Fire In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

It is often said that civilization begins with order and grows with liberty and dies in chaos. In the novel “Lord of The Flies,” by William Golding, a group of young boys progress from well behaved orderly children hoping to be rescued, to who have transitioned into bloodthirsty hunters that no longer wish to return home. There is a conflict between the impulse to be civilized, well-behaved, to follow moral commands and to honour the good of the group against the instinct to value one’s own needs and to obtain dominance throughout the novel using symbols. The symbols presented time and time again in the text were Piggy’s glasses, the conch shell, as well as the fire.

Foremost, Piggy's glasses come to represent the strength of science and intellectualism within civilization. Without them, he cannot see anything, “‘[j]us’ blurs, that's all. [He can] hardly see [his] hand--’” (Chapter 2).

However, as the boys figure out how to use the lens to create fire, Piggy's glasses become a symbol of power in the novel. Piggy decides to use “his specs.. as burning glasses” for rescuers to find them on the island (Chapter 2). Moreover, he knows how to maintain safe and balanced in society. With his scientific approach to problems, Piggy is the voice of reason as he knows that building the shelters is of paramount importance to the boys' survival. He has learned to follow the rules and is reluctant to abandon the order and trappings of society as he knows that these are what hold society together. Without his spectacles, the group of boys would be in chaos as they have no sense of what is right or wrong. Ultimately, the glasses symbolize Piggy's vulnerability as well as his rational thinking and ability to see a solution to the boys’ predicament. Once the glasses are stolen, and Piggy cannot see, he is unable to help Ralph further to maintain civilization.

Furthermore, the conch represents democracy and civilization amongst the boys. In the beginning, “[the boys] use[d] this to [communicate to the other boys]” to gather collectively upon hearing the conch (Chapter 1). This shows that the conch is the only way of keeping in touch with the boys to maintain the rules and order. The conch is somewhat similar to how the boys would have been handled in school, for example, when the bell would ring they would all go to classes. The system that the conch entails is one that resembles the past school life of the boys when they must put their hands up to speak, showcasing an organized, methodical system connected to how civilization once was. However, after the conch broke, it slowly began losing its value as a way to communicate among the boys costing them an object that held the group together. As a result, this small society becomes chaos, and any hope of civilization is undone.

Lastly, fire is a symbol that contributes to the group’s transition from civilized children to savage beings fighting for superiority.

In the text, the symbol of fire represents technology and hope for the boys to be rescued, once extinguished the connection the group has with the civilized world is lost. The boys know that by making a fire “a ship may [come] near the island and notice [them]” (Chapter 2) thus organizing a moral method to be rescued. Nonetheless, once the fire dies, that connection to human civilization is lost along with the group’s sense of morality. The group chooses to use a signal fire to attract attention, a strategic approach, presenting the boys to be in a civilized mindset like the way they acted before the plane crash until the fire died. The boys then lose a piece of their past identities and resort to savage behaviours and no longer want to be rescued. They reduce their thinking to mere survival tactics and relentless killing to sustain power over one another and forget to honour the good of the group first as they become selfish and

primeval.

Ultimately, through the many symbols in the novel, it is presented that the boys lose their sense of morality and ability to rationally think due to the lack of connection and guidance of human civilization.