Symbols In The Lord Of The Flies

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.

What do symbols illustrate in novels? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbols are illustrated through people, objects, and colors. In this novel, a group of children are faced with the difficulty of living isolated from society after their plane crashes on a deserted island. With no formal civilization, parents, or rules, the kids have the freedom to do as they choose. Throughout the novel, the boys find and use objects on the island that symbolize something of different importance. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses different objects to symbolize the difference between civilization and savagery.

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.

“We have disharmony in our natures. We cannot live together without injuring each other “

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.

“Beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them. He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling.” Often in literature symbols are used to portray a concept or idea. Lord of the Flies is a prominent user of symbolism, whether it’s characters or objects, many things in the story represents something that it does not physically appear to represent. While using all of this symbolism, the author of Lord of the Flies, William Golding, expertly uses show don’t tell. One very unique and interesting use of symbolism he uses is in the way the characters are dressed and the way they look as symbols. The outward appearance of the boys on the island is used as a symbol to show the mental state

Throughout the novel “lord of the flies”, symbols are commonly found and used as an influence on the attitude of the character towards a civilized behavior. Author, William Golding who wrote this novel, had decided to use it for different types of purposes, showing how the attitude of the characters will develop towards civilization over a period of time. At the beginning of the novel, the conch symbolized as democracy, played a very important role in the story which had a huge impact on the boy’s behavior due to it being used as an object to command and demand the characters, showing that they still have respect to the rules of a civilized community. An example from a quote would be, “I have the conch, I have the right to speak”, said Piggy including, “Jack doesn't throw it or smash it; he sets it down carefully.

The symbol of salvation is represented by the conch on the island. It also stands for power, as the boys decide to “let [Ralph] be chief with the trumpet-thing.” Whoever is holding the conch has the power to be the only boy allowed to speak, which is similar to the power of a church bell ringing to bring people together for a service or an extremely important announcement. Later in the novel, salvation is associated with fire, as “life became a race with the fire. … To keep a clean flag of flame flying on the mountain was the immediate end and no one looked further.” Keeping the fire burning symbolizes the boy’s humanity, so that when it is extinguished it can no longer be contained and the evil emerges from within the boys. Fire is associated with hope, warmth and friendship but it is the cause of conflict, destruction and death in the novel. By the end of the second chapter, fire has already taken its first victim – the little boy with the mulberry mark on his skin- who disappears during the

Because man is a symbolic creature, it is natural for human beings to think and analyze in symbols. In fact, analyzing in symbols is a major part of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The novel contains many events and objects that are symbols for something bigger. For example, in the novel, the conch shell is used to maintain semblance of an organized and civilized society, making it a symbol for social order. Another example is the beast, which is also a major symbol.

Trent Flud Mr. Perez English 10, period 5 13 April 2015 Lord of the Flies: Symbolism In the novel Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding uses a great deal of symbolism within the story. Symbolism is the symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts. Symbolism can take many forms including a figure of speech where an object, person, or situation has another meaning. Some examples in the novel were the conch, the signal fire, and the island.

For example, throughout the entirety of Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbols to advance the plot of the novel. These symbols, whether they are characters, objects, or ideas, hold the power and ability to change the course of the story. The symbols can hold many different meanings and can conflict with one another, with this new issues arise which further develops the plot of the story. As said before, Mr. Golding uses symbols in his story Lord of the Flies to control the destiny of the boys.

William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies is embedded with symbolism. Nearly every sentence has a double meaning. For instance, the first page of the book he describes a beautiful setting, yet he uses peculiar words which would mean the opposite. In my picture I drew an aeroplane. The plane symbolises the island, throughout the Lord of the Flies the island is symbolic of the entire world and humanity.

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.

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.