Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

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.

While other boys were becoming savage, Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric were not going to subject themselves to becoming savages, therefore, kept their values even on the wild island, free of supervision and rules, refused to lose themselves and intended to establish some form of order on the island in order to maintain their civility. After the departure of Jack and his tribe from the shelters, Ralph stated, “Can’t they see? Can’t they understand? Without the smoke signal we’ll die here? Look at that!” (Golding 195). This quotation illustrates Ralph’s good sense, despite the other boys turning into savages around him, how he focused on the future, and would not allow the others to influence his ways of thinking. Unlike Jack and his tribe, the remaining boys focused on maintaining a fire in order to be eventually rescued and considered their future. This goal gave them a sense of purpose and direction, therefore, this kept them motivated and sane despite the growing tensions between the tribe. Piggy supported Ralph wholeheartedly throughout these difficult times, as proven by this quotation, “Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?” (Golding 253). Piggy and Ralph observed the boys around them and how they became more primitive as they adapted to living on the island. Soon after, Simon, who was absent from the groups for some time, attempted, and utterly failed, to alert the boys of a strange sighting on the mountain. However, the savages congregated around him and ultimately, killed him during their tribal feast. After this drastic event, Ralph said to Piggy, “Don’t you understand, Piggy? The things we did-” and rocked

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys face troubles when their plane gets shot down and leaves them stranded with no adults on a deserted island. The boys must learn to govern themselves and attempt to get rescued as quickly as possible. With the blow of a conch, all of the boys unify; with the destruction of the conch, the boys separate and turn evil. The conch serves as a symbol of civilization and order; without it, it becomes human nature to turn into a savage.

Lord of the Flies is novels about a group of boys who are stranded on a remote island after they were in plane wreckage. There are no adults, and no rules to follow, they must find a way to survive all on their own. In this novel the main characters are Ralph, the protagonist as he tries to build a civilization that will keep them motivated to get off the island. Jack the antagonist, who gets his first taste of blood and continues seeking more and more power. Let’s not forget about Piggy, the innovated boy who often leads the group of boys to annoyance with his whininess. Within the novel you will find lots of symbols that mean different things, as Golding is known for, from glasses being a symbol of science (survival), the fire that’s used

Two main forces rule society. A destructive force and a beneficial force. The destructive force causes pandemonium while the beneficial one maintains order and a humane mindset. The forces keep a community under control while also allowing for some tension. In the novel, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, two objects represent these dominating forces. They are the conch and the beast.

In everyday life, many objects that are used often are usually overlooked, and even uncommon actions, and also ideas, are often taken for granted. William Golding uses common, ordinary, everyday objects but also adds in uncommon and unique elements to symbolize ideas or concepts that help to emphasize the main theme of Lord of the Flies. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding manipulates several elements to show lack of humanity and savagery throughout the novel to reveal more feelings and emotions.

Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, tells the story of a group of English boys stranded on a deserted island after their plane is shot down during a war. Although the novel is purely fiction, its investigation into the idea of human evil as an external conflict can be assumed is at least partially based on Golding’s experience in WWII serving for the Royal Navy. The boys, free from the structures of society and civilization, begin to descend into a life of savagery. As the boys split into factions, some remain peaceful and try to maintain the order of their makeshift society, while others rebel and seek comfort in violence. In Lord of the Flies, Golding paints a portrait of the basic human struggle between the civilizing instinct, the impulse to obey rules, behave morally, and act according to the laws, and the savage instinct, the impulse to seek power over others, scorn all moral rules, and indulge in acts of violence. Lord of the Flies is a novel driven by a conflict of power, using symbols like a sow’s head and a conch shell to represent greater issues.

If a group of young boys ended up deserted on an island for many months with no parental supervision, then one would conclude that matters on the island would begin to go haywire. British author, William Golding, narrates this exact plot in his popular novel Lord of the Flies. The underlying theme of the book is quite obvious: human nature. Throughout the novel, Golding portrays the theme with symbolism. One of the most obvious symbols that can be traced through the entire novel is Piggy’s glasses. Piggy’s glasses emphasize both the boys’ inevitable path of destruction and their fall back to human nature. In the beginning, the glasses are in almost perfect condition. However, as the boys fall away from social structure, give into human nature, and begin to focus on other trivial distractions, the glasses shatter, and in the end, become useless. Golding uses foreshadowing, carefully chosen diction, and an extended definition in order to develop the symbolism of the glasses. Ultimately, the glasses symbolize clarity, and the boys’ focus on rescue. As the glasses continue to break, the boys progressively lose sight of civilization and rescue, ultimately becoming savages.

One of the devices Golding uses to express the human behavior without laws is symbolism. For instance, during an assembly we see Jack breaking the rules by speaking when Piggy was holding the conch and Ralph shouts, “[P]iggy’s got the conch…. the rules! You’re breaking the rules!....... Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!” (91). In the beginning of the novel, Ralph and Piggy use the conch to bring the boys together and established order on the island. In result, the conch grew to possess strong values and became the most vital item to the boys. In a political view, the conch symbolizes freedom of speech because it allows everyone to have the equal right to voice an opinion. However, the conch also symbolizes power because it grants authority to the one who possesses it and civilization because it essentially keeps peace and order on the island. Goldings uses the conch to show how uncivilized behavior in humans can stimulate when rules are not in place because when the conch was destroyed in Piggy’s death so was the order. No conch ultimately meant no power allowing Jack to claim the role of chief. Thereby, we see evil stimulating through Jack when he tortured SamnEric and forcefully made them join his tribe.

Literary experts oftentimes find themselves pondering what, exactly, the formula for a best-selling novel is. What components must a book contain in order to become successful and renowned? Some may argue that the effective use of literary techniques is imperative to the success of a novel. In particular, well-developed symbolism is a factor that a large majority of the most famous novels in literary history contain. With well over ten million copies sold since its publication, the dark 1954 novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is one such example of a successful novel that incorporates a great deal of symbolism. The story is centered around a group of young boys who find themselves marooned on an island and attempt to form an orderly society. However, this hope soon collapses and the children’s inner savagery is revealed. Golding’s personal experiences throughout his life are reflected very well in his novel. He had served as a naval commander for the British during World War II, during which he had seen countless men brutally slaughtered by other men. As a result, Golding developed the mindset that wickedness and savagery resides within humans by nature. Golding helps convey this complex theme as well as important plot points to the audience of his novel through the use of various symbols. Over the course of the novel, the conch shell and the “beastie” are developed into the most significant and impactful symbols for the audience’s complete understanding of the

In society murder is considered heinous and unforgivable, yet it is still occurs every day. In “Lord of the Flies”, William Golding uses the symbol of the conch and the fire to show that without strict rules in order, human nature implicitly gives into the temptations of savagery.

The human mind consists of two instincts that constantly have conflict with each other: the instinct to live by society’s rules and the instinct to live by one’s own rules. Eventually, everyone chooses to live by one or the other depending on how they feel is the correct way to live. In the allegorical novel “Lord of the Flies”, William Golding utilizes these two instincts to create the theme of civilization versus savagery and in order to exhibit this, Golding uses a wide range of symbols. Golding’s very first symbol is the conch as he uses it to show the start of civilization on the island, he then moves onto using the beast and its growth of relevance and finally uses the fire to finish the novel in an ironic way.

In the book, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, the author describes how a group of boys live on the island. With many symbols accompanying the characters throughout and help to describing how the boys change and show how some of the boys or objects are really important in the process of surviving. The story starts with one of the main characters, Ralph who walks out of a plane crash and is stranded on an island. He meets the next main character, Piggy and with him, they found a conch shell. Ralph uses this shell to call the other boys to him and Piggy. Once all the boys are with Ralph the author introduces the other main character Jack. From there all the characters try to survive by splitting up to attend different tasks. In the novel the conch and the painted faces development dramatically to describe different aspects of the boy’s life.

Mahatma Ghand once said, “Man’s nature is not essentially evil. You must never despair of human nature.” This specifically can be seen in William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, with the central problem being the thought of the human personality and the reflection of personality on society. This can be seen throughout the story by the many repeating objects used to symbolize numerous ideas that help to create and strengthen the overall theme which is human impulse towards evil. In this novel, Golding uses many symbols such as the mask, fire, and the conch to portray the defect of human impulses has on the defect of modern society.

The book *Lord of the Flies* by William Golding is commonly found as part of English class curriculums all over the United States. The story follows a group of boys stranded on a deserted island without any adults. At first the boys work together to survive. As time passes the boys grow aggressive with one another and some commit evil acts like killing one another.