The Lord of the Flies is a novel full of powerful symbolism, as illustrated by the scene in chapter 8 where Simon encounters the “beast” as he roams free through the forest glade. When he sees it, the Lord of The Flies begins to speak. It taunts him and frightens him, saying, “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! . . . You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?” This confirms Simon’s beliefs of the beast, being the darkness, greed, and savagery that exists within us; not another being. He realizes that the beast is not a physical entity, but a mere reflection of the boy’s most dark and powerful qualities that come to light as they spend more time on the island. He then finds out that the “beast”, is actually a dead …show more content…
The beast is represented through Simon’s blood, because he was the first to realize that the beast lives within us. The beast itself represents the fear within each individual at the island. The novel suggests that without fear, the beast would hold no power over the boys and that the more savagely the boys act, the more real the beast will seem to them. However, The Lord of the Flies is the most important and characteristic symbol of the novel. In its physical sense, The Lord of the Flies is a mutilated pig’s head impaled on a stake in the forest glade. It was set there by Jack as an offering to the beast. Simon confronts it and learns that evil lies within every human heart, it becomes a representation of power, greed, and evil. These symbols appear throughout the novel various times, as they are representative of the over all themes. For example, the themes found in “The Lord of the Flies” are one’s of “civilization vs. savagery”, “individual and society”, the “loss of innocence”, “inhumanity towards other humans”, the “nature of evil”, the “nature of tragedy”, and “fear”. The Lord of the Flies is connected with the loss of innocence because the creature represents attributes found in adults, not children, such as greed and immorality. It may also be connected to the theme, “nature of evil”, because the Lord of the Flies represented malice and corruption. The “nature of evil” simply states that all things carry wickedness within themselves, which is clearly stated by the lord himself. The beast supports the theme of “fear” because it insights panic and dismay amongst the boys. It demonstrates that no matter your good nature, intelligence, leadership skills, or strong will, there is always darkness that may arise in time of crisis. It shows that through the lack of order and organization, boys, especially at that young age, will channel the instincts of the
Simon is often referred to as the beast during this chapter, showing how the boys are only seeing him as an animal that they must hunt and kill. Found on page 153, Golding writes, “There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” This use of words with a very negative and animalistic connotation brings about a feeling that the boys have changed quite a lot whilst being on the island, and are no longer hunting for meat, but to satisfy an animalistic instinct inside of them, as Golding depicts in
The Lord of the Flies represents evil. No matter how someone is raised or taught hos to live, deep inside us there is still and undeveloped way of thinking. The boar’s head, which the Lord of the Flies takes over, signifies the savagery of the boys and how they have changed. They went from being civilized to
In William Golding’s “Lord Of The Flies” Novel, symbolism is a very important element of the book, Many symbols show how the boys on the island are slowly becoming savage and losing their civility.
“ He says in the morning it turned into them things like ropes in the trees and hung in the branches. He says will it come back tonight?” In the Lord of the Flies, a group of boys are stranded on an isolated, unnamed island. These boys are being pursued by an unidentifiable “beast”. However, what does this “beast” symbolize or represent? Over time the understanding of the “beast” materializes in various forms.
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boys are stuck on an island by themselves in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. During this time Golding takes humans back to their roots of evil, and shows how no person is different in how far they will go. The beast in Lord of the Flies helps represent this in how it reveals the fear of the boys. The beast does represent other things that push the boys over the edge, satan is one of those things. By the end the boys have become savages because of this beast they have created inside their head.
One of the major themes of Lord of the Flies, deals with the struggle between right and wrong and the moral integrity of a society. As soon as the boys realize that they are alone on the island, the battle between right and wrong begins. Ralph emerges as the chief and plans to begin a civilized society. When the boys are left to their own devices, chaos ensues. Some of the boys would rather hunt and kill than build shelter, so Jack’s tribe becomes increasingly popular. Without the existence of rules and refinement, there is little hope for the future of the boys. The beast plays a big role in this theme because it lurks inside everyone. The evils lie within and choices have to be made to survive, whether through smart thinking or
Oftentimes authors will use symbolism through the characters in order to represent a larger encompassing theme. William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies is no exception to this pattern—as various characters in the book have such allegorical meanings. In the case of Jack, he could be said to represent the evilness in humanity, proven by three established concepts in the story: the true nature of his hunting tendencies, the progression of events that happen in his dancing rituals, and his interactions towards other symbolic figures. These three reasons, furthered by evidence shown throughout the novel, fit Jack into a role of symbolic evilness (add something here).
During the meeting where the boys are questioning the reality of the beast, Simon says this,”What I mean is...maybe it’s only us”(Golding 89). While everyone else is debating on whether or not the beast is real, Simon is trying to propose that the actual beast is the boys themselves in the form of their savage impulses. Simon is the first character in the novel to see the beast as the evil nature of humans instead of a physical being. The Lord of the Flies confirms Simon’s thought, saying,”Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!...You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close!”(Golding 143). This establishes that the only thing to fear on the island is the evil human instinct inside of
A beast in man’s eyes can be many different things, this remains true in William Golding’s Lord of the flies. Golding’s novel takes place with a group of schoolboys on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. Without the guidance of grown-ups, the boys imaginations and fears run wild. So in Lord of the flies, what does the “beast” really represent? The representation of the so-called “beast” is ever changing throughout the novel.
Throughout the novel Lord Of The Flies, the boys on the island are continuously faced with numerous fears. Subsequently there is nothing on the island which they fear more than the beast. The beast is not a tangible object that can be killed or destroyed by conventional means, but an idea symbolizing the primal savage instincts within all people. Its Golding’s intention to illustrate the innate evil inside man through his view of human nature, the actions of the Jack and his tribe, and the relationship between the beast and the school boys.
confide in the conch and when the conch is held up, it is a sign of
Lord of the Flies: William Golding has said that his novel Lord of the Flies was symbolic from the beginning until the end when the boys are rescued. During the course of the novel these symbols are constantly changing, giving us a new interpretation of the island society.
He talks of a slithering object at night that tries to get him while he is asleep. There are many other accounts of a beast, even a pig’s head and a parachutist who did not make it. The Beast represents the fear that the boys have and everyone. The Beast is altered or changed depending on the boy who speaks of it because they are all scared and afraid of what might be out there or what might come to be. However, after Simon is killed and the parachutist is gone, they believe the beast is gone.
This reminds Jack and Ralph that there is a chance that the beast is real and there may be reason for all the fear. It also reveals that Simon's character is very much in touch with reality. He is not trying to push the fact that a beast could be on the island away from him. He is trying to deal with his fear and show the others that they can and should deal with theirs.
The encounter with the Lord of the Flies supports Simon’s thoughts that the beast that the boys are hunting for is not an actual animal. The Lord of the Flies tries to persuade Simon to let go of his rational thoughts and be taken over by his primal instincts in order to have fun like the other boys. However, when Simon’s silence declares that he refuses to let go of logic and rationality, the Lord of the Flies realizes that Simon knows what the beast really is—the innermost part of the boys. Simon seems to make this connection that the Lord of the Flies is representational to the inner beast within the boys almost instantly. “His gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition”(Golding 139). Simon instantly The Lord of the Flies quickly makes the connection, too. “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, 1 ). The Lord of the Flies is symbolic to all the evil that is in humans. As Simon realizes that he was right about the beast, he tries to go back to the other boys to warn them about his discovery, but the Lord of the Flies gets angry. “This is ridiculous. You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there—so don’t try to