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Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Decent Essays

In Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, a group of boys from ages 6 to 14 became stranded on an island in a plane crash. They do not know how long they are going to be there or who is going to rescue them. The boys have to figure out a way to survive until they are rescued. Symbolism is used many different times throughout the novel. Symbolism is something that has a way to present something else shown in either text or image. It fits into literature by giving symbols to show a story. Throughout the story, the author mentions symbols such as the conch and the painted faces. The reader can figure out what these symbols represent from clues given in the text. While reading this novel, the reader will be able to tell that the conch plays a big role with the boys on the island. Ralph who spots it in the lagoon first finds the conch. Ralph and Piggy are amazed and can already tell how important the conch would be right when they first see it. The author describes the conch: “In color the shell was deep cream, touched here and there with fading pink. Between the point, worn away into a little hole, and the pink lips of the mouth, lay eighteen inches of shell with a slight spiral twist and covered with a delicate, embossed pattern” (Golding 16). Since the author goes into so much detail about the conch, the reader realizes it is a very important symbol. During the beginning of the story, the boys have a vote and elect Ralph as the leader “Him with the shell. Ralph!

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