Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

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

All of the boys on the island have a desire to be recused, except Jack. This is shown on page 170 where Ralph states, “Just an ordinary fire. You’d think we could do that wouldn’t you? Just a smoke signal so we can be rescued. Are we savages or what? Only now there’s no signal going up. Ships may be passing. Do you remember how he went hunting and the fire went out and a ship passed by? ...that’s his fault too.” Instead of doing what the others wanted him to do, which was keep the fire up, Jack went hunting and let the fire go out. This shows Jack’s half heartedness because all of the other boys want to be rescued, and they had a chance of that happening, but instead of focusing on what the other boys wanted and felt, he focused on what he wanted and only what he wanted, which was hunting. Through the course of the book, Jack becomes more and more savage and loses all of his sense and thought. One of the instances where this is shown along with his apathy is when he steals Piggy’s glasses. Along with Piggy not being able to see, they had no way of starting a signal fire again. This again shows that Jack is apathetic against rescue and does not care about leaving the island at all, even when the other boys do.

Symbols are often used in literature to drive plot, give clues to events in the story, and develop key characters. They have more than one meaning, and in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding there are three key symbols used: the conch, Piggy’s eyeglasses and the impaled pigs head. These three symbols will be discussed by using specific references to the text as well as examining how they negatively impact the characters in the story.

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 the end, all the boys learn a lesson. They had many struggles and troubles of staying together as a group. Jack and his hunting group ended up setting the whole island on fire. “ The fire was a big one and the drum-roll that he has thought was left so far behind was nearer. Couldn't a fire outrun a galloping horse?” ( Chapter 12, Page 278) The horrific fire caught the attention of a naval vessel passing by the island. Ralph collapses in exhaustion, but when he wakes up, he sees a British naval officer right over him.

By the end of the novel, Jack has become a full blown barbarian. He is so caught up in killing pigs that he no longer listens to Ralph. He tries to become chief again and fails. Because of that, he starts his own tribe on the other side of the island where all they do is hunt pigs. The boys that follow him are transformed into the savage that he is. “Here, struck down by the heat, the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her…Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife. Roger found a lodgment for his point and began to push till he was leaning with his whole weight. The spear moved forward inch by inch… [t]hen Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands.” Jack and his followers were demoralized and tainted

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.

Throughout the book the fire’s status first being extinguished and then lit again clearly portrays the ruckus on the island and in the souls of boys. By all means, the rescue fire is a symbol that forms the bond between the civilization and the children’s

“’His specs-use them as burning glasses…’ Piggy was surrounded before he could back away” (Golding 40).Piggy’s specs signify innovation and technology, they are used to create the fire, and he helps Ralph with academic technicalities on the island. Also for example, “Piggy took off his glasses and blinked at the assembly while he wiped them on his shirt” (Golding 33). Piggy’s glasses are mostly used to make fire, but he is repeatedly taken advantage of. However, behavior such as the way he (glasses) is treated reflects their progress or future disagreements. “…stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach… Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks, Piggy cried out in terror: ‘My specs!’…one side’s broken’” (Golding 71). Piggy is the most intelligent boy on the island. Not only does he persist with being civilized throughout the novel, and his glasses symbolize the entirety of the groups’ society that they have created for themselves and its condition. When his glasses partly break, it is their civilization beginning to crumble. Piggy’s glasses symbolize the state of their society, technology, innovation, but also ties in with one of its uses, the

The symbol of Piggy’s Glasses is illustrated in many different ways, such as structure and civilization. When Piggy first got onto the island, he looked at it

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 order for Jack to Come of Age, he must learn from this mistake of treating his equals as lesser, because everyone is human and deserves to live in happiness, not in fear of their own lives. Lastly, the boys on the island have one collaborative job, to keep the fire alive. This fire works as the savior for the group, exhausting out every last bit of hope for them to someday get off the island. The smoke that is produced by it is used to signal nearby ships or planes in hope of rescue. The initial plan was for someone to camp on the mountain at night to ensure that it will last, and during the day someone is supposed to feed the fire when it gets hungry, so that it will not tire out and stop.

Lord of the Flies: William Golding has said that his novel Lord of the Flies was symbolic from the beginning until the end when the boys are rescued. During the course of the novel these symbols are constantly changing, giving us a new interpretation of the island society.

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a gritty allegory of adolescence, innocence, and the unspoken side of human nature. Countless social issues are portrayed, however one of the most reoccurring is the nature of man. Throughout the novel there is an ever-present focus on the loss of innocence amongst the boys, shown by the deterioration of social skills and their retrogression into a barbaric form of society. Also portrayed is the juxtaposition of a cruel, evil main character and a more classically good counterpart, and their eternal rivalry for power and authority over their younger subjects. Does society or the lack thereof create evil in human nature, or simply magnify a pre-existing

The author William Golding writes his novel, The Lord of the Flies, to demonstrate how British boys strive to govern themselves among savagery and civilization. The boys are helpless on an island after their plane is shot down during wartime. Without any adult supervision, the young men attempt to survive on their own; all the while hoping for a rescue. Once the boys reunite, they construct governing rules, which as the novel progresses, they gradually break. The boys elect a leader. The protagonist Ralph a twelve-year-old boy is elected as their authority figure. His election introduces the first of three significant symbols of the novel - the conch. The other two symbols are the beast and the Christ-like-figure. Golding characterizes the symbol of the beast through the character Jack. The character Simon embodies the Christ-like-figure through his actions as a provider and as a prophet. Golding utilizes symbols to develop the significance of the novel, which is that savagery exists within all human beings.