How Does William Goulding Use Symbols In Lord Of The Flies

In the beginning of Lord of The Flies, the author first recognized the beast as a representation of fear. The author claims in Document A that Claire Rosefield interprets it as a symbol of fear. The text states that there are “no comforting mothers to dispel the terrors of the unknown” and that “they externalize these fears into the figure of a beast.” In Document B, the image of fear becomes clear. Golding starts further developing this image when the boy with the mulberry birthmark claims to have seen the beast.

Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel in which every person, place, thing, and event creates a parallel to another theme or idea. Golding uses these symbols to represent a much more complex idea. Overall, symbolism played an important role to develop the plot, as well as the overall theme. The main theme portrayed throughout the novel is the idea that savagery is within every person. Golding’s use of various symbols throughout Lord of the Flies, including the conch, the fire, Piggy’s glasses, and Ralph’s hair, show the boys’ gradual loss of civilization as events on the island bring out the savagery within them.

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

Lord of the Flies, a suggestive name for the Devil, a devil whose name proposes that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization and panic, exactly what William Golding had in mind when using symbolism in this novel. The Lord of the Flies (1954), is a novel in which interpretating the symbols are a main key to not only understanding, but also enjoying the novel. After tying many of the symbols together, you can figure out more about what the author is trying to depict, the overall scene.

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.

Symbols and characters play major roles in representing power in works of literature. Therefore, an author uses these ‘symbols of power’ to control the characters and the overall course of the work. In Lord of the Flies symbols are both used by the characters and stand on their own. Fire on the island is a dual blade and Lord of the Flies impedes on progression. While these two symbols stand on their own, the characters use and are used by them. Ralph leads the boys to advancement while Jack stands as his opposition, both using other symbols of power to assist them.

confide in the conch and when the conch is held up, it is a sign of

All throughout this novel the boys are called to meetings to discuss the rules, the fire, and many other assorted things. One of these things is a beast that comes in the night but does not leave foot prints or any trail at any time. All the boys are very afraid of this beast and what it may do to them if it gets hold of them. As it turns out the beast is in the boys: "'You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you?'"(172). This is the "lord of the flies," also known as the beast, talking to Simon the first boy murdered. The beast is their unwillingness to maintain a civilization; it is their transformation into savages. All the time at all these meetings the boys respect the conch and whoever held the conch was respected, even if he was not liked. Once this symbol of

One of the main problems that the boys had on the island was the beast. In their minds the beast was a terrible creature that was out to kill them. Their fear of the beast ruined

The boys were trapped on the island for a very long time by themselves, isolated from civilization. This was extremely difficult for them, as one could only imagine what the boys went through both physically and emotionally. The island is one of the many symbols in the novel, symbolizing a new beginning, “paradise” for the boys. This is a chance for the boys to create a

“Maybe ... maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us”(William Golding). In the novel Lord of The Flies, William Golding exhibits the symbolism and representation of the beast. The beast represents the norm of society and how most citizens are conceived to evil. As the novel progresses, the reader's perspective of the beast transforms from a possibly harmful animal into to a representation of human civilization and how humans are ignorant and oblivious when it becomes survival of the fittest. The concept of the beast changes significantly during the novel from first the beast on land, then to the beast in the air and finally to the beast within the kids themselves.

Symbolism is a huge part of Lord of the Flies by William Golding. For example, the Lord of the Flies plays a huge role in how the story folds out. When Simon was talking to the pig’s head, it said “‘There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I am the Beast’” (Golding 143). From this, the readers can understand that the pig’s head is the Beast. The narrator refers to the beast as the Lord of the Flies throughout the times he speaks with Simon. In the bible, Beelzebub is the chief of demons, who is said to evoke the beast in everyone. He is known for going by the name “Lord of the Flies”. While the head was talking to Simon, he said “‘...You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there - so don’t try to escape’” (Golding 143). Here,

The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is an allegory that connects the boys’ behavior in the novel to the basic behavior of human nature. In the novel, the boys fear a wild beast that has the potential to kill them off. However, Simon, a quiet boy, finds that the beast is not an animal that everyone should fear, but is a part of each boy himself.

Lord Of The Flies is a novel that challenges human nature in an interesting way. Let us think of what would happen if you dropped a plane full of boys on an island to fend for themselves. At first, there would be some sense of structure, but as life would go on that structure would dissolve, as it did, as well as any other societal rules they brought with them. Without these rules and regulations, boys will turn to savages or even let the beast come out. The question is what turns them; is it their fear, is it a real beast or is it how they truly would be without structure. The monster in Golding’s novel is not someone or something, but simply a manifestation that lives within us all and that is proven when the “Beast” speaks to Simon, when Simon and Piggy are murdered, and when Jack and his tribe go after Ralph.