Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Analysis

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

The conch is a symbol in the novel and represents civilized authority and democracy. When the group of boys are stranded on the island, they choose Ralph as the

William Golding, winner of the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature, argues in his 1954 book Lord of the Flies that humans are evil in nature. He uses multiple symbols to define what savagery really is and how it can affect even the youngest of society. Some symbols, such as painted faces or a pig's head on a stick are used as shocking narrative tools but are necessary in order to portray these children as ruthless monsters. Golding’s use of painted faces does symbolize that when there is anonymity, humans will commit atrocious acts, especially if they are in a position of power.

Oftentimes authors will use symbolism through the characters in order to represent a larger encompassing theme. William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies is no exception to this pattern—as various characters in the book have such allegorical meanings. In the case of Jack, he could be said to represent the evilness in humanity, proven by three established concepts in the story: the true nature of his hunting tendencies, the progression of events that happen in his dancing rituals, and his interactions towards other symbolic figures. These three reasons, furthered by evidence shown throughout the novel, fit Jack into a role of symbolic evilness (add something here).

In William Golding’s “Lord Of The Flies” Novel, symbolism is a very important element of the book, Many symbols show how the boys on the island are slowly becoming savage and losing their civility.

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.

William Golding kills off everything important to survival and by this he means that the world is doomed. So many significant objects are broken by the end of the book, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, which is a novel about a bunch of inexperienced boys being trapped together on an island and are forced to find means of survival. There are a lot of symbols in this book that all represent the only way they can survive. Each symbol represents a piece of the world and how it functions. Without all of these pieces, the world can’t function. William Golding clearly shows that the world is doomed by one by one killing off all of the objects and symbols that keep them sane and alive.

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.

At the start of the novel Ralph and Piggy, who are stranded on the island find a conch shell. From the very start of chapter one the conch was a powerful symbol of civilization. It is odd for such a concrete object to be a symbol of something so important throughout this novel. As soon as Piggy finds the conch shell he instructs Ralph to blow into it to assemble the other boys that were separated after the plane crashed on the island. This is the very first sign of civilization on the island. It shows how the boys are willing to follow instruction and for the most part they are in civilized order. Throughout the first part of the novel, whoever holds the conch has the right to speak. This shows how the conch is a very important factor to sustain civilization and order on the island. Although the conch brings civilization throughout the first few chapters of the novel, it slowly loses its significance to the boys as they

This simple shell was of great significance to the boys on the island. The conch is first introduced by Piggy and Ralph when they are the only characters in Lord of the Flies. They both know there are more boys on the island and Piggy remembers you can blow in the shell and it makes sound, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us” (Golding 16). The conch stands for democracy. Ralph is the chief and no one dares to question his leadership, except Jack. William Golding also uses symbolism in his novel to show the conflict between the boys. Ralph has just blown into the shell calling all boys that might have been lost on the island. Jack walks up to the meeting place with his choir group “When he saw of the fair-haired boy with the creamy shell on his knees did not seem to satisfy him” (20 Golding). Jack is the type of person that does not like to take orders from anyone, Golding shows Jack’s rebellion by not respecting Ralph’s democracy. Another example why the conch represents democracy is when Golding uses the conch to show how savagery has taken over. “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist’ (Golding 181). At the time of Piggy’s death, when it was only Ralph by his side, the savage influenced boys has finally brought order to an end. The democracy that has given all the

The conch was first used by Piggy and Ralph to call for assemblies. The boys then used it as a way to keep order by only allowing the person holding the conch to speak. It became clear that the conch helped keep the boys civilized. On page 39 the boys are having a meeting. Ralph says, “That’s what this shell’s called. I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” This is an example if the respect the conch was given, and how the boys used it. The boys still were very civil when they first got to the island and that is represented by how well the conch worked. The conch originally worked very well and helped keep the boys under control, but further into the book the conch’s power begins to die. On page 124 Ralph says, “If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.” This is the point in the book when Ralph and Piggy begin to

In the very beginning the conch is used to bring all of the boys in the story together. Ralph blows it and they come. This is the first sign of its power. The boys have been lost and now there is this thing, much like a school bell, calling them to be brought together. It has brought order to this strange place in which they are stranded.

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.

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, three significant symbols throughout the novel include the conch shell, the beast, and the Lord of the Flies. These symbols not only aided in the development of the characters but also in their rescue. By the time the boys are rescued the meaning of each symbol has either been diverted or given a new interpretation.