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Lord Of The Flies Diction Analysis

Decent Essays

Golding uses diction, symbolism, metaphors, and repetition to demonstrate how deeply evil had infiltrated the minds of different characters in The Lord of the Flies. Roger, Piggy, and Golding’s narration of the other boys’ perspectives change suddenly in attitude throughout this passage as evil creeps closer to surrounded their minds and their hearts. Each change is significant in measuring the goodwill of their intentions and in showing the progression of evil in different personas.
Piggy, who embodies the “Know-It-All” archetype, inputs useful (usually unwanted) suggestions to the boys, who constantly ignore him because of his social standing. Additionally, Jack repeatedly uses him as a scapegoat throughout the book to place blame on. …show more content…

He seems to be Jack, the story’s main antagonist’s, right hand man, and is seen throughout the book blatantly showing his evil side. Earlier in the book there’s a scene where Roger is throwing stones at a littlun, but misses him on purpose. This is because Roger had been conditioned in his life before the island by society’s expectations not to do violent things like hit people with rocks. In this passage, which occurs towards the end of the story, Roger ends up hitting Piggy with the giant boulder positioned for the defense of Jack’s tribe, symbolizing that the boundaries set by society had no longer had a hold on Roger’s actions. Golding’s use of symbolism in Roger’s rock throwing helps reveal how much farther evil has infected Roger’s mind. The rocks represented his desires to do evil things and him missing or hitting his target symbolizes the presence or absence of the barrier set by society. Not only does Roger show this change in discipline, but the way he sees the other boys also changes. As he stands on the top of the hill with his hand on the lever that would release the boulder, “Below him, Ralph was a shock of hair and Piggy a bag of fat.” (Golding, 180). Roger no longer sees Ralph and Piggy as humans, but as inanimate objects.He goes on to release the boulder down the hill. It then hits and

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