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Use of symbolism in lord of the flies
Examine the symbolism of the Lord of the Flies
Lord of the flies symbolism
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In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding conveys a theme that all people are inherently evil. The first way Golding displays this theme is Simon’s death. For example, when the boys are ripping and tearing Simon apart while chanting, “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’ Simon was crying out something about a dead man on the hill . . . They leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore … The tearing of teeth and claws,” (Golding 152-153). Almost everyone at the feast was in the chant and dance, and it turned everyone into savages and animals. Additionally, Simon had information to save everyone, and they killed him. Another example that displays the animalistic behavior of the boys is that after being on the island long enough, they eventually tear a boy of their own to …show more content…
shreds while chanting, “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat!
Spill his blood!’” (Golding 152). They tore Simon to shreds with their teeth and hands that Golding described as claws. The boys became the beast that they had feared for so long, and forgot who they were. Golding demonstrates though the chant that these children enjoy the spilling of a living creature's blood, which in turn makes them inherently evil. The second way Golding develops this theme is the portrayal of Ralph’s followers denial of the vicious murder. For instance, the conversation between Ralph and Piggy the morning after the murder, “At last Ralph stopped. ‘Piggy,’ ‘That was Simon. That was murder.’... ‘Don't you understand Piggy? The things we did...’” (Golding 156-157). Ralph’s followers represent the civility that is left on the island, and this quote demonstrates that Ralph's group was denying their involvement in the murder of Simon, whereas Ralph was the only one out of the group to be rational and inform everyone of what they have done. The denial of the ripping apart of Simon suggests that they didn’t know they were capable of being violent enough to tear a human being, a close friend at that, to shreds with their “claws” and
teeth. This represents how there is a violence in everyone, and even the most civil can convey violence at times. The third way Golding demonstrates the theme is the sodomizing of the female sow. More specifically, what Roger did to her after her death, and how they killed her, “The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high pitched scream … Roger began to withdraw his spear and the boys noticed it for the first time. Roger stabilized the thing in a phrase that was received uproariously. ‘Right up her ass!’” (Golding 135). There are no females on the island, and when they finally encounter one, they see something to violate. This leads to the boys becoming more rowdy as she squeals like a rapist would when raping a victim. Likewise, when Roger shoves his spear into the sow and penetrates her with it, he gets the boys all riled up. The sow was the only female that the boys encountered on the island, and when they find it nursing her children they decide to violate and torture it, proving again that all mankind is inherently evil. The boys went from well-behaved, young Englishmen, to raping the only female they discover on the island. All in all, the events that occurred in the novel effectively conveys Golding’s message that there is violence inside of every single one of us, and no one is completely innocent.
Ralph and simon that the rest of the kids horesplay was a bad idea. In the novel Golding writes, “Shouting that he is the beast, the boys descend upon Simon and start to tear him apart with their bare hands and teeth. Simon tries desperately to explain what has happened and to remind them of who he is, but he trips and plunges over the rocks onto the beach. The boys fall on him and violently kill him” ( ). This just goes to show us that the other boys’ horseplay and beliefs lead to bad things. Ralph did not take part in this act because he knew what was wrong.
‘Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!’” (Golding, ). This quote demonstrates how Ralph’s ruthlessness takes control and how he begins to turn senseless. The transformation the boys undergo is substantial to the theme of loss of identity because it reveals how the island is truly affecting the boys mindsets. Ralph, who was chosen as leader because he showed confidence and fortitude soon became paranoid about hunting the beast. This caused Ralph to lose himself, and it allowed the ruthlessness to consume
As Simon was trying to tell the boys that the beast did not exist, his death symbolises that mankind can’t face the truth about their inner desires. Part of Golding’s intent was to demonstrate that the evil is not recognised in specific populations or situations. On the island, the beast is manifest in the deadly tribal dances, war paint and manhunt; in the outside world, the same lust for power and control plays out as a nuclear war. Throughout ‘The Lord of the Flies’ Golding has managed to show that evil is present in everyone.
Throughout the novel several different characters are introduced to the reader, such as Ralph, Jack, Simon and Piggy. With all these characters presented to the reader, one can get to see into their minds-eye, which allows the reader to analyze their character. In this case one could examine their basic morals and distinguish between the person’s natural instinct to rely on civilization or savagery to solve their problems. The author of the novel, William Golding, had a “first-hand experience of battle line action during World War II” which caused him to realize, “[that] The war alone was not what appalled him, but what he had learnt of the natural - and original- sinfulness of mankind did. It was the evil seen daily as commonplace and repeated by events it was possible to read in any newspaper which, he asserted, were the matter of Lord of the Flies” (Foster, 7-10). This being said by Golding leads one to the central problem in the novel the Lord of the Flies, which can be regarded as the distinction between civility and savagery. This can be seen through the characters that are presented in the novel, and how these boys go from a disciplined lifestyle, to now having to adapt to an unstructured and barbaric one in the jungle.
Inherent Evil of Man Exposed in Lord of the Flies & nbsp; The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding used a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature of mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom of their society. William Golding's basic philosophy that man was inherently evil was expressed in such instances as the death of Simon, the beast within the boys, and the way Ralph was fervently hunted. & nbsp; Through the story, Simon acted as the Christ Figure. The death of Simon symbolized the loss of religious reasoning.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.
The theme of death in Lord of the flies in Lord of the flies is wasn’t written as violent and graphic as it could have been but instead Golding portrayed death in much more childish way that makes it all the more terrifying. For example during the death of Simon the inhabitants of the Island Chanted: “kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! “. This made the tragic murder of Simon seem to be a game and not an atrocity, this attitude towards murder should terrify the reader because if they view murder as a game what would the view mass murder or genocide as?
Have you ever questioned someone’s behavior and wonder what makes them behave the way they do? “Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding introduces a group of boys stranded on an island with no adult supervision which means no rules or authority. The group of boys face many conflicts and complications due to the situation they are in. Their behavior is to blame due to the environment and the situation they are in, however many believe that their behavior comes from internal “genetics” not external the “environment”. A person’s behavior can be influenced by their inner self which comes from our heredity, but in most cases I believe that behavior is influenced by the situation and the environment that is faced.
Most people understand that there is a class system even if it is unspoken. William Golding believed that all humans were savage and evil deep down. This idea was the one mostly portrayed in the novel Lord of the Flies, but also shown in the novel is a deep allegorical comparison between boys on the island and classes they would fall into in everyday society. Little’uns, big’uns and Jack and his hunters all represent different classes of people.
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding expresses the idea that humans are naturally immoral, and that people are moral only because of the pressures of civilization. He does this by writing about a group of boys, and their story of survival on an island. The civilized society they form quickly deteriorates into a savage tribe, showing that away from civilization and adults, the boys quickly deteriorate into the state man was millions of years ago. This tendency is shown most in Jack, who has an animalistic love of power, and Roger, who loves to kill for pleasure. Even the most civilized boys, Ralph and Piggy, show that they have a savage side too as they watch Simon get murdered without trying to save him. Simon, the only one who seems to have a truly good spirit, is killed, symbolizing how rare truly good people are, and how quickly those personalities become corrupted.
This paper will explore the three elements of innate evil within William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, the change from civilization to savagery, the beast, and the battle on the island. Golding represents evil through his character's, their actions, and symbolism. The island becomes the biggest representation of evil because it's where the entire novel takes place. The change from civilization to savagery is another representation of how easily people can change from good to evil under unusual circumstances. Golding also explores the evil within all humans though the beast, because it's their only chance for survival and survival instinct takes over. In doing so, this paper will prove that Lord of the Flies exemplifies the innate evil that exists within all humans.
Golding drives the point that the instinctual evil within man is inescapable. At one point in the book, when the Lord of the Flies is representing all evil, this theory is stated as, "The Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon" (Golding 130). Along with this idea is the religious symbolism that is used for ineffectively confronting the evil. At a point in the book, Golding has Simon, symbolic of Jesus Christ, confront the Lord of the Flies. This is a pig's head on a stick that is imagined to talk and represent the evil in all humans. Simon tries to act and spread the knowledge of this evil to others but is killed. This is a direct reference to the death of Christ, alluding to the Holy Bible.
... people are out in the wild, and also have no civilization or government to keep their evil suppressed. At the very end of the book when the boys are rescued Golding writes, “ His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (202). In this quote Ralph is crying because he has now lost all of his innocence that he once had before he got on that horrible island, due to everything that has happened on the island. He is also crying because he had just lost his friend Piggy because of the savagery acts of the boys and now he realizes how evil everyone is.
The Lord of the Flies is a standard read in American high schools, because of the deep philosophical meaning that William Golding, the author, crafted it with. Golding was a philosopher who believed that all humans are evil and only civilization is keeping mankind from descending into savagery. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, however, said that humans had an innate sense of compassion, and goodness. Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies, expertly shows Golding’s view of the world and human nature. I, personally, think that Golding’s thoughts on humankind are more correct than Rousseau’s, though I don’t agree with everything that he wrote. Rousseau and Golding have different views of mankind, but both philosophies influenced The Lord of the Flies, and that is why it is a classic novel that is still read today.
It seems as though there is so much more evil than good in the world today. We hear of war and fighting 24/7 but we rarely hear about the good things that happen. Everyone is born with both good and bad within them. We, as humans, must choose which one we want to be. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph is good while Jack is evil. Ralph represents the good side of us while Jack represents the evil side. Although sometimes it is easier to be evil, it pays off to be good. The novel is a perfect example of how all people are born with both sides. At the beginning, the boys choose the good side, with morals and civilization. But as the story moves on, the boys find it more exciting to be on the bad side. It shows that all the boys are torn between good and bad and there is a very thin line that separates both. We realize that people are born inherently good and bad because in life there are always right and wrong choices, children are born good but are easily influenced to do bad, and it is always harder to do what is right than what is wrong.