Symbolism in Lord of the Flies by William Golding

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

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.

In scholarly studies, symbolism and imagery apply to enhance a reader’s knowledge of theme development. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the general theme is the conflict between human inclination towards savagery and the rules of civilization. The purpose of symbolism and imagery is essential to the theme development of civilization versus savagery. Three symbols used to illustrate the theme of civilization versus savagery throughout the story are the conch shell, the conflict between Jack and Ralph and the hunter’s painted faces.

The Hearth and The Salamander, the title of the first chapter, is another symbol. The hearth which provides warmth and comfort and the salamander which is believed to live in fire and not get burned contradict each other. One symbol shows the bad side of fire and the other shows the good side. The salamander was also a symbol on his firefighter’s badge: “He stood in the hall of his house putting on his badge with the orange salamander burning across it.” (19) It was also on the fire trucks he used to make the fires, “They sat there looking out the front of the great Salamander as they turned a corner and went silently on.” (40) Both of these sentences show that the fireman are proud of what the salamander represents, whether it means the same thing or something different, it was important to them.

The conch is just a shell, But it does represents much more than that, the conch is power, order, respect and civility and when it's broken, It’s the loss of civilization. The conch is first found by Piggy and Ralph when they first get to the beach. Piggy who’s seen one before at someones house said “He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It’s ever so Valuable”(11). Then later Ralph used it to do the same thing by blowing in it to find all the boys on the island and to call meeting later. During one of the

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.

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 next thing that shows up in the story that has very importance as a symbol is the conch. Piggy and Ralph were walking around the island looking for others, when they see a pink shell shimmering in the water. Piggy recalled the shell as one he had seen used as an instrument. Upon seeing this, he picked it up, handed it to Ralph, the leader figure, and told him to blow. As he did this a noise was produced so that it carried itself across the island, drawing all the other boys to it's sound. This use of the conch is the first to demonstrate it's symbolism as authority.

In The Lord of the Flies, Golding used several symbolic items in the story. The three most symbolic items was the conch shell, Piggy’s glasses, and the fire. These symbols play an important role is surviving and a “united” civilization on this island. The conch helped them signal the boys on to the island and helped kept order to the meetings. Piggy’s glasses provided fire, and the fire was the main essential of keeping alive.

Before an assembly Ralph is holding the conch and he looks at it with, "affectionate reverence." At this point Ralph has realized that their miniature civilization is falling apart and authority is almost gone, so he begins grasping to the conch and its resemblance to the society he use to know. During this assembly Jack decides to break off on his own. Others soon leave and things further fall apart. A while later Jack and his group raids Ralph's camp for the glasses. Piggy didn't think that Jack would go for the glasses he thought Jack would go conch. Piggy knows that the conch represents is all that is left of authority and thought Jack would want it to prove he is the new authority. While Jack doesn't care for the conch's representation of authority, Ralph and the others cling to

At the start of the novel Ralph and Piggy, who are stranded on the island find a conch shell. From the very start of chapter one the conch was a powerful symbol of civilization. It is odd for such a concrete object to be a symbol of something so important throughout this novel. As soon as Piggy finds the conch shell he instructs Ralph to blow into it to assemble the other boys that were separated after the plane crashed on the island. This is the very first sign of civilization on the island. It shows how the boys are willing to follow instruction and for the most part they are in civilized order. Throughout the first part of the novel, whoever holds the conch has the right to speak. This shows how the conch is a very important factor to sustain civilization and order on the island. Although the conch brings civilization throughout the first few chapters of the novel, it slowly loses its significance to the boys as they

Symbolism is a very important factor in many books. The use of symbolism in William Golding’s novel The Lord of the Flies is the most essential aspect to the function of the story. At first glance you may not think the symbols are very important, but with some in-depth thought you can see how it is necessary to explain the microcosm of an island.

"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

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.

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, three significant symbols throughout the novel include the conch shell, the beast, and the Lord of the Flies. These symbols not only aided in the development of the characters but also in their rescue. By the time the boys are rescued the meaning of each symbol has either been diverted or given a new interpretation.