Have you ever wanted to be someone you are not? Maybe worn excessive makeup, spoke, acted, or even thought in a different way to try to emulate something or someone other than yourself? The search for a more modish and better identity is nothing new to this world, and many companies find success in marketing to this wide ranging demographic of people seeking change. However, using the same techniques some use to renovate themselves, the boys in Lord of the Flies devolved their own characters both physically and mentally. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the evolving symbol of face paint, which stands for the gradual dehumanization of the boys to further the message that with the aid of physical elements, regression to a person’s character …show more content…
allows the savagery of humanity to emerge. At the start of the novel when the face paint first comes about, it is a result of Jack’s calculations as to how to catch a sow and nothing more. He declares that the masks will hide them from the pigs’ line of sight, and when trying to sell the other boys on the idea, says that they are, “for hunting. Like in the war. You know—dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else—” (Golding, 64). In saying this, Jack plainly discloses the mask’s purpose and what it originally stands for: a shift in identity. He goes on to equate his technique to be “like moths on a tree” (Golding, 64). By using such a simple analogy, Jack proves the simplicity of his plan and what the outcome should be. Moreover, the guileless prompts and intentions of Jack still held the boys’ innocence when wearing the paint. As the story continues and the plot thickens, so does the importance of they clay veneers.
After only having worn the paint for one or two days, their symbolism already comes into effect. It became evident to the boys wearing the disguises, and even to some who were not that, "the mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Goulding, 76). The camouflage that the boys used first took on a persona of its own in this scene, and it continued to grow from there. With newly found dictatorship over the boys, the mask began to influence their conscious decisions, and whenever adventure waited around the corner, it always seemed like , “"the mask compelled them” (Goulding, 76) to find it. The lure of having something that justified the hunters’ increasingly barbarian behavior, and their willingness to give into it combined to constantly give the mask more gravity. By allowing an object to enter their subliminal thoughts and have unwarranted authority over them, the boys seemingly work against themselves to chip away at their civility and sanity.
In the last few chapters of Lord of the Flies,
The painted faces originally pass as a harmless costume the boys use for camouflage and hunting, but as the book progresses and certain situations arise, the masks take into their own character and begin to morph the hunters into a sequestered and crass tribe of men lacking in any sophistication
whatsoever.
The examples of light through the book like the fire, Ralph’s fair hair, and the pale skin of the boys, are symbols of the good and safety. The examples of darkness such as the face paint, the night and the density of the forest’s foliage symbolize shady dealings and frightful encounters. Jack, one of the more savage boys, truly descends into a hateful madness when he smears on mud as face paint. This not only makes him look more gruesome, but it hides his pale skin away from the world. Also, it should be noted that throughout the book there is a common theme of hair color being an example of foreshadowing towards the mindset of each boy. For instance, one of the notoriously good characters, Ralph, has very fair hair whereas Robert, a sadistic and violent boy, has dark hair. Jack is one of the few characters to break this mold because his red hair shows his progression into madness as well as the fire’s steady decline from light imagery into something darker. In the beginning of the book, Jack is tasked with keeping the fire lit. However when the fire goes out around the same time Jack catches his first pig and paints his face, Jack descends into depravity and the fire becomes an ominous symbol. This, along with the hunters want to live deeper in the woods where the sun does not reach shows the darkness as a symbol of malicious intent. However, it is here in the forest where one of the characters discovers the Lord of the Flies and becomes enlightened. It is this sort of contrasting imagery that shows the books love of blurring the lines of the good and the
This causes them to change completely and wear masks. Similarly, I made a mask that shows a personality, but hide another. Masks conceal traits by making something look completely different and also changing the characteristics. One of the characters named Ralph, wears a mask and is very relatable to me because of how we both try to hide our fears with positive characteristics. It’s not just the boys that wear a mask, but a lot of people wear masks because they don’t get judged. Some people know that they are wearing a mask, and others don’t. It’s easier to either conceal or to show a personality, depending on which group a person is in. But either way, we are exactly like the boys in “Lord Of The Flies” because everyone is wearing
Throughout the novel, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the character Jack finds his true identity through a clay mask of his own making. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is unable to kill a pig for food, however, he later puts on a mask in order to blend in with nature and not drive the pigs away. To the contrary, by putting on this mask Jack gains a newfound confidence that was nonexistent in his own skin. For example when Jack first put on the mask he “looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger” (63). By putting on a mask Jack is able to lose his identity a little bit and act and feel like a whole new person. This idea of taking on a whole new role when putting on a mask can be seen in many modern tv shows and movies.
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.
The theme of the novel is the collapse of the society. The friendships among the boys are destructive because they do not realize the beast inside of them. They show their ego to each other. The beast is something evil within themselves and it is not a savage animal that is caved ‘Lord of the Flies’.
A mask makes one unknown, unrecognized, and mysterious. When the first mask was put on, Jack "looked no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger" (Golding page #). At the formation of Jack's tribe, all who join wear a mask from that time on and become a part of the savages. As three savages return to steal fire, they are driven because they are "demoniac figures with faces of white and red" (Golding page #) not individual boys. The mask becomes such an anonymous symbol that, towards the end of the story, Ralph "gazed at the green and black mask before him trying to remember what Jack looked like" (Golding page #). Whether stealing, fighting, or hunting, the savages found their courage because they "looked like something else" "hidden behind the mask of paint" (Golding page #).
For all their differences the Lord of the Flies and Simon have one singular trait in common; they both know what the pig’s head really means for the boys on the island. At first glance, the Lord of the Flies is just a pig’s head on a stick, however it is so much more than that. The moment Jack and his hunter’s kill that pig, a part of them is lost forever and this lost part is their moral sense of right and wrong (149).
In Lord of the Flies, the boys believe that there is a beast on the island. In order to camouflage themselves, they paint their faces. The face paint allows the boys to free themselves from their old life and identity. This is the outlet Jack has been looking for to lose the old world. The paint also allows the boys to identify with each other. This is particularly important to Jack. He was already a sociopath before the novel started. As he smears the paint on, he begins to snarl and dance around. “Jack planned his new face. He made one cheek and one eye and one eye socket white, then he rubbed red over the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charcoal across from right ear to left jaw. He looked in the pool for his reflection, but his breathing troubled the mirror” (Golding 62). When all the boys start painting their faces, it makes them feel less guilty and shameful over the brutal killing of the pig. The boys use the face paint to disguise themselves. This can be compared to the character Mulan in Mulan when she has to change her entire appearance to look like a man because if she appears to be a woman she can not fight in China’s war. At the beginning
Much of history’s most renown literature have real-world connections hidden in them, although they may be taxing uncover. William Golding’s classic, Lord of the Flies, is no exception. In this work of art, Golding uses the three main characters, Piggy, Jack, and Ralph, to symbolize various aspects of human nature through their behaviors, actions, and responses.
The mask is one of the most powerful symbols in Lord of the Flies. It symbolizes freedom from all of civilization’s measures, violence and hatred. However, it also represents leadership, and the new society in which the boys have made for themselves, based on violence and the nature of the human soul being free for the first time in these children’s lives. Though the mask makes many of the boys feel free, they only continue to lower themselves into a pit of regret, destroying everything they have worked for and hurting others who they could formerly trust.
Imagine a group of young boys who have just crash-landed on a deserted tropical island with no adults or supervision. William Golding showed in his ground breaking novel Lord of the Flies, what may happen in just those circumstances. In his very complicated and diverse novel Golding brings out many ideas and uses many literary devices. Above all others though comes symbolism of three main important objects being the conch, fire, and "Piggy's" eyeglasses. Through each of these three symbols Golding shows how the boys adapt and change throughout the novel. These symbols also help to show each of the boy's ideals on a variety of elements from human nature to society and its controls. All three of these symbols also change and are one of the most important elements of the story.
Symbolism in Lord of the Flies Fear has the power to control, twist and break the ways of the human mind. The body, and mind are tricked and we find ourselves confused and fighting to piece together a troubling puzzle of straying emotions. Franklin D. Roosevelt stated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”, projecting that fear knows no bounds and is a great power. Fear and power go hand in hand, without fear there is no power, a teacher has no power over a student if the student is not afraid of the consequences of stepping out of line.
One of the most important themes running through the whole story in Lord of the Flies by William Golding is the power of different symbols. Golding frequently uses symbolism, which is the practice of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning. The main point of each symbol is its use and its effect on each of the characters. They help shape who the characters are and what they will be. The symbols weave their way throughout the story and are more powerful than they first seem. Two boys from similar upbringings can both be so drastically different when put in difficult situations and given things to make them wield power among others. Spitz says, “But his desire for many controls did not, of course, extend to controls
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.
When men are faced with difficult situations, it can cause a sense of uproar of man’s savagery. The boys are trapped in an island and have no adult control. Golding’s use of element of style exemplifies the transformation of the boys becoming civilized to complete savages. Men can connect with their inner savagery when they are feel challenged . The boys are trapped in an island there is no order, every man for himself.Golding’s use of foreshadowing, symbolism and imagery show man’s innate savagery by exemplifying