Symbolism in 'Lord of the Flies'

Fear and Symbolism make up a big part of the Lord of the Flies book. They co-exist amazingly in this book. Symbols appear everywhere in the book, from the conch to the beast, they all symbolize a part of our life today.

The novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding is a very iconic book in my opinion. This novel consists mostly of symbolism. Lord of the Flies talked about the relationship of teenage boys who survived a plane crash together. The boys are all on their own and struggling. They encounter many incidences that comply symbolism. A couple of the acts of symbolism are the beast the boys kept imagining, Piggy’s glasses, and the conch. The boys are all afraid of the beast, Piggy’s glasses demonstrate the fact that he saw everything more clear then the boys and how he started the fire. Lastly, the last of the most important symbolisms in the novel is the conch, showing the civilization and order.

The symbols in the Lord of the Flies all change meaning throughout the novel. As the boys change and develop, the symbols change with them. Some may become more positive or more negative and some may change meaning completely. Ralph, Piggy, and Jack all adjust to being stranded on the island differently and therefore react to and treat the objects on the island differently. With Jack’s development into savagery throughout the novel, his carelessness is evident in his lack of acknowledgement of symbols that are important to Ralph and Piggy who look at this experience more logically and optimistically. One symbol that changed dramatically throughout the novel is the fire. The fire in the Lord of the Flies is introduced as a symbol for hope, develops into destruction and is finalized as a representation of salvation.

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of English school boys who are stranded on a tropical island after their plane has been attacked and crashes during World War II. In the beginning, the boys like being on their own without adults. The boys separate into two groups, led by Jack and Ralph. Jack is obsessed with hunting, and he and his group pay do not pay attention. Ralph is concerned about keeping a rescue fire lit so they will have a chance to be rescued, but no one else seems too concerned about it. At least one ship passes by without noticing the boys on the island. Things on the island deteriorate into chaos and savagery. Jack and his tribe are consumed with hunting and

In the second place, Ralph uses the conch to discipline the children on the island. Golding writes, “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority” (59). Indeed, this clearly demonstrates established authority, and the children obey Ralph because he displays leadership ability. The children see the conch as a powerful instrument, worthy of reverent obedience. Ralph further introduces discipline by using the conch to silence the children when he wants to address them at the meeting. Golding writes, “Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence” (23). To clarify, Ralph holds up the conch, indicating that he displays the conch as a symbol of his demand for obedience. Golding says, “there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch” (22). Once again, the conch in this case commands respect and establishes obedience.

Throughout Lord of the Flies it is clear that the author, William Golding, incorporated lots of symbolism into the text. Three of the main components in the story that symbolized something else were the conch the “beast” and the island. Each of these components developed throughout the text and gave the reader an idea of the main theme in the story.

Golding proves that the theme he claims for the Lord of the flies novel is clear by successfully symbolizing the boys stranded on the island in the novel as different parts of society and then slowly breaking the boys down throughout the novel which results in the boy’s small community falling apart due to them using savage and uncivilized ways to try work out the various situations they face on the island. The boys in the novel are used to symbolize certain aspects of society. Piggy symbolizes the intelligent, scientific and rational side of society, Ralph symbolizes the order and civil side of society, Jack symbolizes the savagery and violence within society, Simon symbolizes the natural goodness in society and Roger symbolizes the sadistic aspect of society.

The boys are on a plane leaving their country because there is war there and they get shot down and land on an island.The boys get together and stop arguing and they elect a leader.

Throughout the novel, the conch shell represents order and democracy. It is used as a way to unify the boys and keep law and organization thriving on the island. When they first arrive on the island, Ralph blows the conch to call

An individual’s behaviour can have a substantial impact on a society's outcome. There is a common notion that humans are nurtured to be peaceful and civil. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, this belief is contradicted when a group of schoolboys are abruptly thrown out of their controlled and civil circumstances into an inhabited tropical island in the middle of the Pacific. In the novel, Golding uses symbolism “to attempt to trace the defects of society to the defects of human nature.” Golding’s extensive use of symbolism, such as the conch, the signal fire and the painted faces helps demonstrate the defects of society.

The conch shell is seen as a symbol of control, that slowly vacates the miniature society on the island, starting as a form of government that diminishes into nothing. At the beginning of the novel, Ralph creates a government to keep the miniature society in control, and to do that, the conch shell was used. Ralph mentioned that “‘I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.’”(33). There is a sense of control as Ralph develops a method for who will speak when, because Ralph wants to keep the group calm and collected. The conch then loses power as time goes on, seeing as the boys get lazy listening to the rule of only one person speaking at a time, specifically proven by Jack’s comment “Bollocks to the

For Centuries philosophers and scholars have bantered about the topic of whether man is naturally fiendish. William Golding offers this conversation starter in his sensible novel “Lord of the Flies”. Set on a tropical island amid World War II, the novel starts when school boys from Incredible England are being traveled to well being and their plane is shot down. No grown-ups survive, and the young men are left to administer themselves and get protected. William Golding uses imagery in the type of the conch to speaks to the idea of society. The young men 's developing association with the conch shows Golding 's subject that people, when uprooted structure the weights of socialized power, will get to be malevolent.1

Lord of the Flies has symbols throughout the story, each character brings a different point of view. Piggy, Ralph, and Jack take a leading role with all the boys, although they vote Ralph in charge both of the other boys take a leadership position. Goulding uses the boys to show the faults of mankind and the roots of all evil. Four symbols Goulding used in the novel were: Piggy’s glasses, the Conch Shell, The Beast, and Simon’s hiding place. Therefore, the symbols show the true character of the boys who are stranded on an island.

The conch shell is the true meaning of law and order. Ralph was the main character to pursue order and leadership. The conch shell in today’s society gives the owner or holder, the authority to speak and take action, suggest new laws or rules, and make thoughtful decisions. Ralph states, “and another thing we can’t have everyone talking at once……then he held the conch before his face and glanced around, I’ll give him the conch, I’ll give the conch to the next person who is going to speak.¨(Golding) The conch gives the holder a position to speak and have a voice. It exemplifies the meaning of leadership. In modern day politics a leader can hold a position, just like whoever holds the conch they have a voice In this world we are either a leader or a follower, the conch shows us the true definition between leadership and savagery.

Although everyone holds a significant respect for the conch when it is first introduced, that respect begins to diminish as the boys give into savagery. The first example of this occurs when the boys are discussing their chances of being rescued. When someone suggests starting a fire, “at once half the boys [are] on their feet. Jack [clamors] among them, the conch forgotten” (38). In their excitement over the prospect of being rescued, the boys talk over one another, ignoring the conch’s authority. This shows just how easily a symbol of order can be completely overridden in times of chaos. Although the older boys often disrespect the conch, the littluns “[obey] the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph [blows] it, and he [is] big enough to be a link to the adult world of authority” (59). The younger children obey the conch because it holds a sense of power. However, the older kids often disregard the conch because they regard themselves as the authoritative figures of the island society. In society, the parallel of the conch is the government. People must obey authoritative figures and laws to ensure peace and order prevails. As the novel progresses, the boys begin to neglect the conch more reducing it to a mere symbol of order without legitimate power.