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The novel “Lord of the Flies” contains many examples of symbolism in which Golding has incorporated to represent ideas or concepts. Using these elements Golding demonstrates an important theme in social power relations, which center on two different power systems. Democratic system, with Ralph as the head, and a Dictatorial system with Jack as leader. At the beginning of the novel Piggy finds a Conch shell which throughout the novel becomes a very powerful symbol, symbolizing social order, respect and power. Ralph and Piggy decide to use it every time they want to call for a meeting. “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us” (P. 12) the boys impose a rule of the conch on themselves, deciding that no …show more content…
one can speak unless he’s holding the conch. Everybody must listen, and they won’t be interrupted except by Ralph, who is the chief. They must treat each other equally and fairly. After they find the conch they come up with the idea that if they want to be rescued they must start a Fire.
The fire is a complicated symbol in “Lord of the Flies” because it represents technology. Yet like the atomic bombs destroying the world around the boy’s island, fire is a technology that threatens destruction if it gets out of control. The Fire also symbolizes the boy’s connection to human civilization. “There’s another thing. We can help them to find us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire. A fire! Make a fire!” (P.37) Their signal fire gives them hope to be rescued and take them back to civilization. Piggy’s Glasses are significant to the boys as they are the tool with which Ralph can get a fire started, to attract ships nearby. “Ralph moved the lenses back and forth, this way and that , till a glossy white image of the declining sun lay on a piece of rotten wood” (P.40). Symbolically, the glasses are significant because they represent the intellectual and ordered side of humanity. The breaking of the glasses represents the breaking of the last tie to humanity that the boys have. After this event, it is a downward spiral into primal and animalistic behaviour, culminating in Piggy’s death. The glasses are also symbolic of Piggy’s character; his rational thinking and ability to see solutions to the boys’ predicaments. Once the glasses are stolen and Piggy cannot see, he is unable to further help Ralph to maintain …show more content…
civilization. The imagery Beastie that frightens all the littluns is another very important symbol in “Lord of the Flies”.
It represents the savagery and the human dark side that exists within each of us. Simon is the only one who can talk to the beast and realizes that there is nothing to be scared of, as they are the beast. “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! Said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are”
(P.158) The pig's head is also known as “Lord of the Flies”. It is a symbol of the fight for power between Ralph and Jack, for it is the head of a dead pig that Jack had hunted, while Ralph had only focused on the fire. “Simon shook. There isn’t anyone to help you only me. And I’m the Beast” (P.158) The pigs head itself said that it was the beast. The Naval officer represents the chance of rescue to the stranded boys. He surveys the war- painted and dirty child holding sharp sticks but initially dismisses their activities as fun and games “Their bodies streaked with coloured clay, sharp sticks in their hands, were standing on the beach making no noise at all. Fun and games, said the officer” (P.223) When Ralph explains about the two dead bodies, the officer begins to understand what has happened. The creepers are vines that grow all over the island, which symbolize evil. As well as, the pig is finding entangle in creepers as they are everywhere. It also, symbolizes how the boys are entangled in evil as they lose civility and become savages. The dead paratrooper represents somehow a link with the outside world. However, the paratrooper is dead, which represents the war taking place outside the island. Symbolically, he represents the evil and fear throughout the island. The boys believe that he is the beast and are afraid to travel to the top of the mountain. The conch shell, the fire, Piggy’s glasses, bestie, pig’s head, the naval officer, the creepers and the dead paratrooper are only a few symbols that Golding uses in the novel “Lord of the Flies” to represent many ideas and concepts. As well as, the use of these symbols helps to conveys many of his main ideas and the novel’s theme, Civilization vs. Savagery (Democratic system and Dictatorial). .
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 evil in man is seen in many parts of life and it could be only be brought out when they have the power and position to do it. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding symbolism is used to show the theme of the Inherent Evil of Man through the conch, the Lord of the Flies, and the fire. The breaking of the conch shows how the boys forget authority and destroy their only symbol of civilization. The Lord of the Flies shows the violence of the boys, and the temptation of the evil Lord of the Flies. The fire shows how something used for rescue and hope is turned into something violent and evil. The fire burns down trees and parts of the island when the savage boys are trying to kill Ralph.
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.
Authority plays a vital role in the modern world through contrasting forms of government and the struggle for power between leaders. The leader of a society asserts power over its citizens with the aim to create the laws, which hold the society together. Once authority is demolished within a community, the power spreads to its citizens in which total chaos collectively overtakes the society. The process of law-making and a struggle for power takes precedence in William Golding’s allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, through the conch shell found upon the shore. The conch grants superiority to one member of the group over the others, it is used to call assemblies and assists in choosing the speakers during important meetings. When the conch
...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.
Golding uses the conch shell, which Ralph and Piggy find, to demonstrate a source of leadership and order within the civilization. As the conch becomes a source of authority and assembly, it “becomes no less than the basic challenge to the Tribe to choose between democracy and anarchy, civilization and savagery” (Gregor). As order decreases within the civilization the boys are forced to choose between Ralph, who symbolizes order, and Jack, who symbolizes savagery and chaos. The boys quickly join forces with Jack, which is their first step of their decline into savagery. One of their final falls into savagery was when Roger rolled the boulder into Piggy and “the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). By the conch breaking, order on the island was completely gone and the physical violence began to increase as chaos started to occur. In Kathleen Woodward’s article, “On Aggression: William Golding’s Lord of the Flies,” Woodward says that “children require strict supervision and constant discipline, for without these, they pose a serious threat to the adult world” (Woodward). As the rules for the adult world were made to keep order so were the rules and tasks that Ralph had assigned. Rules are cru...
The fire represents the domination and manipulation of nature and therefore the return to civility. It is important to note that the fire is in a new location. The new fire represents a new society engineered by Piggy and founded upon knowledge.
At the start of the novel Golding displays the power oA lifeless conch and a sow's head two meanless objects that changed structured English school boys to savages in the matter of days. At the start of the novel Golding uses the conch to show the power of structure and civilization on the island. As the book goes on Golding shows the decline of the conch and the rise of the sow’s head. At the end of the book Golding displays full power to the sow’s head and complete loss of power to the conch . In Lord of the flies Golding uses symbolism via the conch and the sow’s head to show gradual loss of structure and the rise of savagery.
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.
Using plot and characters, Golding depicts the conch as a symbol of civilization, democracy, and law and order. As a tool used to summon the boys to assemblies, the conch holds significant influence as a makeshift authority figure—one powerful enough to establish some semblance of order and civilization amongst the boys despite a complete lack of adult supervision. Ralph, the boys...
These glasses are very symbolic. They don’t just represent Piggy, but all the boys and how they must survive on the island although they do not realize its importance yet. 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 to set him apart from the others. He’s symbolized as a grown-up figure that has common sense. He is the most rational boy in the group; making his glasses also symbolize logical reasoning within society. But he was completely disrespected as Jacks says in the novel, “ ‘you’re talking too much fatty.’ ” (Golding 18) The glasses don’t just represent Piggy and what he stands for, but for everyone else as
Another of the most important symbols used to present the theme of the novel is the beast. In the imaginations of many of the boys, the beast is a tangible source of evil on the island. However, in reality, it represents the evil naturally present within everyone, which is causing life on the island to deteriorate. Simon begins to realize this even before his encounter with the Lord of the Flies, and during one argument over the existence of a beast, he attempts to share his insight with the others.
It comes when Jack and ragtag group of followers kills a sow and leaves the head in the jungle as an offering for the beast to leave them alone. “This head is for the beast. It is a gift” (197). This strikes out to me as an important part of the book because it symbolizes so many things to me. It symbolizes hatred, jealousy, hope, and fear.
In order for William Golding to shape a perpetual tone and mood for the Lord of The Flies, outstanding symbolism must be used to inadvertently show the reader a bigger picture. Symbolism is an amazing feat and technique utilized by some authors to get across a larger point, and it proves to be very effective. Many different entities within this novel are used explicitly to explain symbolism and get across a higher point. Piggy 's glasses for control and power as well as necessity, the fire for rescue and destruction, the beast for savagery and illusion, the Lord of the Flies for evil, and the conch for power, civility and society. Remember, even a pair of glasses can mean the world to someone else, so don 't break or steal
Forsaken by all the boys, Ralph was forced to live alone with Piggy and the twins because he does not want to be a part of the band of savages. There came a time where Jack and his savages need fire from Ralph and the only way to make fire on the island was to use Piggy's glasses. Clearly, the savage side of Jack and the other boys has overtaken the civilized side. The boys start out as civilized people and, after a time on the island, most of them turn savage and did some very horrible things that they will most likely regret later on in life.