William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is set on an uninhabited island during World War II.
After realizing that they are stranded on the deserted island, a group of young boys establish a
miniature version of the society they have left behind; as their time on the island increases, the
boys shed their civility and expose the evil that is hidden in all of humanity. To demonstrate this,
Golding uses the symbolism of colors. For example, pink, the color of innocence, portrays the
initial morality of the boys. The color black suggests evil and savagery. Red, often recognized as
the color of blood, is also a symbol of violence and danger. Golding’ use of pink, black, and red
confirms the thematic concept of the inherent evil in all humans.
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The littluns are restless yet
trusting of the older boys: “The small boy squatted in front of Ralph, looking up brightly and
vertically. As he received the reassurance of something purposeful being done he began to look
satisfied, and his only clean digit, a pink thumb, slid into his mouth” (pg. 18; Ch. 1). The aspects
of nature and wildlife encompassing the boys are also pink; their safe place, the platform where
meetings are held, and the cliffs at the edge of the island are pink in the sunlight. Besides their
environment, the pigs Jack and his hunters come to love hunting are also pink. On Jack’s first
hunt, he is unnerved by the thought of killing the pig and doesn’t throw his knife, displaying the
civility and properness that he still holds. Besides the nature and wildlife, the conch, a sign of
leadership, is partially pink as well. It has a deep, fading pink color running through it and pink
lips. As the boys settle into their lives on the island, the conch is the primary source of authority;
whoever has the conch speaks. When conflict is created between Jack and Ralph, the conch is no
longer seen as a token of power, and when Piggy is killed, the conch breaks,
Hurst, the author of The Scarlet Ibis, uses the color red to symbolize a recurring theme throughout the story which is: Pride can aid, but if not controlled will cause harm. The color red is used throughout the story symbolically, to convey the author’s message. The color in itself has two sides to it; one being that it is a royal color, meaning pride, love, and power. The other is that red represents danger, blood, death, and destruction. Just like the color, pride also has two sides to it. Pride encouraged Brother, the narrator and protagonist of the story, to teach Doodle, his younger brother, to walk. However, pride then began to pull Brother into dangerous territory, and caused harm to Doodle. Pride, like the color red is filled with the yearning to see our loved ones do well. Just like the alternate side of the color red that brings destruction, pride’s alternate side
The conch is used for the first time in the book and able to draw all of the boys to the same spot on the island showing its power. “Immediately, the thing sounded. A deep harsh note boomed under the palms...” (Golding 12) Soon after the conch is blown, the boys start to arrive one by one. The conch is able to reach over the whole island to get the boys to gather. Very quickly the conch is put on a high place of order. In fact, the boys cannot even talk in the assemblies unless they are holding the conch. The conch can calm everybody down. If everything is going crazy, all Ralph has to do is blow the conch and then the boys will assemble. In addition to the power of the conch, it represents civility, as the boys are savages without it. “‘If I blow the conch and they don’t come back, then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.’” (Golding 99) Ralph knows if they do not come back after he blows the conch then they have officially become savages; there would be no coming back from it. He does not want to blow the conch because he wants to believe that they are still civil and have order, but deep down he knows that they are savages. Throughout the novel, Ralph is always using the conch to bring order back to the boys. The boys are nothing without the conch....
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The flies’ presents us with a group of English boys who are isolated on a desert island, left to try and retain a civilised society. In this novel Golding manages to display the boys slow descent into savagery as democracy on the island diminishes.
The use of diction is powerful, with the gripping use of words and description. Golding creates tension and reinforces his theme and tone with the use of specific words. Many are connotative and therefore create a story abundant in meaning and symbolism. Golding uses colors such as pink to symbolize particular things such as innocence, as shown in the piglets and the island. The word yellow makes the reader think of the sun, enlightenment and Ralph; the words black and red bring to mind evil, blood and Jack.
The conch shell represents democracy, power and stability. When Ralph first discovers the conch shell, Piggy proposes to Ralph that they, “…can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come, when they hear us” (16) and that was the birth of the conch shell. Throughout meetings that are held at the beach, the conch is used as a “speaking stick”. After Jack separates himself from the rest of the tribe, Ralph barges into the camp and attempts to use the conch shell to gather up his former tribe mates. The boys say that th...
Upon arrival to the island the two main character's Piggy and Ralph find a conch shell, which they believe could help them find the other boys. Ralph was the appointed leader for the boys. Jack one of the other boys that is stranded on the island was appointed the job of finding food for everyone to eat.
At first the island is thought to be a paradise by the boys. It is a
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of British boys who get plane-wrecked on a deserted island. The boys cooperate, gather fruit, make shelters, and maintain a signal fire. When they get there they are civil schoolboys but soon show that being away from society and the real world it brings out their true nature and they break apart and turn into savages.
his knife and can’t bring himself to kill the pig, it is because he is
The conch also brought order to the boys on the island. “We’ll have rules” “I’ll give the conch to the person next to me. He can hold it when he’s speaking.”(33). Without adults they were forced to create rules for themselves because order would have to be kept on the island until they were saved. At their school order was everything and they wanted to keep that order and thought of safety. The conch gave them a feeling of home and hope of getting off the island.
In his novel, The Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbolism to illustrate the theme that darkness of the heart is a trait within all of us- some people fight against it while others allow it to take over.
While the boys are under Jack's control, they quickly went back into how they started when they first got there. However, Ralph was able to keep the boys under control by holding meetings. At the meetings, a sense of order is instilled because the boys are not allowed to speak unless they have the conch shell. "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking." (p. 31) By making this rule, he gains respect from the boys and becomes for confident as a leader. Ralph uses his power to tries to make the boys better people. He shows his by building them shelters. "They talk and scream. The littuns. Even some of the others." (p. 53) Ralph is saying that the boys need the shelters because they are afraid and the shelters will help the boys feel more secure. This shows he has better knowledge of people making him a better leader than Jack who does not understand this. Jack does not realize that the boys need to feel secure and need someone in control.
This conch is the only connection to the order and rules of the boys’ past lives, as there is no other influence on them in the isolated natural state of the island. Golding’s readers are able to see the boys’ return to their innate savagery as they increasingly reject all that the conch represents. When the shell finally ceases to exist, cruel savagery and terrorizing fear take over the island. Their inherently savage selves are finally
This tribe brings nothing but death and destruction to the island. Moreover, the newly formed group of warriors even develop a dance that they perform over the carcass of the dead pig. They become so involved in this dance that that warriors kill one of their own kind. By chance, Simon runs from the forest towards the group that is already shouting “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’” (152).
When Ralph finds a conch shell and uses it to call the boys from all over the island, they come running. The conch is a very powerful tool. When the boys have settled the conch is used to control the boys and to create an order on the island. A rule is set out by Ralph using the conch, "Whoever has the conch has got the right to talk". This shows the conch's power and Ralph's leaderhsip.