What Does The Fire Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

Authors use symbolism in writing to enhance the story and convey meaning and imagery to the reader. These symbols can be comprised of an object, person, situation, events or actions that have a deeper meaning in context. Many symbols were used in Lord Of The Flies. Many of which symbolized the progression of civility to savagery. Some of these symbols included the fire, Simon's clearing, and Piggy's specs. These symbols added dramatic effect and a deeper meaning to the story. Of all the symbols, the fire was predominantly the most important throughout the novel. The fire in Lord of The Flies began as hope, turned into death, and concluded as a savior.

The fire demonstrated hope as it was used to signal boats in nearby water. The boys arrived on the island and slowly found each other. After they established Ralph as the leader, he gathered the boys to address the importance of the fire. He stated, “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us, So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire” (Golding 51). The lost boys were stranded on an unknown island

without any adult supervision. The boys main goal in the beginning was to get back to their homes. Knowing that society does not know where they were, Ralph emphasized the importance of the fire because the fire was a chance for a ship to notice them. As the story progressed, the meaning of the fire changed from hope to death.
While the boys turned into the savages, the fires symbolized death because it was used to plan Ralph’s death.

A preeminent conflict, Ralph and Jack competed for power in the novel. While time away from civilization prolonged, Jacks morals and determination from right and wrong decreased. As a result, Jack used desperate measures such as the fire to steal complete power from Ralph. Golding stated, “Then Ralph was running beneath trees, with the grumble of the forest explained. They had smoked him out and set the island on fire.” (283). While the boys spent more time away from civilization, their ferocious and violent characteristics became evident. The symbol of death clearly shows this progression from civil to savages because the boys took fierce, violent, and uncontrolled actions to plan Ralph’s death. In addition to death, the fire ultimately symbolized a savior in the end of the

book.
The Fire was the most important idea of Ralph’s and it has symbolized a savior because it was the reason the boys were saved from the island. Although intended to kill Ralph, the smoke of the fire caused a naval officer to notice the island. A naval officer saw the smoke and went to the island. Upon the naval officer’s arrival he saw the boys. He said, “We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war or something” (Golding 288). The naval officer appeared while Ralph was being chased by Jack’s vicious group to kill him. This then showed that the fire both saved Ralph's life from the brutal boys and saved the boys from the island. Therefore, the fire ultimately ends symbolizing a savior.
In conclusion, a pivotal symbol in the story which helped convey meaning, the fire started as a symbol of hope. As the boys started to change, the symbol of the fire changed into death and ultimately concluded as a savior when they were rescued. In the beginning, the boys were adamant of getting home and the fire symbolized hope. While the boys progressed into savages, the meaning of the fire has changed into death. Ultimately, the fire symbolizes a savior because it was the reason a naval officer noticed the island. Even though the fire changed its meaning through the story, it most accurately represented the internal change of the boys from civil boys to savages.