Symbols In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

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.

Many people seamlessly pass by objects not thinking much of them; in stories they’re just as easily overlooked but can hold great meanings and tell stories on their own. Symbolism in stories is commonly shown through objects and is meant to represent something outside its literal

Throughout time humans have used the rules of society that they have created to conceal their inner savages. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding places a group of schoolboys on an island to display his idea on humans without society. He uses various amounts of symbols to develop the theme that humans are naturally evil without the rules of society to keep the from going completely savage. The Painted faces symbolize the savage within the boys and how they use this paint to conceal their shame and emotions. The pig's head is symbolic of the fear and ignorance inside the boys, the pig's head acts as a satan like image that feeds off of the decay and destruction within the boys.The beast is an important symbol throughout the novel

Throughout the novel "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, we see how innocent young boys turn from civilized kids into murderers and savages. A group or "pack" of British school boys crash landed on an island in the ocean and settle to form a nice, calm civilization centered around Ralph (the one with the conch) and the conch (a shell that Piggy and Ralph found) which was their rule system. But then things go dark and bad as Jack, another British boy who longs for power, takes control over the boys and centers around hunting of pigs, which leads to the death of two innocent children. As they start to hunt and try to kill Ralph, a naval officer comes to their rescue and save them and return them home safely. In "Lord of the Flies", Golding

The Beast also appeared throughout the story as the fear of the society not succeeding and the apparent danger they were in. Piggy doesn't believe that the fear is real. He states that ""I know there isn't no beast—not with claws and all that, I mean—but I know there isn't no fear, either""(Golding, 83). The beast represents the evil of the boys and the darkness that surrounds the society. Jack on the other hand believes that the beast is real and says ""Bollocks to the rules! We're strong-we hunt! If there's a beast, we'll hunt it down! We'll close in and beat and beat and beat-!"" (Golding, 102). Jack believes that the beast can be hunted down but the beast is a symbolism for the fear inside of each and every one of them. The beast cannot be hunted or killed because the beast is them.

The words ‘Lord-of-the-Flies’ are critically important words in this novel since they describe the essence of the book in four words. These words are not only used to describe the pig’s head on a stick and its entrails covered with flies, but also the presumed beast, who is covered with the same black insects. Essentially, Golding portrays the human struggle with evil in the world, or the influence of Satan, corrupting people, who, in turn, destroy society and civilization. The book was initially called ‘A Stranger from within’ before publication, which relates to the evil part of human nature that was a ‘stranger’ to the boys before landing on the island. Lord-of-the-flies could also correlate to the dirty, savage lifestyle of the boys. They are sweaty and they live like pigs, which attract flies by the hundreds. The ‘Lord-of-the-Flies’ can be used to describe Satan, the pig covered with flies, and the filthy lifestyle of the boys.

“Which is better-- to have laws and agree or hunt and kill?” (Golding).The boys have to decide if they want rules or to live like savages and they need a leader so they end up having a vote. The boys have a gathering to decide who is going to be in charge, Ralph won the vote, and he chose to go by the rules. The boys need order, hope, and survival skills to survive being on the island, without them they would run lose like a bunch of savages. In the novel, Lord of the flies, by William Golding the conch symbolizes order, the fire represents hope, and Piggy’s glasses illustrates survival.

Sometimes stories can show tangible items and use them to symbolize intangible ideas. The Lord of the Flies is a book published by William Golding in which the character the Lord of the Flies is named after the book. This is because the story revolves around building up enough tension to show the Lord of the Flies once and cause some controversy on what this character symbolizes. The Lord of the Flies revolves around the idea that human nature is really evil and savage like. Their is a group of boys dropped off in an island and overtime civilization disappears into savagery.

The Lord of the Flies is a novel that contains multiple symbols that reflect the actions of human nature. Some of these symbols include Piggy and his glasses, the signal fire, the conch shell, and the Lord of the Flies. Each symbol shows a different flaw or mistake the boys encounter throughout the novel.

Authors have a sneaky way of revealing the greater themes that they are writing about in their books. They reveal themes by using symbols to represent both the actual person or object and also a deeper, hidden meaning. Placed through the story, symbols can be discovered if the reader takes a close thoughtful look. In William Goldings, The Lord of the Flies, a group of school boys are involved in a plane crash that leaves them stranded on a deserted island. The boys slowly begin to lose their civilized nature and start turning into primitive savages. Golding uses symbols throughout his story to demonstrate their crumbling society. The three most important symbols in the novel are the conch shell, The Lord of the Flies and the face paint or masks.

One of the earlier seen symbol is a mask. Before Jack goes hunting, he paints his face with red, white, and black. This helps turn himself into the full savagery he has within him to become one with the animal. While this turns him savage, it also disguises the little civilization he has left, making the island worse and worse. The mask is established to symbolize facade, the means of hiding one’s identity. With the mask Jack puts on, he is able to hid his civilization and true human characteristics. Although Jack was simply trying to hide himself from the pig and become one with it, so he does not scare the pig away, he does much more.

A group of young boys, an uninhabited island, no adults and no rules- sounds like an adventurous and suspenseful story. The novel, Lord of the Flies, by author William Golding is just that, and has been enjoyed and praised worldwide for over 50 years. Many read the story and appreciate it as the book with the fictional plot above, but one of the things that makes this story so valued in literature is its allegorical connection to World War II. Throughout the novel, Golding employs symbolism to make connections of the themes expressed in the book and during the war, and emphasizes the traits and actions of the characters in the book to convey the different leadership styles of those who played essential roles in World War II.

In the book, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, the author describes how a group of boys survive an island. With many symbols accompanying the characters throughout and help to describe 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.

Humans live and develop in societies with rules, order and government, but humans are not perfect, they have many deficiencies so do the societies they live in. When a group of schoolboys land on a tropical island, Ralph takes on the role of leader by bringing all of the boys together and organizing them. He first explains “There aren’t any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves.”(p.33), this brings up the question if the boys will have prosperity or will they succumb to the evil on the island. At first the young boys start being successful and civilized but chaos soon overruns them and evil starts to lurk over the island. William Golding’s effective use of symbolism helps emphasize and tie together the relationship between the evil in society and in human nature. The fictional story of the group of British schoolboys stranded on an island and the decisions they make, relates back to our society and the decisions we might make in a difficult situation. Lord of The Flies is Golding’s attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The use of symbols in the novel to represent the flaws of human nature, helps create this theme. The conch is one of the main objects the boys use and has a very strong evolution throughout the novel. Likewise, painted faces are used as a method to show the change in human nature throughout a long period of time. Another object that is persistent throughout the novel are Piggy’s glasses, they are principally

Symbolism is everywhere. Symbolism occurs when something is meant to represent something else. It is a technique most commonly used in literature. Whether the piece composed is a novel, a short story, or a poem, all authors want readers to comprehend more than just the literal meaning of what they have written. Authors often utilize symbolism, using an object, person, situation, events, or actions to represent an idea or conception. In the novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, many symbols are used. Golding’s literary work contains many examples of symbolism to help readers better understand the novel’s themes. In the novel, a plane containing a group of British school boys crashes and the children find themselves deserted on an uninhabited island. The group of boys are more or less divided into children roughly around the age of six, the "littluns", and the bigger kids, who are between the ages of ten and twelve. With no adults present, the boys are left to fend and govern for themselves. Initially, the boys attempt to create a society comparable to the one they had left behind. They elect a leader, establish rules, and assign jobs for each of them. The longer the boys are stuck on the island, the more of their sense of civilization they lose, and, eventually, they revert to savagery. Golding uses the technique of symbolism many times throughout this novel.