In Chapter Eleven of Lord of the
Flies, the reader witnesses the results of freedom from the restraints of a
civilized society: "Jack, knowing this was the crisis, charged too." Whereas in
Chapter Four, Roger has been restrained in his sadistic intents of harming little Henry
by the seashore by his conditioning from his British society, he has now been released
long enough from "the taboo of the old life" that he gives free rein to his innate
brutality and wields his "nameless authority." It is at this point in the narrative
that anarchy truly reigns.
So, if Jack is a dictator, Roger
is an anarchist. Without the controls available to most dictators, such as others who
can assist him in his control, Jack's leadership gives way to the anarchist, Roger, who
has been waiting, waiting for the moment when he can unleash his sadism. No longer is
the one restraint that has held Roger--"a civilization that knew nothing of him and was
in ruins"--present to control him. He edges past the chief [Jack], "only just avoiding
pushing him with his shoulder..." He realizes that he is the strongest, and he shoulders
his way to the metaphoric top.
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