Literary Devices In Lord Of The Flies

In the book The Lord of the Flies, a group of British boys crashes onto an island and became stranded. From there, they try to survive without the help of any adults. The boys form two groups, one group consists of hunters and the bigger boys led by Jack, and the other consists the remaining boys. These two groups are led by the elected chief, Ralph. As time passes, the boys become more savaged and tension builds. Jack and Ralph continually argue on what is important to help them survive, such as deciding whether having ample food or having a smoke signal is more important. The boys deal with many problems, from relationship conflicts to trying to survive. William Golding uses many types of literary devices to explain what's happening. One of the literary devices that he uses is symbolism, it’s used to express the conflicts these boys go through on the island. Golding uses the conch, face paint, and the beast to symbolize the struggles the boys face while trying to survive without the help of adults.

Golding uses the conch to represent authority and respect.

When Ralph was elected chief, he decides uses it to gather the boys for meetings. He also decides that whoever holds the conch will receive everyone's attention and respect. "That's what this shell's called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking.” ... “And he won't be interrupted. Except by me" (pg. 31). As Ralph said, whoever holds the conch will get respect from people and only he can speak. Whoever speaks currently holds the power. No one can interrupt besides Ralph. This to solve the problem of everyone talking at the same time. Also whenever Ralph blows the conch, all the boys will come, even if they didn't want to. As the story progresses, the boys fight for power, disputes emerge, and they struggle to stay

organized.
The face paint is used to symbolize savagery. The face paint is primarily used by Jack, the leader of the hunters. He first uses it as a way to camouflage with the forest so it will be easier to kill pigs, but in reality, it serves more of a mask of savagery. He manages to get red and white clay and goes to a pool nearby to draw out his mask. "Jack planned his new face. He made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then he rubbed red over the other half of his face and slash 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"(pg 58). He uses a pool as a mirror to put the clay and charcoal onto his face. Jack uses this face paint as a pass to savagery. It is used as a mask to cover his civilized side. Once the face paint is on, he becomes more violent, which is something that he would not do without the face paint. With the mask on, he had the courage to kill a pig. He also even had the bravery to punch another boy. Jack can let his more uncivilized side out, allowing him to be wild and violent. He soon becomes an uncontrollable savage which makes it harder for the boys to be organized. This face paint is used by Jack as an excuse to kill and do unspeakable things.
Lastly, the beast is used to symbolize the fear the boys have the entire time on the island. During a meeting, Phil, who is one of the younger boys, claimed that he saw a beast at night. "I was asleep when the twisty things were fighting and when they went away I was awake, and I saw something big and horrid moving in the trees" (pg. 77). When he woke up and went outside, he sees something which the boys identify as the beast. This causes paranoia among the boys. As the boys continue questioning the beast, the fear intensifies. From this point on, all the boys have a nagging fear of the beast in the back of their mind. It worsens the tension on the island. Without any adults to comfort them and calm them down, the fear rises and causes the group to slowly go crazy. As time passes, the fear causes many problems. For example, Jack believes in the beast and wants to hunt it down while Ralph attempts to ignore it and wants to focus on keeping the boys alive. This fear prevents the boys from staying rational and reasonable.
Symbolism is very important as it is used to represent important ideas that happens in society. The conch, face paint, and the beast all symbolize the struggles these young boys go through to survive off nature without any adults' help. The beast represents the fear everyone has within them. It's the constant fear that stops them from achieving goals, completing tasks, and more. For example, there are many people who don't feel like they're born in the “right body.” A young boy might not feel comfortable being a boy, he feels more comfortable being a girl. People like him want to change, but sometimes, some sort of fear is stopping them. It may be the fear of not being accepted into society, the fear of being rejected, or some other worry. They might be afraid of these and decide to not change. It's the nagging fear in the back of their mind that prevents them from doing it.