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Why symbols are important
The point of symbolism
The point of symbolism
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There are many symbols throughout the story. One of the most important symbols is the conch. The conch is significant because it has a lot of power among the boys. For example it is used to determine who talks and is also used to call meetings. To me, it seems like money, whoever has the conch has the power, similar to our world. Another item that is important, are Piggy’s glasses. The glasses are used as a tool in several occasions. The glasses are used to build a fire. This shows that simple things can be used a tools. In addition, the glasses help Piggy see, which is their original use. The fire, which Piggy’s glasses create, represents life and a chance of survival. The only way anyone will see them is the smoke from the fire, which is
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.
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding the meaning behind symbols pivot throughout the story. The conch first representing civilization and order becomes meaningless and is destroyed, while Piggy’s specs originally standing for the capability of fire and escape shifts into a symbol of power. Finally, the rescue fire began as a beacon of hope for escape, but is molded by Jack into a weapon of mass destruction. These symbolic values all change due to Jack’s manipulation of the boys’ mindset. The boys regress from wanting to return into civilization to embracing
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 is 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.
tool that can call a meeting and wherever the Conch is thats where the meeting
The glasses that Piggy wears are also very important to the boy’s survival and getting off the island, as the glasses create fire. Along with fire comes warmth and smoke. The smoke is a very vital part as the ongoing ships can see the smoke and then the ship can rescue the boys.
From Lord of the Flies, there were many things like Conch and Fire that symbolized something. One of the most important symbols was the Conch. The Conch, which is a big shell that can be seen at the beach symbolizes many things in the Lord of the Flies. The Conch represents power because it once was able to control the boys with it, and it also symbolizes democracy because of anyone who has their ideas and can speak their thoughts. The Conch represents unity because it was used to call an assembly and was used to put the boys and keep the peace between the boys so nobody would fight with each other. So, the conch is an important symbol in the novel, because it represents power, democracy, and unity.
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
The first symbol, which is used all throughout the book, is the symbol of the Conch. The conch was a large shell which piggy had first unearthed on the island. The conch shows powers all throughout the book and always commands respect form the boys due to its importance. The importance and power would best be compared to that of a congregation when a Rabbi removes the torah from the ark, which holds it. The first quote which best shows the importance of the conch is when it is used by Ralph and Piggy to summon all the boys together when they find themselves alone on the island. "The Conch, we can use this to call the others. Have a meeting they'll come when they hear us- (16)." Then again at the second meeting we see how the boys are drawn to the Conch and how it is like a magnet to the boys, which draws them to who ever uses it. "By the time Ralph had finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded (32)." The conch also shows the first idea of civilization and rules. One example is when there is disorder because everyone I talking at once. "Conch, that's what the shell is called. I'll give the conch to the next person who speaks. He can hold when he is speaking (33)." Finally the conch is used for is to show how Piggy does so much to help them and does not get credit for it. It was used that way when Piggy was the first one to see the Conch and Piggy was the one who knew what it was and instructed Ralph on how to use it.
Probably the most obvious symbol is the beast. The beast represents the evil that is inside every human. Fear of the beast puts the boys at odds with each other and leads them to fighting and blaming one another. The story shows us how much power the beast held over the boys because of the fear it created. Much like modern society’s fear of not eating, not having shelter, not having warmth, might lead people to hurt others. The opposite side of the beast is goodness and order. Golding uses the conch that Ralph finds to represent this aspect of civilization. While the boys possess the conch there will be order and authority. It is not until Jack loses control, and anarchy takes over, that the conch loses its authority. When the conch is broken this represents the collapse of any chance at democracy and order. This loss of order is show when Golding writes, "Ralph, thinking to himself: "What was the sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly for debate nor dignity of the conch” (196). After the conch was broken, the last hope the boys had was the signal fire. During the story, Ralph is persistent about keeping the fire alive and not letting it get out of control. When Jack takes over and the fire is only used for cooking meat it seems that all hope is lost. Irony is represented when the officer arrives in the story and says, “We
In the beginning, the conch symbolized a way of holding onto the boys’ school life. When the conch was blown and the powerful sound echoed throughout the island, Piggy claimed, “I bet you can hear this for miles” (17). Just as Piggy said this, children started to appear among the palms in the forest. The conch that called them together portrayed the kids’ school bell. It made most of them feel safe when they were confused about what was might happen to them.
He is the most rational boy in the group; making his glasses also symbolize logical reasoning within society. But he was completely disrespected, as Jack says in the novel, “ ‘you’re talking too much fat.’ ” (Golding 18) The glasses don’t just represent Piggy and what he stands for, but for everyone else as well. Similar to real life, we have symbols that signify power, and Washington D.C. is a good example of that.
The last symbol that is important to the novel Lord Of The Flies are Piggy's glasses which symbolize science or creativity, but could also break your will when they're gone. Shortly after everyone meets they start to get jobs and say what they need, "Jack points suddenly ,' his specs use them as burning glasses'"(Golding 40). This is what the glasses give to the boys, creativity to make fire while using them as magnifying glasses to get a spark. If there wasn't any glasses it would take a long period of time to make a fire. After Jack split up form Ralph he stole Piggy's glasses, '" That's them', said Piggy.' They blinded me'"(Golding 150). Piggy can no longer see because his glasses are stolen which leads to Jack being more superior. Piggy
Two important symbols of civilization, the conch and the glasses, are closely followed throughout the action. As the civilized life breaks up on the island, the glasses are broken and stolen, and the conch is crushed. Piggy, who wears the glasses and carries the conch, is killed.