The novel, “Lord of The Flies”, is written by William Golding and it is about a group of British schoolboys that were forced to live on an inhabited island due to a devastating plane crash. The boys were escorted out of their homes in order to keep themselves safe due to the war that was occurring. William Golding has used symbolism as one of his ways to develop the theme of the book throughout the story. The theme of evilness, savagery and the sign of leadership was shown and developed through the use of symbolism, which included: the conch, the fire and Piggy’s glasses. In the first few chapters of the novel, the conch was used to bring all of the boys together. This indicated that the conch shell was a symbol of civilization and order. …show more content…
“That’s what this shell is called. I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (page 33). Ralph created a set of rules so the group can be civilized and remain in order. This was mainly because they were on an island by themselves they had no adults to supervise them. Without the rules set in place by Ralph, there would not be a sense of control in the group. Later on, Ralph and Piggy went to Jack’s place to try to convince them to give back Piggy’s glasses. This symbol was seen through the line, “the rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (page 181). When Ralph and Piggy tried to get Piggy’s glasses, things turned sideways. They all got into an argument and Roger killed Piggy by throwing a rock at him. This shows a sign of evilness and savagery because even though Roger killed Piggy there were no consequences towards it because they were on an island without police officers or guardians to punish him. Roger was aware that no one will be able to stop him due to their being a lot of freedom on the island. Roger killed his own partner with no thoughts of sympathy. The conch was later broken into pieces which indicates that the conch has no symbolic value towards them anymore. Fire is another important symbol in Lord of The Flies that William Golding used to develop the theme.
At first, fire was a sign of hope for the boys, Ralph wanted the boys to keep the fire going because he believed that fire was going to get them rescued. For example, “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?” (Page 86). This is significant because it showed hope for the boys to get rescued or saved. Fire was the most important thing to Ralph because fire is the only way for them to get rescued. He wanted to do everything he could to get them rescued so he wanted them to be able to keep the fire going. He didn’t feel like the boys wanted to keep the fire going so he decided to tell them how important fire was because it was there only way of getting rescued. Fire was later used as a weapon to find Ralph, “Then Ralph was running beneath trees, with the grumble of the forest explained. They had smoked him out and set the island on fire” (Page 197). Now fire is used as weapon which indicates the theme of savagery and evilness. It represents this because instead of using the fire as a sign of getting rescued, Jack and his crew used it as a weapon to try to kill Ralph. They had a plan to kill Ralph by starting the fire and by smoking him out so he had no other way to escape so they would be able to hunt him down. Jack’s group seemed like they lost faith in them
getting rescued and it looked like the turned into being savages and being evil.
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.
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.
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.
The conch shell symbolizes the law and order among the children who trapped in the deserted tropical island. It is used to call the groups of the boys to assembly in a certain place. Ralph, the chief and the central leadership of the group is responsible to take care the conch. The conch shell represents the authority which the boys must obey. The conch is an instrument like a trumpet blowing to order the boys. Finally, the conch shell is broken down into pieces and the leadership is torn down and abandoned. The atmosphere of the island society collapses into chaos and no longer peace remind.
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...
Being a part of a group of children having to adapt after being trapped on a island with no surrounding civilization is an unimaginable situation. However, William Golding shows just how terrifying it can be in his novel, Lord Of The Flies, by his use of symbols to represent hardships. The main symbols, which best portrays characteristics are the fire and the conch; symbols leadership and confidence.
Symbolism pervades throughout the entire narrative of Lord of the Flies and is used to illustrate the fears and tensions that exist within the boys trapped on the island. One of the novel's strength is that it weaves these vivid symbols together to assist its themes and ideas rather than labour them.
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a novel about British schoolboys, who survived on an island after the plane crash. This novel is an allegory: It is a literary work in which each character, event, or object is symbolic outside of the novel. It is allegorical in the level of society in terms of three major symbols. The conch symbolizes civilization, and helps to possess an organized law and order. Next, Jack, as the main antagonist in the novel, represents a savage in the society. Furthermore, the fire signifies the return of civilization and conflicts within the society. Thus, Lord of the Flies is an allegory for society since it represents good governance, humanity’s innate cruelty, and struggles to the return of its civilization.
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.
The “Lord of the flies” has begun to gain popularity across the globe mainly because of the way it was written. The characters were well thought out. They offered a realistic glance into the life of the story. But, with anything good, there tend to be some noteworthy points that made the storyline a bit confusing. One of the main flaws in “Lord of the Flies” was the use of symbols. The symbols were placed randomly and made the flow difficult to manage. Any English professor would tilt their head in dissatisfaction as the story started out great, but towards the end, the pieces of the story began to falter. Hopefully, after reading this essay
Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, took place on an isolated tropical island. There were many symbolic items within the story, and their meanings changed as the story developed. The fire was the symbol of hope and civilization at the beginning of the novel, but at the end it had become a fire of destruction. Ralph, in the beginning of the book, stood for leadership and almost perfection, however as the story progresses, he was nothing more than a normal human. The beast, upon its first appearance, symbolized fear, but soon, it represented the savagery within them. The different symbolic figures within the book, such as the fire, Ralph, and the beast, shifted in meaning as the story develops.
Golding uses the signal fire as symbolism in order to highlight the ways some people fight against darkness and others allow it to control them. The signal fire illustrates the theme by showing the boys eager effort to build the fire, in hope of humanity. When thinking of ways to potentially be rescued, Ralph states, “We can help them to find us...we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire” (Golding 38). The boys are anxious to keep the fire going because to them rescue is right around the corner. They use this
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the boys who are stranded on the island come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of symbols such as the beast, the pig's head, and even Piggy's specs, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules and taboos, allow their natural capacity for evil to dominate their existence.
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.
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.