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Character Symbolization In William Golding's The Lord Of The Flies

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William Golding Lord of the Flies Character Symbolization

“Symbolism is no mere idle fancy or corrupt degeneration: it is inherent in the very texture of human life” (Alfred North Whitehead). Throughout life, individuals unknowingly symbolize objects and even other individuals who affiliate with them. Over time, they will begin to see other individuals as what they represent rather than who they are, which becomes an important aspect throughout the rest of their lives. In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, the characters of Ralph represents order and leadership, the character of Piggy symbolizes intelligence and knowledge, and Jack illustrates chaos within mankind.

Ralph, who is the protagonist and plays the role as chief over the boys, represents order and leadership. Throughout the novel, Ralph attempts to keep the boys civil with each other by getting them to work with one another. From building a fire and shelter tents to making efficient rules to obey, Ralph gets the boys to all get along for a while, until they start to go stir crazy and break rules due to being deserted on an island for a long period of time. “We ought to have more rules” (Golding). As Ralph says this, he is referring back to when the boys just previously let the fire go out because of their carelessness as well as the fact that the boys were breaking rules and starting to act like savages. The character of Ralph plays an important role within the time period of all of

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