The symbolical allegory “Lord of the Flies” written by William Golding, symbolizes through different characters of how humankind are evil from the core. The story of a group of schoolboys trapped on a deserted island takes more of a symbolizing story than it might seem. Each detail takes a position in the story to show the core of humanity. A group of young boys together without adult supervision causes the boys to slowly reveal their savage core. Being a part of the English society has taught them to make rules and follow them, but slowly as they realize that there are no grownups are there to stop them, the revealing of their nature begins. William Golding states in his interview concerning the theme of the book, “The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” (Golding 204). The human race has been evil ever since Adam and Eve sinned, but through the Bible, we try our best to cover the core of our hearts with rules and morality. Throughout the novel, the nature of man is shown throughout the boys on the island. The boys are yearn to feel important, to have power over the weak. Characters such as Jack and even a little one like Henry shows a desire to rule over the …show more content…
It begins when Jack sees hunting a pig a point of power. Being overpowered by the desire to earn power through hunting pigs, causes him to become ignorant of the fire which ceased their chance of being rescued. “Jack checked, vaguely irritated by this irrelevance by too happy to let it worry him” (Golding 69). His selfish joy has cost the entire group to not be rescued, and this shows that his savagery instincts rule over his logical instincts. Jack was also presented as the “beast” by Ralph when he states, “You’re a beast and a swine, and a bloody, bloody thief!” (Golding 179). Undoubtedly, the beast who symbolizes the evil inside of man was represented by
Lord of the Flies, a suggestive name for the Devil, a devil whose name proposes that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization and panic, exactly what William Golding had in mind when using symbolism in this novel. The Lord of the Flies (1954), is a novel in which interpretating the symbols are a main key to not only understanding, but also enjoying the novel. After tying many of the symbols together, you can figure out more about what the author is trying to depict, the overall scene.
The main theme of Lord of the Flies is that moral nature is not instinctive in mankind. There is a capacity for evil in all people, and their morality is superficial. Nonetheless, it is this moral integrity that must continue in order for a person to be ethical, for society to be maintained, and to keep society from falling in on itself. Society holds everyone together. Without the rules and the structure, evil in everyone becomes more prominent, and ideals, values, and basics of right and wrong are forgotten. Without society's rigid rules, chaos and savagery come to light. There are also a number of secondary themes in the book such as: people will abuse power when it is not earned; people will degrade others to heighten their own sense of security; the fear of the unknown is powerful; it can make you turn to insight or hysteria. All of the themes are shown using symbolism.
Symbolism is a way to use symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In the Lord of the Flies, by William Golding tells a story about boys who are stranded on an island after surviving a plane crash. These children come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. On the island we see conflict between Ralph and Jack ultimately symbolising civilization versus savage. The use of symbols such as the conch shell, beast, and even Piggy's specs, demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules, allow their human nature become evil to dominate their idea of civilization.
This is evident when Jack wants to put people in punishment if somebody breaks the rules (32). His desire to punish people shows his love of power and dominance. It also reveals that Jack could have been like one of the ambitious leaders in the past history. Another sign of becoming a savage in the society is showing an act of disrespectful to another neighbour, including Piggy. This reveals when Jack mocks Piggy by telling him, “Shut up, Fatty” (17). It also happens when Piggy condemns Jack for “[letting] the fire out”, although Jack makes a promise to “keep the smoke going” (75). However, he became so violent, so angry that he “smacked Piggy’s head” (75). Some of the uncivilized members of the society use their selfish desires, which is not aiming for the common good. For instance, Jack tells Ralph that he successfully “cut the pig’s throat” (73). He said, “There was lashing of blood…you should have seen it!” (73). This suggests that Jack is more concern about hunting rather than getting rescued. Jack, as a savage, uses his ambitious power to put people in punishment, his rude attitude to hurt people, and his way to care more about himself than others. This character greatly exemplifies a savage in the society, but another important symbol that makes a novel an allegory is the
...religious allegory. He depicts a story in which the boys are stranded on an island and need to fend for themselves. However, instead of focusing on rescue and building a fire, the boys ultimately shift their priorities to hunting and killing. They turn a once beautiful and majestic island into a place of terror and evil. Additionally, they maul and kill their only hope of ever changing, Simon. Lord of the Flies is reminiscent of the television series “Lost.” Just like in Golding’s world, “Lost” is staged on a remote far away island after a plane crash. However, these people are not children. They are adults, which makes the story even more chilling. These adults eventually succumb to murderous acts and violence, further proving the point Golding sets out to make. Humans are inherently evil, and without any system to keep them in line, they will destroy the world.
The Use of Symbols in Lord of the Flies by William Golding In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses a lot of symbolism. The book is a symbol in its self, it is an allegory, and it works on two levels. It is written as a boy's adventure story but it also symbolises mankind. and its corrupt civilisation. The social historical context of the book is based on Golding's personal experiences in the Second World.
Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island.
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.
In the novel of William Golding, The Lord of the Flies, describes a story of a group of British schoolboys crashing onto a remote island and learning how to survive together while still attaching themselves to a new civilization. At first, the schoolboys believe they have landed on a paradise, yet that paradise shifts to an island filled with their own fears and anger. With their fears and anger, the boys create a war with each other as their savagery instincts win over their human nature. Golding’s novel follows the theme of civilization versus savagery as the children divide into two groups: civilization and savagery. In those two groups, the boys face a battle between their own characters, the symbolism, and their own Beast.
In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, symbolism and allegories were used to show how the children who are stranded on an island have a huge struggle with civilization and savagery. Ralph, Piggy, Jack, and Simon are the ones in the novel that struggle with this the most.
While Jack and Ralph are exploring the island, they encounter a piglet which Jack supposedly attempts to kill. After gaining the courage to kill the baby pig, Jack rectifies the situation by saying "I was just waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him (Golding 31)." This event clearly illustrates that along with inherent evil, "man is [also] capable of being good and kind, and has to choice and free will to choose which one he will become."(Ridley 97) Jack's mercy is short-lived, however, and when they encounter another pig, Jack and his hunters are relentless.
The Lord of the Flies is an extremely brilliant survival novel where the author, Golding, uses symbolism to convey his theme of how people will move from their original civil state to savagery based on the defects of the human nature, also known as, civilization vs. savagery. The author uses a story about a multitude of young English boys, who are sent away from their homes, due to a raging war, and then get stranded on an island. Hunger, animal instincts, and violence overtake the boys and cause much conflict for them. While on the island, the struggle for power consumes two boys in particular, Ralph and Jack, and the story falls around their two different personalities. Ralph is good and civilized,
Meanwhile on an uninhabited island, many boys face the struggle of savagery and civilization. Without any adults around, the boys must create a civilization, but as the days go on it turns into savagery building up inside each one. Exploring the dark side of humanity, the savagery that underlies even the most civilized human beings, William Golding in his novel Lord of the Flies emphasizes savagery verses civilization by utilizing symbolism and character development to discuss the symbolic qualities of the characters displaying decay of reason.
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding used a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature in mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom from their society. William Golding's basic philosophy that man was inherently evil was expressed in such instances as the death of Simon, the beast within the boys, and the way Ralph was fervently hunted.
The motif is anything that is repeated in a work of literature over and over again. The author uses it to show the importance of a topic. The overall function of a motif is to better explain the story and how it is told in their point of views. The motif picked is how repeatedly the beast is presented. The first example of how the beast is introduced is when the littlun talks how he sees the “beastie.” Another time the beast is introduced is towards the end when they find a parachutist and think it is a beast dead.