Light And Dark In Lord Of The Flies

In scholarly studies, symbolism and imagery apply to enhance a reader’s knowledge of theme development. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the general theme is the conflict between human inclination towards savagery and the rules of civilization. The purpose of symbolism and imagery is essential to the theme development of civilization versus savagery. Three symbols used to illustrate the theme of civilization versus savagery throughout the story are the conch shell, the conflict between Jack and Ralph and the hunter’s painted faces.

These literary devices are used oftentimes all at once to further emphasize points of Golding’s theme, constantly dichotomising symbols throughout the book. Golding’s most important symbol is the Lord of the Flies: the character representing the evil within all mankind, the evil that lead to the murders of Piggy and Simon, the evil that led Jack to hatred and cruelty, the evil that almost killed Ralph. Golding’s point resonates throughout all society, not as the musing of a shell-shocked former soldier, but as a truth of human nature: Mankind is truly, unadulteratedly, and by nature, evil and savage; the only force holding Man in civility is their own selfishness, motivating cooperation for an individual’s own

Lord of the Flies is often claimed to be an allegory of modern society. While this is true, Golding’s intentions in writing this novel are much deeper. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies provides an enlightening insight into the true nature of human beings; along with why people refrain from acting upon the evil that resides within them. He presents these ideas through symbolism within the novel and it proves effective in many ways. Through symbolism, Golding can unfold the excellent plot of his novel, while subsequently sharing his ideas on the relationship of mankind and society. Golding uses the beast, the conch shell, and Piggy’s glasses to symbolize the human impulse towards ‘savagery’ and the social constructs put in place to prevent it.

The imaginary beast that scares the teenage boys stands as the savagery existing within all human beings. The beast scares all the boys but only Simon reaches the realization that exists within each of them.As I said before, the boys are afraid of the something in their imagination, which applies as the beast. This is apart of their imagination, which means the evil part among us. In the book, Piggy begins to say that the beast is just fear and Simon tells them, "Maybe, maybe there is a beast what I mean is maybe it's only us". This is saying that Piggy and Simon believe and are implying that the beast among them are themselves. Jack states that the beast can take shape in any form, which is typically saying that the beast can take over anyone. It is foreshadowing how the beast will soon come out of the boys and start a troubling and dangerous riot. The beast can't be killed because it is in every single one of us. The beast is the dark side inside all of us. The beast cannot be hunted and killed, because if the pig is apart of themselves, that means they are killing themselves. The boys are afraid of the beast, but only Simon realizes that they fear the beast because it exists in each of them. As the boys grow more restless, their belief in the beast grows stronger. By the end of the novel, the boys are leaving it and their actions is what brings the beast into their lives. The more crazy the boys are, it becomes more real.

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.

In Lord of the Flies, symbolism is evident in the outward appearance of the boys, as it represents the mental state of them. This is a unique use of symbolism, and this along with it’s great writing, interesting plot, and intriguing characters, makes Lord of the Flies by William Golding a great

“The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not any political system however apparently logical or respectable.” This quote from the author, William Golding, summarizes the themes and morals presented in his novel Lord of the Flies. Despite society’s progression towards civilization and acceptance of the idea that human tendencies towards goodness, each individual is susceptible to their natural darker instincts. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding's characters begin as seemingly innocent school boys who deteriorate into savages. The author uses the characters of Piggy, Ralph and Jack

In William Golding's novel, "Lord of the Flies", Golding provides several varieties of moods and tones. One identified most throughout the novel would be man's inherit evil. This could be represented by the savagery actions and lack of civilization on the island. In the novel "Lord of the Flies", Golding conveys man's inherit evil by savage behavior and the loss of civilization.

Many authors use symbolism to create a meaningful message and to generate different emotions throughout the story. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are several examples when Golding uses symbolism to portray the idea of good vs. evil.

The fire symbolizes hope of rescue and getting back home. It is arguably the most important resource the boys have. As Ralph states in the beginning of the book,”If a ship comes near the island it may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.” Golding used this statement to emphasize the symbolism relating the fire to hope. Although as the book goes on, the boys lose sight of the real importance of the fire. The first sign of this is the hunters letting the fire go out. That in itself symbolises the boys becoming more savage. As the book carries on, however, the importance of the fire degrades quickly. Often Ralph will even forget why they need it. In the end, however, the fire is used against all the boys and causes complete chaos, showing how out of hand and careless the situation is. Ironically, the fire does grab the attention of rescue and with that they are compared to society. Golding makes a strong statement that without supervision and intelligence, humans are careless and overtime will slowly degrade into savagery and madness. He demonstrates this with the timeline he set

Golding is displaying in The Lord of the Flies that the nature of mankind and society can be both inherently good and evil through the personalities and characteristics the characters have.

In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies, the boys on the island come in contact with many different elements that symbolize ideas. Golding demonstrates that when human beings do not have rules, authority, and a government they allow their natural savage instinct to take over. Through the use of symbolism, Golding uses the Conch, The Painted faces of the boys, and Piggy’s glasses to portray this thesis.

“ The thing is - fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream.” As said by William Golding. The Lord of The Flies begins when Piggy and Ralph finds a conch shell on the beach. Ralph uses the conch shell to blow into so it created a loud horn type sound. The sound attracted most of the survivors from the plane crash. Ralph then uses the Conch as a source of power through forcing talking to the limit at meetings. Ralph made a rule which you must hold the conch in order to talk. The boys then wanted to use Piggy's glasses as a source for fire. They would point the glasses toward the sun so all the light could focus on the firewood. As the fire started, some of the trees caught on fire which turned into a huge wildfire. As Golding added these objects and items into the book, he wanted to add meaning or symbolize the objects for example, as the boys start to learn about the beast on the island, Jack and his choir put a sow's head on a stick as a peace offering to the beast. The Lord of The Flies

When the fire is maintained, the boys want to be rescued. However, when the fire burns low or goes out it symbolizes how the boys have lost sight of their desire to be saved, and how they have accepted savagery into their lives. The signal fire also symbolizes the measurement of the strength of the civilized instinct and hope remaining on the island.

Lord of the Flies has more symbols than just the ones in this essay. Goulding shows the