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The use of symbolism in Lord of the Flies
The use of symbolism in Lord of the Flies
Lord of the flies symbolism
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In today’s society, evil has created conflict and harm to people in many ways. Civilization has kept us in our place in society and also does good for us. Our civilized lifestyle has been to live morally in law and order. On the other hand, our savage lifestyle has been to act out our own selfish needs. In the writing of the “Lord of the Flies”, William Golding suggests that people needs guidance or legal authority, otherwise, it could leave to animalistic behavior.
Golding was trying to inform the reader of the comparison of living by the society’s rules and living by your own rules. Many people that have don’t follow rules go corrupt. Eventually, the legal authority that keeps them safe is eradicated. “This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grownups come to fetch us we’ll have fun(35)” At this point, the boys have found their own solution to the problem without help from grownups. They feel as if life was a game and they were going to survive that easily. “How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?(45)” They prioritize and they have the right mindset of what they want to do. They are trying to take the rules they had back at home and keep it alive
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Civilization is represented by the characters Jack and Ralph. Jack represents savagery and violence and Ralph represents law and order. “ He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.’(22)” Ralph is the first to make the others understand that only through civilization will we be able to survive the troubles of being alone on the island. He is civilized and he knows that it will result in bad things. “Ralph had stopped smiling and was pointing into the lagoon. Something creamy lay among the ferny weeds.’A stone.’ ‘No. A shell.’(15)” This conch is what made Ralph the leader he is. The boys all saw that it was Ralph with the conch and not Piggy. This gave them all a judgement of listening to the rules that Ralph gives
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays the lives of young British boys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and their struggle for survival. The task of survival was challenging for such young boys, while maintaining the civilized orders and humanity they were so accustomed too. These extremely difficult circumstances and the need for survival turned these innocent boys into the most primitive and savaged mankind could imagine. William Golding illustrates man’s capacity for evil, which is revealed in man’s inherent nature. Golding uses characterization, symbolism and style of writing to show man’s inhumanity and evil towards one another.
Golding teaches the reader that when dictatorial authority is created, the fear of going against it is much stronger than the need to speak one’s mind. The children, being starving, begin to kill pigs as a group; the hunting scenes in the novel are quite brutal and create fear for the reader and hunters alike. During a moment where a group of children are searching for a wild pig in the forest, the hunters begin gathering around character Roger. A few begin to poke fun at him, and the rest follow their lead; they drive their spears at his direction and chant “Kill the pig! Cut his throat!” (Golding 114), which of course scares many of the hunters and Roger. They are no longer consciously making decisions; their personalities have been altered by their fear and impulse to follow the leader. What must be months into their life on the island, they have learned to make fires and where to camp; tensions have risen between two sides of the surviving boys, and their fears of dying become all too intense. When a storm is upon the group and they are all uneasy, Jack instructs the boys to “Do our dance! Come on! Dance!” (Golding 151), and because they fear the consequences, they did as he commanded. In simple words, The Lord of the Flies is teaching us that when there is a leader and a mob to follow,
When viewing the atrocities of today's world on television, the starving children, the wars, the injustices, one cannot help but think that evil is rampant in this day and age. However, people in society must be aware that evil is not an external force embodied in a society but resides within each person. Man has both good qualities and faults. He must come to control these faults in order to be a good person. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding deals with this same evil which exists in all of his characters. With his mastery of such literary tools as structure, syntax, diction and imagery, The author creates a cheerless, sardonic tone to convey his own views of the nature of man and man’s role within society.
Greediness and our own individual survival are placed above all else when there are no laws of society to protect us. If someone were to shout "Fire!" in a crowded movie theatre, all bonds of kinship and rational thought would be broken, resulting in a stampede of self-interests. Humans are no different from animals, which, left to their own devices, seek their own gain regardless of the cost to others. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, suggests that "[People] merely suffer from the terrible disease of being human." Humanity's one saving grace is society, which sets rules and boundaries that protect everyone against our own ugly natures.
William Golding explores the vulnerability of society in a way that can be read on many different levels. A less detailed look at the book, Lord of the Flies, is a simple fable about boys stranded on an island. Another way to comprehend the book is as a statement about mans inner savage and reverting to a primitive state without societies boundaries. By examining the Lord of the Flies further, it is revealed that many themes portray Golding’s views, including a religious persecution theme.
In a civilized society, certain aspects of humanity must be adhered to. Qualities such as empathy, respect, compassion, and kindness are key to maintaining order. What happens in society when these qualities disintegrate, and cease to exist altogether? William Golding’s “lord of the Flies” accurately demonstrates that in the absence of humanity, civilized society quickly evolves into one of savagery. Golding shows this evolution through the steady decay of the boy’s morals, values, and laws. The evolution of savagery begins with the individual.
In the novel The Lord of the flies, William Golding illustrates the decline from innocence to savagery through a group of young boys. In the early chapters of The Lord of the Flies, the boys strive to maintain order. Throughout the book however, the organized civilization Ralph, Piggy, and Simon work diligently towards rapidly crumbles into pure, unadulterated, savagery. The book emphasized the idea that all humans have the potential for savagery, even the seemingly pure children of the book. The decline of all civilized behavior in these boys represents how easily all order can dissolve into chaos. The book’s antagonist, Jack, is the epitome of the evil present in us all. Conversely, the book’s protagonist, Ralph, and his only true ally, Piggy, both struggle to stifle their inner
The first example is we see civilization as the boy’s sense of right and wrong the first thing Ralph and Piggy suggest is they should have a meeting .Then Ralph suggests that they use order and communication. Ralph told the boys they must have "hands up, like at school". Piggy takes names and this represents civilization. That leads us into the conch. The conch represented civilization because it kept order .the conch was found by ralph .Ralph then decided the conch would be used for talking in meetings. It was like a system .the conch was used to keep order in a meeting. They used the conch by only talking when they had it so they wouldn’t be talking over each other .this is a good example because they are being civilized and not wild .
... instances where the boys can no longer suppress their darkest urges, they lose all former ties with a civilized lifestyle. Once these ties are sufficiently severed there is nowhere for the boys to turn, other than towards the darkness and savagery within each and every one of them. This darkness can seem thick and impenetrable, however, just a glimpse of civilization and order can lighten the darkness within anyone. William Golding, while realizing this fact, chose to share it with the world by writing this tale. He showed that even the most proper British boys can become savage beasts within a few days, and then return to their old civilized lives once reintroduced by a familiar figure. No one is so far gone that they cannot be saved, and no one is immune to the savagery within.
As the story opens, the boys are stranded on the island without any type of authority and must fend for themselves. A meeting is held and the chief, Ralph, is quickly named. A reader at once can notice there is already a power struggle between Jack and Ralph but this is overlooked when Jack says rational and sensible remarks about what should be done. The stability of civilization is still apparent when Jack says, “I agree with Ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things,” (Golding 42). The boys are still influenced by the restraints they learned from a controlled society. Joseph Conrad asserts that “there exists a certain ‘darkness of man’s heart’ that is suppressed by the light of civilization” (Introduction to Lord of the Flies 2). “Although Golding suggests the harmony of an ideal society, he does not indicate any faith in its creation” (Kennard 234). The more meetings that are held the more futile they become. “ ’We have lots of assemblies. Everybody enjoys speaking and being together. We decide things. But they don’t get done,’ ” (Golding 79). The boys realize that there are no punishments for what they do and disregard their priorities. “The idea that the absence of the restraints of civilization can lead to a subversion towards savagery” (Introduction to Lord of the Flies 2). The makeshift society that the boys have created is already starting to weaken.
In the novel “Lord of the Flies” the author William Golding sets out to demonstrate what can happen when good clashes with evil, or in this case the Civilized versus the Savage. He selected two individuals to represent each group. Jack represented the savage and Ralph represented the civilized. As the novel progressed their priorities became clearer. Ralph wanted to be rescued and Jack wanted to kill. Due to their personality clashes, later in the novel series of unfortunate events occur at the end of the novel. It can be learnt that the rules and laws that guide us are there for a reason. To teach us the difference right and wrong and keep us behaved.
Civilization is compromised when rules become unnecessary and the children?s state of mind has changed for the worst. In Lord of the Flies, the conch shell and signal fire represent civilization, but as the children lose interest in having a leader, and following rules, these objects lose their meaning and savagery takes over. ?We may stay here till we die,? (pg.9) was a very powerful quote, because from the beginning of the novel, Golding is foreshadowing their future on the island. Another example of this is their painted faces and tribal dances, which happen when they?ve killed a pig. A force greater than they can control seems to take over their humanity, and because children haven?t been exposed to think for themselves, they don?t know between right and wrong. Therefore, society hasn?t conditioned them to be evil, but the evil resides within them naturally.
Imagine the world without judgement, rules, and those who enforce them, the key principles in a civilized society. How long would it take until desires and craving rebel against morality? With an authoritative power ceasing to exist, civilization would turn to chaos as the glory and thrill of savagery override ethics. In his novel Lord of the Flies, Golding demonstrates that without the restrictions of society, human instinct causes the boys to defy and shun social morals.
People are privileged to live in an advanced stage of development known as civilization. In a civilization, one’s life is bound by rules that are meant to tame its savage natures. A humans possesses better qualities because the laws that we must follow instill order and stability within society. This observation, made by William Golding, dictates itself as one of the most important themes of Lord of the Flies. The novel demonstrates the great need for civilization ion in life because without it, people revert back to animalistic natures.
Even though humankind tries its hardest to prevent evil actions, eventually evil grows above all others. Humans are breathing in ignorance, evil is always brewing and waiting to ambush those in society with turned backs, represented in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. One could rationalize that this isn’t the case, that good always conceals evil’s ugly face, and that evil is just a uncommon hole in the way. However, one’s outlook on society doesn’t exceed the grim reality of humankind’s natural inclinations. Particularly , how things are never as they seem, how easily humans can denounce their emotions and how humans choose to ignore tough situations in search for an easy answer.