Katherine Mansfield The Fly Essay

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

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.

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

"There isn't anyone to help you. Only me. And I'm the Beast . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I'm part of you?" (Golding, 143) Symbolism is used to represent something of a deeper meaning. This quote represents the beast, which is one of the many symbols along with the conch shell and war paint presented in the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. This essay will explore the different symbols utilized to give William Golding’s novel a deeper meaning.

Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, there are many characters that show symbolic traits. Jack, Simon, and Piggy are examples of characters that possess symbolic traits. Jack represents a savage humanity. On the other hand, Simon represents the goodness inside of humans and a civilized humanity. The last character that will be discussed, Piggy, represents science and intellect. These three characters will be analyzed throughout this paper.

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.

He overwhelms his son by taking control of his future and planning out his life. The boss’s plan for his son is to take over the business which gives the son no other choices or opportunities concerning his future. “Ever since his birth, the boss has worked at building up his business for him; it had no other meaning if it was not for the boy” (Mansfield 508). It seems as though the physical action of the boss smothering the fly is associated with the sufferings that his son has experienced. Both the boss’s son and the fly go through similar yet different forms of suffering throughout their lives. Interestingly, while the fly is struggling to live, the boss utters, “Come on, Look Sharp” (Mansfield 509), just as he would say to his suffering son. Both the fly and victims of wartime fighting (his son) are innocently killed by cruel forces over which they have no control (Schoenberg).

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.

However, once more, “there interposed a Fly” (12), interrupting not only the silence but also the narrator’s mind which is trying to calm before the fear of death. This is because, the fly act as the last string the narrator can hold on to, or in other words, the last string that will connect the narrator and the world. With all her possessions assigned to others, the narrator does not own any physical possessions and she is also standing on the margin of losing her life. The sound of the fly buzzing and the sight of the fly flying around the room allow the narrator on the deathbed to know she is still alive and existing in the world as a human being. The fly, when seen from the positive or the optimistic point of view, can act as a symbol of hopefulness, for life existing in the same room with death can be interpreted as fly blocking and stopping the door of death from opening.