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Symbols of the Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Write in brief the symbolism in Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the flies by william golding analysis
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William Golding wrote the novel Lord of the Flies to draw attention to the chaos in society during the Second World War. Throughout the novel, there is a large amount of symbolism that gives the readers a better understanding of his ideas and concepts. There are many symbolic objects in the Lord of the Flies that help to expand his perception of the Second World War and his theme of there being a little bit of evil and savagery in everyone. Three of the most important symbolic objects are Piggy’s glasses, the conch shell, and the signal fire. First, of the many symbolic objects in the Lord of the Flies are Piggy’s glasses. His glasses symbolize many different things in the novel. First they symbolize hope. Piggy’s specs are what the boys are using to light their signal fire, and without their fire, there is no hope for them of ever being rescued from the island. Therefore the only hope that the boys have of leaving the island is in the balance of the condition of Piggy’s glasses. Without them being in a good enough condition to use to make a fire, then there would be no hope of them ever leaving the island. Second, Piggy’s glasses represent civilization. Piggy’s glasses are a small piece of civilization they can cling to. When the glasses are first cracked, it is a symbolic drop in the civilization of the boys on the island. Jack punches Piggy and the glasses fall off his face, only one of the lenses are broken which represents half of the destruction of civilization. But when Piggy is crushed by the boulder and his specs are destroyed, it represents the total destruction of their civilization and the boys fall into savagery and begin to hunt down Ralph. Lastly, Piggy’s specs signify his ability to “see”, both literally and figu... ... middle of paper ... ...g so they can get rescued. He demonstrates his lust of being rescued when he exclaims “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?”(80). In the beginning of the novel, the way that the boys maintain the fire is a sign that they want to be rescued and return to society. When the fire burns low or goes out the boys have seemed to lose sight of their desire to be rescued and have accepted their savage lives on the island. In this way the signal fire functions as some sort of indicator to the boy’s connection to civilization. Ironically, at the end of the novel, a fire finally attracts a ship to the island but it is not the signal fire, instead it is a fire of savagery. To conclude, the signal fire symbolizes hope and the boys’ connection to civilization.
Piggy was the one boy in the novel who has all the knowledge. Despite his asthma and obese problem, Piggy never failed to contribute his cerebral and intelligent ideas. He came up with all the ideas on how to survive and tried to keep the group organized and civilized. The glasses of Piggy symbolized his knowledge and smartness.
When Piggy’s glasses break in half, it symbolizes the boy's descent into savageness. Glasses, by definition¹, are “a pair of lenses used to correct or assist defective eyesight for an individual with vision problems.” Obviously, these glasses are only effective when the lenses are not broken, and this principle also applies in The Lord of the Flies. In The Lord of the Flies, the goal of the boys is to survive, and get rescued off of the island. To get rescued off of the island and therefore survive, Ralph decides that the boys need a fire, to make a smoke signal so passing ships or planes can spot them. They use the lenses of Piggy’s glasses to start this fire. When Jack lets this fire go out when he is out hunting for a pig, Ralph gets very angry, because the passing ship could have rescued them. This leads to the first fight as a result of the boy's’ newfound savageness. This fight leads to Piggy’s glasses breaking for the first time. Piggy’s glasses break again when Jack’s group steals them in a bid to start a fire of their own. “I just take the conch to say this. I can’t see no more and I got to get my glasses back.
The book Lord of the Flies has changing symbolic values in objects and places. These values reflect humanity's nature to become savage. This is demonstrated by the symbols in their mirroring of the boys. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the meaning of symbols evolve throughout the story with the conch standing for civilization and then the breakdown of order in society, Piggy’s specs meaning knowledge then Jack’s power, and the fire first representing hope then ultimately destruction.
Piggy is the only one on the island who can see clearly, his glasses portray that for him. Piggy’s glasses do not only help him literally see, but they also help with clarity and staying focused on the task at hand, “Ralph remember what we came for. The fire. My specs” (Golding 177). Piggy is reminding Ralph of their task at Castle Rock, to get the specs and the fire back. Piggy is focused on the task at hand and wants to get the job done the way he in visions it. He wants to get the job done and he wants to get out of there. Piggy is bringing clarity to the boys, “Which is better-to be a pack of painted indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is? ...rules and agree or hunt and kill? ...law and rescue or hunting and breaking things up?” (Golding 180). Piggy is trying to talk sense into the savages and he is making them reflect on their actions comparing them to both camps. He is trying to bring common sense back into the boys. He is helping them see what they have done because their vision is a little blurred from being on the island for so long. Piggy realizes the situation is getting tense and tells his camp and Ralph that it is time to take care of the situation. Piggy takes over at the assembly and puts jack in his place , “I just take the conch to say this. I can’t see no more and I got to get my glasses back. Awful things has been done on this island. I voted for you for chief. He’s the only one who ever got anything done. So now you speak, Ralph, and tell us what. Or else –” (Golding 170). The da...
In every novel, an object may represent something other than what it actually is. Lord of the Flies of by William Golding has several of these objects in it. An explanation for what objects hold symbolic meaning is would be like how snow may represent delight and happiness for a child. These objects also add side stories and add detail to the novel. Three objects that hold immense symbolic meaning in Lord of the Flies are the beast, the conch, and the signal fire.
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.
Even though Piggy does not agree to lend the other boys on the island his glasses to start the fire it, it brought hope. In the book Ralph suggests, “ His specs-use them as burning glasses!” (40). When they use the glasses to start the fire all the boys are excited and filled with new hope. PIggy's glasses truly brought hope because they planed to make smoke with the fire so they could be rescued. Without piggy and his glasses
1. When the fire goes out it symbolizes the loss of all remaining civility and the beginning of absolute savagery. The fire was the boys' only link to the past, as it was the one true technology they had. Fire symbolizes man's domination and manipulation of nature. As the fire goes out the boys are no longer people, but animals. It is also important to note that the fire was voluntarily allowed to die.
1. The conch being inexpertly blown and the fact that Piggy has only one lens shows that society has begun to function poorly. The reason for this decline in society is Jack. Jack broke Piggy's lens, and now Jack who has power, represented by the conch, does not know how to blow it properly. This tells us that Jack is an inept leader who misuses power and destroys knowledge. To become an expert at something, such as blowing a conch or leading a society takes time, so this is also significant because it shows that Jack has just recently come to power.
Piggy's glasses become an important symbol representing the social order of the boys as they try to determine how to lead themselves. Although not a leader Piggy is the voice of reason as he mends the early splits between the boys by way of compromising. Of all the boys on the island it is Piggy who can seen as the most symbolic.
When Piggy is clearly able to see with the help of the glasses the boys are still fairly civilized. For example, at one of their first meetings, the boys decide that they "can't have everybody talking at once" and that they "have to have there hands up' like at school" (Golding, 33). However, after some time passes, the boys become more concerned with slaughtering a pig than with being rescued and returning to civilization. Returning, from a successful hunt in the jungle chanting "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood," Ralph and Piggy attempt to explain to the boys that having meat for their meals is not as important as keeping the signal fire burning (Golding, 69). With anger, Jack knocks Piggy glasses off from his face, smashing one of the lenses against rocks and obviously impairing his vision. William Golding uses Piggy's glasses as a symbol of civilization and when they break it is like that the
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.
In conclusion, the signal fire is not just a fire. It represents more than that, throughout the book, the signal fire begins to develop character and suit the personalities of the main characters. For example, Jack and Ralph. In the beginning of the book, the signal fire represents Ralph a very tame and well structured. Furthermore, into “Lord of the flies” Jack is the adverse of Ralph. Jack is an uncontrolled spirit which cannot be tamed, and educated on the vital things. With all this comprehensive information, one is better able to understand the true meaning of the signal fire. Rather than a humble
When Piggy first came to the island, his glasses were spotless and perfect with no damage, just like the boys were. Each one came to the island as someone else and left completely changed. They represent intelligence and intellectual pursuit. Piggy is probably the brightest of the stranded boys on the island in Lord of the Flies, and his glasses help set him apart from the others. He’s symbolized as a grown-up figure that has common sense.
In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses a variety of symbols to represent ideas, or abstract notions or conceptions about people, places, and things. A symbol, according to the Webster's Dictionary, is an object that stands for something in addition to its literal meaning. In the book, there is a continual breakdown of society and civilization on the island. During this breakdown, Golding uses symbolism to further explain the process. Some of the things he symbolizes in the novel are the island itself, the conch, the boys clothing, and the violence.