Symbols within “Lord of the Flies”
William Golding said that his novel “Lord of the Flies was symbolic from exposition to conclusion. Golding’s symbols vary and change throughout the novel to convey a greater moral representation of the story. The boy’s learn a lot, as well does the reader. One gets a greater understanding of Golding’s integrity in the symbols he places in the novel. In “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding there is a multitude of symbols with various meanings during the novel; such as: the conch, the pig’s head/Lord of the flies, and Piggy’s spectacles.
The very first symbol one may notice in the beginning of the story is the conch; which represents order to the boys. Golding first presents the shell as a symbol of order
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in the text when he says, “Him with the shell.” “Ralph! Ralph!” “Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing.” The author, Golding shows that the boy with the conch, Ralph, should be chief. This first presents the conch with a meaning of leadership because the new chief is holding on to it. This gives one the thought as to how the conch will be used later. William Golding also shows a form of order with the shell when he says, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” This part of the text shows the boys using the conch as a “talking stick” or a holder of the boys individual turns to speak. This shows how the use the conch in a way to show obedience, rule, and respect for each other’s turn to speak with the help of the conch. Author William Golding shows loss of the conch when he says, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” In this moment one realizes that all order within the boys has perished. The conch is gone, and so is all integrity as well. The boys are barbarous, merciless, and uncouth. The conch symbolizes all the order the boys had to them, that is often not prioritized. Another symbol one may notice next is Piggy’s spectacles; they symbolize amelioration, permutation, and revelation. The boys come to a discovery when Jack says, “His specs- use them as burning glasses!” This shows true ingenious of a young, creative mind. The boys come up with a great idea to start a necessary fire. This reveals the boys might be smarter than they thought they were. Golding also tells the importance of the spectacles when he says, “Ralph moves 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. Almost at once a thin trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough. Jack knelt too and blew gently so that the smoke drifted away, thickening, and a tiny flame appeared.” The “specs” create fine in an exclusive way. This shows how the boys break the last tie of humanity in order to obtain the privilege of fire. This displays the intelligence that the boys possess to think of such a creative way to start a fire. The most significant symbol within the novel is the pig’s head/the lord of the flies that symbolizes the nefariousness and vileness that dwells within everyone.
The author first introduces the lord of the flies when he says to Simon, “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill. You knew didn’t you? I’m part of you. Close, close, close. I’m the reason why it’s a no go? Why things are the way they are?” This quote shows the evil within talking directly to the boy. Lord of the flies is translated to Beelzebub, or more commonly known as the devil; which is quite a strong symbol put in the novel. The little devil that lives within the boys quite literally talks to the boys in forms of visions. The author continues with the pig’s head as a symbol for evil and the devil when he states, “You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there- so don’t try to escape.” In this quote the pig says he will only meet the boy “down there”, as in hell. The head intends to meet in hell and says it is the only way to meet him. Golding really continues his first use of the dark, Satan-like symbol that is the lord of the flies.
Golding then shows the head symbolizes the devil again when he says, “What are you doing out there all alone? Aren’t you afraid of me?” This shows that the head is used to people being scared of him, which could be a very obvious characteristic in the devil. One wonders why he asks if Simon is afraid. The devil is calling out and taunting Simon. The pig’s
head represents the evil that lurks within all of us. William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” has a myriad of symbols throughout the novel; like the conch, Piggy’s spectacles, and the pig’s head. The author shows this story means much more than unfledged boys trying to survive. Golding uses these symbols in a very unique ways. A lot of things tend to be more than what they seem.
That symbol represents the evil within the boys because that is a symbol of a violent death of a pig. It represents how Simon saw how people thought it was the beast but really the idea of the beast was inside all of them and the evil they thought was in the island was inside everyone. When Simon goes to tell everyone that there is no beast, they kill him. Golding also states that “They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned.” This quote shows the evil within man through the Lord of the Flies because the pig head is black. Black is usually a color that represents evil and darkness. Simon saw the evil right in front of him in the form of a pig’s head. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that he is not wanted in the island. Golding shows in this quote, ‘“Simon’s body was arched and stiff. The Lord of the Flies spoke in the voice of a schoolmaster. “This has gone quite far enough. My poor, misguided child, do you think you know better than I do?”There was a pause. “I’m warning you. I’m going to get angry. D’you see? You’re not wanted.’ The Lord of the Flies thinks that Simon is not wanted with and that Simon isn’t as smart as the Lord of the
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.
D.H. Lawrence once said, “This is the very worst wickedness, that we refuse to acknowledge the passionate evil that is in us. This makes us secret and rotten.” Sir William Golding tells about the evil and sadistic things that can be expressed throughout humanity in his novel, Lord of the Flies. Lord of the Flies is a translation of the Hebrew name for Satan, Beelzebub. In the novel, William Golding portrays the boys’ descent from civilization to savagery through the following symbols: the conch shell, Piggy’s glasses, and the Lord of the Flies.
In the story, Lord of the Flies, there are many biblical allusions; Simon represents Jesus, the pig’s head represents Satan or rather their satanic sides, Jack represents Judas, and the island represents the Garden of Eden. Through out this novel these allusions play large parts in the story and ideals place in the story.
The title, Lord of the Flies, refers to the pig’s head that was placed on a spear and worshiped by the young boys on the island. In other words, the boys have chosen to believe in a fake deity, much like the people of Israel, who built golden calves to worship. And along with these fake gods comes along sacrifices, such as the head was for the beast as Jack stated, “This head is for the beast. It’s a gift” (137). Additionally, the lord of the flies is also known as Beelzebub, an Egyptian god that was linked with the 4th plague, as one of the ten plagues God sent over Egypt through Moses. To further suggest a biblical allusion, Beelzebub is deemed a demon within The Bible and is one of the many vividly described embodiments of evil within the book: “At least Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood – and his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition” (138). Golding effectively uses the lord of the flies as a biblical allusion because he is able to exploit the underlying tone of subtle evil that begins to surface within the boys, through their worship of a disgusting thing. However, the allusion loses its power if the readers were unacquainted with The...
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.
Beforehand, everything was all fun and games on the island, and Piggy was the only one that actually worried about anything. However, the idea of the beast brought fear to them again and again. Whether it was when it was first mentioned as a snake, or when it was thought to come from the sea, or when it was guessed to be ghosts, the idea of something being there at the island made the boys afraid even though there was no actual evidence of the beast. Golding wrote, “‘He says in the morning it turned into them things like ropes in the trees and hung in the branches. He say will it come back tonight?’ ‘But there isn’t a beastie!’ There was no laughter at all now and more grave watching.’” At the idea there there was some sort of mysterious fearsome monster that might come after the boys, the previously joyous atmosphere quickly bursted as fear settles on them. Though the beast only symbolized fear in the beginning, by the latter parts of the novel, it had become a representation of the savagery within a human. Simon was the first one to notice, at how he pointed out how maybe the beast lived within themselves. Also, Jack’s bloody offering to the beast, the sow’s head, represented how the darkness has taken over the hunters. Their belief in the beast strength as their savagery increased, it was almost as if they worshipped it, leaving offerings and such. Also, the Lord
The rumors of its existence scare the smaller children, but also become the catalyst for Jack and his group to indulge their savageness, due to their desire to hunt it down and kill it. The boys are driven to madness because of it. This “beastie” is the titular Lord of the Flies, or Beelzebub, who in the New Testament is identified as the Devil – a symbol of evil. When one of the characters, Simon, stumbles across the beastie it is revealed that it is a pig’s head on a stick. The pig was brutally stabbed by Jack and his hunters in a frenzy, as the pig squealed in pain. This act of savagery solidifies the loss of innocence and the embracement of evil. Simon hallucinates the head talking to him. “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?” (Golding 158) The Lord of the Flies suggests that his presence is the reason for the boys’ descent into savagery and madness, beginning with the children’s fear of the beast’s existence, followed by Jack’s brutality when killing the pig as well as his transformation into a savage, finally culminating in the frenzied murder of Simon at the hands of the children who mistake him for the beast. While they are beating Simon to death they are also chanting "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" (Golding 168) and dancing around him, similarly to a tribe of savages. The killing of a fellow human being is the biggest sign that evil has enveloped the hearts of the
One of the most important themes running through the whole story in Lord of the Flies by William Golding is the power of different symbols. Golding frequently uses symbolism, which is the practice of using symbols, especially by investing in things with a symbolic meaning. The main point of each symbol is its use and its effect on each of the characters. They help shape who the characters are and what they will be. The symbols weave their way throughout the story and are more powerful than they first seem.
One of the most important and most obvious symbols in Lord of the Flies is the object that gives the novel its name, the pig's head. Golding's description of the slaughtered animal's head on a spear is very graphic and even frightening. The pig's head is depicted as "dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood blackening between the teeth," and the "obscene thing" is covered with a "black blob of flies" that "tickled under his nostrils" (William Golding, Lord of the Flies, New York, Putnam Publishing Group, 1954, p. 137, 138). As a result of this detailed, striking image, the reader becomes aware of the great evil and darkness represented by the Lord of the Flies, and when Simon begins to converse with the seemingly inanimate, devil-like object, the source of that wickedness is revealed. Even though the conversation may be entirely a hallucination, Simon learns that the beast, which has long since frightened the other boys on the island, is not an external force. In fact, the head of the slain pig tells him, "Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! Ö You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you?" (p. 143). That is to say, the evil, epitomized by the pig's head, that is causing the boys' island society to decline is that which is inherently present within man. At the end of this scene, the immense evil represented by this powerful symbol can once again be seen as Simon faints after looking into the wide mouth of the pig and seeing "blackness within, a blackness that spread" (p. 144).
Golding drives the point that the instinctual evil within man is inescapable. At one point in the book, when the Lord of the Flies is representing all evil, this theory is stated as, "The Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon" (Golding 130). Along with this idea is the religious symbolism that is used for ineffectively confronting the evil. At a point in the book, Golding has Simon, symbolic of Jesus Christ, confront the Lord of the Flies. This is a pig's head on a stick that is imagined to talk and represent the evil in all humans. Simon tries to act and spread the knowledge of this evil to others but is killed. This is a direct reference to the death of Christ, alluding to the Holy Bible.
Lord of the Flies is a novel that is all about symbols that have different powers which is used on the boys. Two of the symbols which are the conch and the sow’s head contain powers that are opposite of each other and they have a great affect on the boys. Lord of the Flies would be a different story without symbols. The conch has the powers that lead to civilization and order. It represents the authority that the boys will need to get rescued from the island. The sow’s head on the other hand represents the evil powers to lead the boys to total chaos and savagery which is created by Jack. Jack has used one of the sow’s head’s symbolism which is the beast to control his group. The conch has a power that is used for order and civilization, while the sow’s head has a power to control evil and savagery.
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.