans. In Lord of the Flies, Jack's progression from envious to demonic parallels the way human nature drives men to savagery and war. Jack had been a generally helpful and cooperative part of the group until the desire for the hunt overwhelmed him. His failure to kill a pig when the opportunity presents itself awakens a spell of bloodlust in him, eventually forcing him to abandon the signal fire to hunt. This decision marks a key turning point in the story, as during his absence a ship passes by that could have saved the group. Jack's challenge to Ralph's leadership stems from his desire for leadership and the "freedom" to hunt and play instead of wasting time with a signal fire. Jack uses this vision of... middle of paper... demonic self that parallels the way human nature drives men to savagery and war. Works Cited:1. Dangar, Joyanta. “The Nightmare Beast, War and Children in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.” PsyArt (2013): n. page PsyArt: An online journal for the psychological study of the arts. November 26, 2013. Web. April 12, 2014. .2. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.3. Percy, Walker. “The demonic self, the envious self.” Lost in the Cosmos: The Ultimate Self-Help Book. 1st ed. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1983. Page no. Print.4. Spitz, David. “Power and Authority: An Interpretation of Golding's “Lord of the Flies” Rev. of Lord of the Flies. The Antioch Review 30.1 (1970): 21-33. JSTOR. Network. May 22 2014. .