Fear acts as a sort of litmus test for leadership. While Piggy and Jack both put forth unworkable plans of action — Piggy wanting to restrict their living area to the platform, Jack wanting to rush out and hunt the beast down — Ralph is able to proceed with sense and caution. Harkening back to his new appreciation for the power of thought, Ralph lays out his concerns about both plans and asserts, “So we’ve got to think.” He points out that the beast obviously can’t be hunted like the pigs because it leaves no tracks; otherwise, Jack would have already seen the tracks. Remaining all the time on the platform will not work due to lack of fire, food, and space. Ralph is able to keep the group’s focus on the hope for rescue, despite Jack’s attack on his authority.
Fear brings out the dictator in Jack. He attempts to take control of the group, claiming this situation is “a hunter’s job” in which Ralph is not qualified to command. Showing yet again no mercy for the helpless or vulnerable, he advocates abandoning the littluns without a guardian while everyone else goes on the hunt. Like a dictator, he assigns a high value only to those he finds useful or agreeable to his views and looks to silence those who do not please him. Making a pitch for censorship, Jack declares, “We don’t need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking?”
