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Literary analysis essay Lord of the flies
Literary analysis essay Lord of the flies
The use of symbolism in Lord of the Flies
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Exploring Why William Golding Named His Novel The Lord of the Flies
Golding's novel comprises many elements of adventure and mystery, but
the greatest question surrounding the novel is the very title itself.
Unlike other authors, William Golding does not appear to have chosen
an appropriate title that deduces the adventure and savagery of the
novel, but it is only at a closer look that the title represents the
true meaning of the novel.
Although throughout the book the only reference to the title is by
"The Lord of the Flies" its small part in the book plays an enormous
part of the overall meaning of the novel. We are only introduced to it
in chapter 8 'Gift for Darkness', where it is nothing more than the
decapitated head of a sow lodged onto a stick. In the text it is
described as a rather haunting image, which was:
…"grinning amusedly in the strange daylight, ignoring the flies, the
spilled guts, even ignoring the indignity of being spiked on a stick."
The author talks about the pig's head as if it is alive by using
language such as "grinning". Also the way Golding writes "strange
daylight" appears that the sow represents the darkness of life, as it
is only in the comfort of light that the boys have vision to see it
for what it really is. This is as the "Lord of the Flies" represents
the fear of the boys for something imaginary, for the beast is nothing
more than a voice in their minds. The "Lord of the Flies" is the
visual reminded that within all of them is the beast, or a certain
darkness which no-one can fight.
However why the flies? In society today flies are often seen as
unwanted creatures, as we instinctively seem to swat them away at the
mere sight or touch of them. Flies represent the dirt and
uncleanliness of the island, as flies feast on excrement and carry
disease. As a result of the decay of "The Lord of the Flies", the
flies worship its rotting flesh for food, and life.
In the second stage, the cave dweller can now see the objects that previously only appeared to him as shadows. “Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer th...
He could only see by the light of a candle. Light also represents discovery. Not only does it represent discovery in this book, but also in life. When you discover something everyone knows the saying is a light bulb in your head going off. Equality 7-2521 and the golden one find a new discovery of light. They called it the power of light and we call it electricity. See, they discovered an old invention to use but a very new invention to them. This is so important because this discovery is what brings the climax of the story. The discovery of light is what brings pain to Equality 7-2521 and the Golden One at first when they are lashed, but in the end their discovery brought them to a house full of new and exciting things to them. Light made this story and light makes the world go
Ralph heard the night watchman call lights out. The moon gleaming in the window was the only source of light within Ralph’s room now. Even in the dim light he could make out the sink and toilet. The room was padded, and the door had a glass window that reflected fluorescent light into the room. The combination of the artificial and natural light created a faint glimmer upon the mirror that hung above the sink.
The “bodily eye” relies on sensory perceptions about the world in order to determine what is reality. Metaphorically speaking, the cave is a physical world filled with imperfect images. This world is filled with distorted images about reality.
It is in these games were the boys get carried away and Ralph feels a
Katherine Paterson once said, “To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.” William Golding, who is a Nobel Prize winner for literature, writes Lord of the Flies, originally published in 1954. Golding’s novel is about a group of boys who crash land on an island. All of the adults are dead and they are abandoned on an island. The boys try to set rules and create a fire in efforts of being rescued. The group of boys chooses Ralph to be their leader. This choosing makes a literary character named Jack, who doesn’t show his anger until half way through the plot. The novel shows the nature of humans and how fear can control them. The novel also shows the difference between good and evil. Golding experienced this when he was in World War II. There were many times fear controlled the boys in the island in Lord of the Flies.
throughout the novel, and the story. As in the third chapter, the bunkhouse is. completely dark but when George and Slim enter, the electric light over the card table is switched on and the focus is then on the conversation at the card table as there is darkness all around. And even though there are voices from the darkness the reader’s attention. remains with Slim and George.
The author, William Golding uses the main characters of Ralph, Jack, and Simon in The Lord of the Flies to portray how their desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise leads to the fall of their society. This desire for leadership and compromise led to the fall of their society just like multiple countries during times of wars.
When Piggy is clearly able to see with the help of the glasses the boys are still fairly civilized. For example, at one of their first meetings, the boys decide that they "can't have everybody talking at once" and that they "have to have there hands up' like at school" (Golding, 33). However, after some time passes, the boys become more concerned with slaughtering a pig than with being rescued and returning to civilization. Returning, from a successful hunt in the jungle chanting "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood," Ralph and Piggy attempt to explain to the boys that having meat for their meals is not as important as keeping the signal fire burning (Golding, 69). With anger, Jack knocks Piggy glasses off from his face, smashing one of the lenses against rocks and obviously impairing his vision. William Golding uses Piggy's glasses as a symbol of civilization and when they break it is like that the
Representing knowledge, the light is too brilliant for him to see and comprhend. He must be re-educated. "First he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of the men and other objects? then the objects themselves" (Jacobus 317). He learns that the reflections are truer than shadows and the objects truer than reflections. He must deal with a new reality that does not exist within the cave.
A common area of perception that many may not think about is the ability to recognize faces. Facial recognition, however, is not consistent from infancy to adulthood but develops throughout an individual’s life. During infancy, the ability to see detail is quite poor compared to the average adult (Goldstein & Brockmole, 2017). When objects are within close distances, studies have shown that infants are able to perceive and detect a few features of the object; this idea can then be related to facial recognition in infants (Goldstein & Brockmole, 2017). The details that infants are able to perceive are associated with contrast in light, especially the difference between dark and light areas. Though this does
is left with the decision of whether or not to drop the rock. Roger is
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies shows man’s inhumanity to man. This novel shows readers good vs. evil through children. It uses their way of coping with being stranded on an island to show us how corrupt humans really are.
they see (the shadows) is not necessarily reality. For instance, truth is the relationship between
The novel that I am going to talk about is Lord of the Flies by