The Lord Of The Flies And Adolf Hitler History Essay

The want and strive for something so expressive yet potentially evil. Being obsessively committed to achieving such thing, boundaries are likely to be crossed and the distance crossed is only known by the person in control. Being able to convey it through the smallest thing as a book, and to be able to compare it and find comparing similarities to a historic person is astonishing. To understand more, Adolf Hitler and Jack of Lord of the Flies can be explored together in similarities and in differences. The ability to grasp the extreme concept of evil power, Adolf Hitler a German Nazi leader, hurt many people throughout his conquest into power, destroying the humanity around him. Similar to Jack, one of the few main characters in the book Lord of the Flies. Jack also was another example, who can be compared and contrasted to Adolf Hitler quite well in many categories. Jack was another to want power and he went to many heights to achieve it.

These two both came into power and caused many problems. Being the reason of deaths and other physical and mental injuries they share nothing more than tragic out comes. It’s how they came into power that also makes them similar. During low-points and tragedies through history, it gave a lot of opportunity for people to step up and take over the unprotected power. Jack was already angered from a previous election in which he wasn’t voted leader. Upset at the fact Jack becomes flustered, trying to help the situation Ralph, another main character in the book Lord of the Flies, then attempts to appease Jack by putting him in charge of the hunt, “Ralph looked at him eager to offer something.” (Golding 23). “‘Jacks in charge of the choir, they can be- What do you want them to be?’ ‘Hunters.'” (23) Given his men as hunter he was the head leader of them. Since given this position, Jack used it to his advantage when things on the island hit a low-point. When it came time for him to step up and become the one who held the power jack finds himself walking away from the group telling the others that they can come if they would like. “I am not going to be a part of Ralph’s lot- I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.” (127). As for the others this showed that jack was the one to go with. Jack had always been there during a time of need on the island. Leaving the other group of boys Jack started his new tribe of boys and became the powerful group on the island. By being there he established his thoughts with the others which in time came to be his benefit. This scene in the book gave Jack the power he had always wanted. For Hitler the success of gaining the power was always an arm’s length away. He had already made the accomplishment of being prime minister of Germany, but he wanted more.(“Hitler Become’s Prime”). He ran in the elections trailing not far behind one of his opponents, a man named Paul Von Hindenburg. “1932, Hitler ran for President and won 30% of the vote, forcing the eventual victor, Paul von Hindenburg, into a runoff election. A political deal was made to make Hitler chancellor in exchange for his political support. He was appointed to that office in January 1933.” (“Adolf Hitler”). For Hitler the deal seemed to be the best he was going to get, as with Jack when he was announced in charge of the hunt. Being appointed chancellor Hitler also seen it as a potential political opportunity that could be used to his advantage in gaining the power he wanted. Hitler stepped into Germany when they were at a time of need. Not having anyone to stop Adolf Hitler he became the new Dictator of Germany. (“Rise of Hitler”). None the least they both achieved the power that they were wanting from the beginning. By slowly making themselves known and trusted they both climbed to the top and now were the holders of the power.

Throughout both of these times, in the book and in Germany, Adolf and Jack both show similar personalities and behaviors. These behaviors can be summed up as evil, uncaring, crude and dangerous. During Adolf Hitler’s term as Dictator of Germany he showed a lot of cruel behavior toward many people. Not soon after the new power to Germany came the world epidemic known as the Holocaust. “(usually initial capital letterhttp://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png) the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II (usually preceded by the)” (Dictionary.com). Adolf allowed these camps known as Concentrations Camps, or also known as Death Camps, to prosper. Due to Adolf being a German Nazi leader Adolf went his way ignoring the fact that these camps were even true. Inside these camps innocent Jews were being tortured and killed, sometimes for information leading to the where abouts’ of other Jews and other times it was just to cause them pain because they were considered “lesser” of the average person (“Rise of Hitler”). He treated the Jews as if they were animals but in reality they were just like him. Saying that Adolf Hitler acted in savagery wouldn’t be an understatement. Killing so many people, he used the power for horrible things, which lead to the deaths and actions similar to the acts of savages. The fact that Hitler knew these events were taking place while under his control is beyond uncaring, crude and dangerous. As for Jack, he too showed these traits while he was in control of his group. He leaned more toward killing and acting like savages. Jack did torture others but to a small extent. He tied up the twins, Sam and Erik, and tortured them. “‘Grab them!’ No one moved. Jack shouted angrily. “I said ‘grab them’!” the painted group moved round Samneric nervously and unhandily once more the silvery water scattered.” (Golding 178 & 179). He wanted them to tell him where Ralph had gone and where he was hiding. Jack followed on the same path for torturing, for the simple fact that it got them both information and they got it fast. Dehumanization of Piggy, treating him with no respect because he had glasses and asthma coincidental to the reasons and ways Hitler treated the Jews so poorly. Under Jacks supervision and power the entire group killed a boy named Simon, stabbed to death as if being hunted, a boy named Roger from Jacks tribe dropped a boulder upon Piggy, killing him (152). Jack showed his real savage coming out when he and his boys talked about the hunts, both before and after. Jack tells the boys that they need to sharpen their sticks for the hunt. “Roger sharpen a stick at both ends” (Golding 190). “-and we’ve got to be careful and throw our spears like at a pig” (189). Jack hunts Ralph as if he too were some kind of animal to hunt. Very similar to the way Adolf treated the Jews in the concentration camps. These two show similarities in places others would never think to compare. They show the act of evil toward others, in some cases it’s to better themselves, but in others it’s just them being uncivilized and unconnected with the outside society.

The act of lawlessness, “being without law; uncontrolled by a law; unbridled; unruly; unrestrained:” (Dictionary.com). Being stranded on an island with no adult figure, no one to set forth the laws and the rules of the real world usually leads to destruction of that society. For the simple fact that Hitler had gained power, it made it so he could get away with many things that others wouldn’t be allowed to get away with in a normal everyday society. For Hitler the main thing would be the concentration camps that were set up. The way that the people inside were treated and the different ways that they were tortured. Not feeding them, causing them to die of starvation. Jack also does some things that in a normal setting he would be shamed upon for. The act of stealing and killing. When Jacks tribe needed fire they resorted to stealing from the other groups fire supply and stealing the main starter of the fire, Piggy’s glasses. But to obtain order they attempted to steal the symbol of the order on the island known as the conch. By these two both stealing and killing it is visible that they both do not follow the rules nor do they follow the outside society’s laws of living as a society.

Although Jack walked away from the group to start his own, in the journey to obtain his own power, he also allowed the other group to join his. After Jack already had gotten his place as leader he offered for Ralphs group to join theirs and live off of them. When as compared to Hitler under these circumstances, Hitler shows a great lack in morals. From the way that he plans things out, only thinking about himself and what he wanted. Hitler also built the concentration camps for the Jews to be sent too to be tortured and killed in horrible ways. The Jews who were at the concentration camps were fed very little if at all, they were not bathed nor were they clothed properly. Hitler knew that he could allow these Jews to die horrible deaths and he could still get away with it. Jack on the other hand knew that he could purposely let the other boys die. He knew that as long as he offered to help that everything would be okay. “Jack stood up and waved his spear, ‘Take them some meat’. The boys with the spit gave Ralph and Piggy each a succulent chuck.” (Golding 149). Jack offering them the meat showed that he was still civilized in the standard of he still knew his morals wither they were fully still deeply engraved or lightly scratched upon the surface of him, he still knew his morals. This showed the difference in morals that these two both shared were completely different. Having this difference between them sets them apart a lot.

The book Lord of the Flies shows you how similar history can be from a reading. The comparisons that can be done between Jack and Adolf Hitler are more mind boggling than expected. These two well know characters in History and in Literature are proof that civilization is important and yet it can be easily lost if not protected. The differences between the two are in some cases more important than the similarities. To show how something that seems so different can be proven to be so similar yet it still have major differences that still make it stand apart from other things is something very important.

Work Cited

“Adolf Hitler.” EMCC_Student_Home. Web. 15 May 2011. <http://students.estrellamountain.edu/drakuna/studentfrontpageprojects/KristinColby/new_page_4.htm>.

Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com/>.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

“Hitler Become Prime Minister.” Jewish Virtual Library – Homepage. Web. 31 May 2011. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler1933.html>.

“Hitler’s Rise to Power.” Rossel Home. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://www.rossel.net/Holocaust01.htm>.

“Rise of Hitler: Hitler Becomes Dictator of Germany.” The History Place. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/dictator.htm>.