Symbolism In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

A recurring theme among leaders in many societies today is that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” (John Acton, a 1700’s English Catholic historian, politician, and writer). In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, this idea of leadership, power, and corruption is put in the spotlight. Jack, one of the boys on the island, forces his way into the leadership position without actually earning it. It is clear that Jack has become corrupt as he turns into a person who is intimidating, egotistical, and selfish. Ralph, on the other hand, is a quality leader under most conditions as he appeals to the boys’ sophisticated side and has a

Lord of the Flies is a gruesome, dark and intense novel written as a political allegory by the author William Golding. In this novel Lord of the Flies, there are various significant symbols the most being Piggy’s glasses because of how it allows a logical smart boy to see and perform tasks, it becomes a tool of innovation being able to start fires, and how it leads to the destruction of an island.

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

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Piggy’s glasses represent both weakness and power. The symbolism for the glasses progresses throughout the novel.

wrote this after publishing Lord of the Flies. It is our world, in the form of a story. The two leaders in the story are Ralph and Jack. Ralph starts off a comfortable leader of the boys, but by the end of the book, Ralph and his companion Piggy are alone facing Jack and the rest of the boys. As the novel progresses and the society on the island starts to change, so does Ralph. He begins thinking he has all the answers, but comes to realize that without Piggy he would have never gotten this far. By the end of the book, Ralph and Jack are complete opposites. Jack is about savagery and fun while Ralph is holding on to society, rules, and civilization. Appearing to be a weak leader due to defection of his followers, Ralph is actually dedicated and insightful, only loosing his followers because he could not compete with one category that attracts nearly everyone in the world: fun.

In the beginning of the Lord of the Flies we are introduced to two young boys, who have survived a tragic plane crash. The aircraft was an evacuation plane and it was transporting the group of boys out of England. One of the boys named Piggy is trying to catch up to the other boy, Ralph. Piggy is described as being very fat and shorter than Ralph. He wears “thick spectacles” (William Golding 7) and he is the first to determine that they are on an island. Piggy is also the one that knows how to use the conch shell and comes up with the use of it, which is to call everyone else to the beach. He believed the conch created order. Once the conch had been used we are introduced to more boys and they gain interest in Piggy’s glasses. They discover that Piggy’s glasses can start fires and they refer to them as “burning glasses” (Golding 40). The boys also rejoiced when they discovered that his glasses could create the fires. They proclaimed, “His specs - use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 38). The spectacles symbolize Piggy’s intelligence, which distinguished him from the others. Without the glasses Piggy would be blind and he would not know what to do. Although Piggy is portrayed as being physically weak and not having a great chance at survival, he is the only one that seemed to know a few survival skills. He is the one that created the fire, sundial and shelter. Without his glasses he would not be ‘intelligent’. His appearance and personality cause him to be shunned

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.

Lord of the Flies, a suggestive name for the Devil, a devil whose name proposes that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization and panic, exactly what William Golding had in mind when using symbolism in this novel. The Lord of the Flies (1954), is a novel in which interpretating the symbols are a main key to not only understanding, but also enjoying the novel. After tying many of the symbols together, you can figure out more about what the author is trying to depict, the overall scene.

In the book “The Lord of the Flies”, the author William Golding includes many symbols. One of which would be Piggy’s glasses/specs. I believe that Piggy’s glasses symbolize intellectuality, advancement, innovation, discovery and sight. We know that the glasses literally give sight to Piggy, which is their main purpose. In the book, Piggy states “Mind out! Give’em back! I can hardly see!” (P40). This proves that the glasses give sight to Piggy, and without them he simply cannot see. Another use for Piggy’s glasses would be fire. They were first realized that they could be used for fire by Jack. Jack states; “His specs-- use them as burning glasses!’ (P40). This is incredibly important, since without Piggy’s glasses, they would not be able to

In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, there are multiple symbols that are used and put there by the author to add depth and meaning to the story. The reader as he goes on finds the symbolism of the pig, the ‘lord of the flies, and the conch used as a talking stick. The author also presents Piggy’s glasses as a symbol. Glasses, as we all know, are used to improve one’s sight, but can also be used for something so important as survival in the wilderness as the readers of The Lord of the Flies have seen. The boys in The Lord of the Flies used Piggy’s glasses to reflect light onto dry branches to make a fire that released smoke as a distress signal to alert any ongoing ships. Smoke has been a common distress signal

In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses Piggy’s glasses, the conch, and the fire as symbols to present the themes and conflicts throughout the novel. Of these objects, some would be insignificant in real life and would be taken for granted. However, each of the previously mentioned symbols is vital to the story's theme. Although they are not all seen as evil, each symbol leads to the ultimate destruction of the island and savagery of the boys. Piggy is the most intellectual, wise, and rational boy in the group.

Piggy is distinctly different from all the other boys in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies in three ways: physically, metaphorically and symbolically. Physically, he is fat, asthmatic, and must wear glasses to aid his sight otherwise he sees “Jus’ blurs” (40), forcing his actions to be methodically thought out lest he cause an asthma attack on himself. Metaphorically, Piggy’s glasses help him see the boys’ lack of civilization, since he is the most resistant to savagery: his hair “never seemed to grow” (67) after a considerable passing of time, and he wears his clothes long after most of the other boys have abandoned them for paint and nakedness. Symbolically, everything that surrounds him has a deeper meaning

"His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy's arms and legs twitched a bit like a pig after it has been killed" (217). This is what can happen to someone when all signs of civilization, order and power disappear and have no more meaning to members of a group or society. In the writing of William Golding's Lord of the Flies (1954), the symbol of power and civilization is the conch. Once that is lost, all bets are off. When the novel begins, two boys are talking about what has happened and why they are on this island. While walking on the beach, the main character Ralph then proceeds to find a shell which the two boys call the conch. Blowing on this shell Ralph calls a

Fire, in today’s society, is used for several different reasons including warmth, cooking, and destruction while prescription glasses have mainly one purpose, to help aid in eyesight. But for Piggy, the most rational of the group, and Ralph, the leader of all the kids, fire and a pair of bifocals are solely used for survival. Jack on the other hand, who is the leader of the savages, uses fire to harm and control others around him. Lord of the Flies by William Golding acquires an elaborate way to develop deeper meanings of each of the symbols especially fire and Piggy’s glasses.

In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding the stranded boys come into contact with some particular elements that represent an idea which are called symbols. These symbols include the beast which represents the fear of the unknown and the darkness of mankind. The second symbol is the signal fire which represents hope. The third symbol is the conch shell which represents order. Golding indicates that when man is taken out of civilization, they have a natural instinct is to become evil, darkness and barbaric and these symbols help to support his opinion.