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Lord of the Flies Critical Analysis
The use of symbolism in Lord of the Flies
Symbolism esssay lord of the flies
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Many of the defects of society can be traced back to the defects of human nature. The savagery of human nature shows vividly in the world’s society. William Golding believed that under certain circumstances, we are all capable of becoming Nazis or any savage person. He uses many forms of symbolism to convey this theme throughout Lord of the flies. Jack and his face paint, Roger, and even the island “beast” are all symbols Golding uses to depict his theme. Roger, Jack, and his face paint are very important symbols in the book, the Lord of the Flies. Throughout the book, Golding demonstrates Jacks evolution from an innocent boy to savage. This shows that the boys have endured so much on the island that their morals have disappeared. This symbolism also creates the idea that anyone …show more content…
Another symbol in the book is face paint. Initially, Jack uses face paint to camouflage himself to hunt but the paint turns out to be used to transform Jack into something else, a savage. Jack and the other boys use face paint to cover themselves and hide from social norms that they are breaking. This portrays the face paint as liberation for the boys to act in a way that would not normally be acceptable. Similarly these symbols illustrate how the conditions of the island and certain ideas shape the boys throughout the book to become quiet uncivilized. The character Roger in the book also symbolizes the evilness that is held deep within the civilized being. At first Roger, like the other boys, was held back by laws and rules from his old life in society, but as the story progresses his inner desire to cause pain becomes very serious and apparent. This depicts that many people have an inner craving for violence and
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a significant symbol is the war paint worn by the boys. The war paint is a symbol of them hiding their shame and guilt of human sin as well as bringing forth the true nature of human savagery behind the facade of civilization. The war paint allows the boys to become these evil creatures and do reckless activities without guilt. When these boys apply the war paint, they are no longer themselves.
There are signs and symbols in both novels that show the beginning of barbarism and brutality. In Lord of the Flies, the boys portray inhumane characteristics in painting their faces. Jack, being the archetypal savage, paints his face the symbolic colors of red and black. "For example, when Jack first paints his face to his satisfaction, he suddenly becomes a new, savage person. "He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling." (Al-Saidi, “Savagery and the Heart of Darkness in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies”). Jack’s transformation into a savage character results in his animalistic behavior. Likewise, Gene’s downfall into a wicked state results in his change of character. He ultimately acts as an archetype of brutality and jealousy. Similarly, “the scornful force of his tone turned the word into a curse” (Knowles) showing that once peaceful words have turned into barbarian, savage-like ones. Overall, the boys barbarian actions resulted in the degeneration of man and the archetypal character of a savage.
In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies there are many examples of symbolism. The conch shell represents order, the appearance of the boys represents savagery, and the fire on top of the mountain represents rescue. These examples are all symbols in the book.
Golding's motives for choosing the island setting for the novel, Lord of the Flies was to have the characters isolated, where the laws of their governments could not reach them. The boys on the island represented a microcosm of world society. Golding chose children because they have not yet been fully conditioned by society to understand right from wrong, and thus are guided by their instinct and what is inherent within them. Golding uses a great deal of symbolism throughout the novel. Different characters provide different symbols. Jack is a symbol of savagery and anarchy. Golding relates the inherent evil with Jack to the evil and cruelty of the larger world, which we all share.
The author, William Golding, shows many forms of symbolism in the novel, Lord of the Flies. Symbolism means use of symbols to represent an idea from its actual meaning. In this novel, Golding uses symbolism from the beginning to the end of the novel. During the novel, these symbols continue to change and give a new meaning. Three significant symbols from the novel include the conch, the fire, and the beast. Each symbol changes throughout the novel and revolves around the evil that is inside people. There is always a beast within when the darkness comes out.
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change of character is significant as he leads the other boys into savagery, representing Golding’s views of there being a bad and unforgiving nature to every human.
The Lord of the Flies novel contains several symbols throughout the story. William Golding used symbols to cultivate themes and emotions; without symbolism the novel would have had a lesser meaning. William Golding contrasted many events with the use of symbolism, making a fire represent both protection and brutality. The three major themes I will be outlining is power, savage human nature, and the need for social order.
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the boys who are stranded on the island come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of symbols such as the beast, the pig's head, and even Piggy's specs, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules and taboos, allow their natural capacity for evil to dominate their existence.
Often authors employ symbolism to reveal their themes. In the Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the beast to show violence and brutality as well as the Lord of the Flies to show loss of innocence. Golding uses symbols such as the beast and lord of flies help show how their descent into savagery causes a loss of innocence in the boys.
In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses a variety of symbols to represent ideas, or abstract notions or conceptions about people, places, and things. A symbol, according to the Webster's Dictionary, is an object that stands for something in addition to its literal meaning. In the book, there is a continual breakdown of society and civilization on the island. During this breakdown, Golding uses symbolism to further explain the process. Some of the things he symbolizes in the novel are the island itself, the conch, the boys clothing, and the violence.
There are many powerful symbols that lie within William Golding’s Novel Lord of the Flies. These symbols effectively display the island’s atmosphere and it’s problems and they allow the reader to further their understanding of the novel. The symbols William Golding chose are also excellent in their illustration of significant themes found his novel Lord of the Flies. The symbols in Lord of the Flies that exemplify the theme of civilization versus savagery are fire, Ralph versus Jack, and the conch shell.
Symbolism is defined as the representation; treatment or interpretation of things as symbolic. In society and in particular, literature, symbolism is a prominent component that helps to illustrate a deeper meaning then perceived by the reader. Symbolism can be anything, a person, place or thing, used to portray something beyond itself. It is used to represent or foreshadow the conclusion of the story. In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies symbolism of the main characters Ralph, Jack and Simon plays a very important role in helping to show how our society functions and the different types of personalities that exist. An examination of Simon as a symbol of good, Ralph as a symbol of the common man, and Jack as a symbol of evil, clearly illustrates that William Golding uses characters as a symbol of what is really happening in the outside world throughout the novel.
These objects symbolize fear, and violence which contribute to Jack’s dictatorship. One object that symbolizes violence is smoke and the fire. Jack doesn’t care about how far the fire reigns, or how many people the fire kills. The fire also resembles that lack of self control he has. By the end his life on the island he has lost all sense of civilization, and has killed other humans. He also doesn’t think about the consequences of the fire, he lost control of the fire, and burned a lot of his remaining food on the island. If they hadn’t been rescued in the next few days the fire might have killed them, or because of lack of food the turned to cannibalism. One symbol that was shown before Jack took thing too far was the storm clouds. Bad weather started to form before Jack tried to show his power. The worst time the storm clouds appeared was right before Simon died. The storm clouds appeared overhead as Piggy, Ralph, and Samneric were sucked into the dance and chanting of “Kill the Pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.” Unfortunately for Simon, he stumbles into the middle of the ring they have formed and everybody was bottled up and they killed Simon because they didn’t realize who he was. The biggest symbol of fear in the Lord of the Flies is the Beast. The beast inside everybody is what controls people’s minds on the island, once the beast came out in Jack
In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, we find a group of British boys stranded on a tropical island while the rest of the world is at war. Their plane has been shot down and they find themselves without adults to tell them how to act. As they struggle to survive, they encounter conflicts that mirror the decayed society from which they have come. We see Golding's theme come about as we watch the boys begin to lose their innocence and let their natural evil overwhelm their otherwise civilized manner. While formulating the theme of the story, Golding utilizes much symbolism, one of these symbols being the masks, or painted faces, that the boys wear. The masks, and painted faces, became a producer of evil circumstances, give a sense of anonymity, and represented the defiance of social structure.
...ay savage, and thus making the whole island a savage place. Without symbols, Lord of the Flies would be a different story (Literary analysis: Symbolism in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding).