Abstract
This essay explores the use of symbols in Lord of the Flies. It examines how the theme of darkness in man’s heart is incorporated into those symbols.
Introduction
William Golding, a Christian, has proclaimed himself to be a ‘very late developer’, and only found his voice for Lord of the Flies from World War II, basing the book on the atrocities he had witnessed then. It was from there that he realized that evil was ingrained in human nature, and can appear at any time. Exploring the darkness in man’s heart is one of the main themes in Lord of the Flies. The characters in the book are all schoolboys, a concept of which Golding is very familiar with and all of them portray different personalities of Ralph. In this essay, I will examine the ways in which the symbols are written to portray darkness in the heart of man and
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Due to the brutal nature and darkness in all of the boys’ hearts, the island becomes destroyed after they have inhabited it, just like the Garden of Eden.
Fire
Contrast to the word ‘darkness’, the subject of study in this essay, the fire is another essential symbol that stands for hope and man’s dependence. It also plays a significant role in bringing out the innate evil in the boys. Golding creates the impression the fire has its own life, comparing the fire to different animals, first squirrels then jaguars. He uses phrases such as ‘scrambled up’ and ‘began to gnaw ’ to emphasise this effect. He also personifies the heart, giving it realistic traits such as the human heart, with the words ‘leapt nimbly’ and ‘swinging and flaring ’. The fire shows the innate evil in the boys through their desire of consuming meat. They resort to violent means in order to attain it. Piggy’s glasses were the only thing on the island that could start a fire, and was brutally stolen from him by Jack’s tribe. Jack’s tribe planned an ambush on Ralph’s side and resorted to ‘rolling over and over, hitting, biting scratching ’ just to get
Because Piggy is one of the more intelligent boys on the island, he knows, recognizes, and understands some of the things the other boys don’t. Ralph being the leader amongst the boys orders the them to make signal fire so ships will see the smoke and they will be rescued. They make the signal fire by using Piggy’s glasses as a source of technology. “His specs- use them as burning glasses” (40). The glasses later become a harmful source when they are misused by Jack.
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys get stranded on an island with no adults in the midst of a war. The boys were orderly and civilized in the beginning but then as they began killing pigs they slowly became savages and lost their civilization. The boys began turning on each other and the evil within them became present. Golding uses a variety of literary devices including personification, symbols, metaphors, and irony, to project the theme that pure and realistic people in the world can be unheard and destroyed by evil.
Literary Analyses of the Lord of the Flies The Lord of the Flies demonstrates a wide variety of symbolism; from Christ to Satan the children are portrayed in an abstract manner to represent these religious beings, as well as a symbol of great strife for power. Two of the main symbolic devices are used in the form of a mystical Conch and a cumbersome Sow’s head perched atop a stake; however these symbols represent very different ideas. Next the Lord of the Flies demonstrates the burden and struggle of power in multiple ways. William Golding included within this novel the power of symbolism, using inanimate objects, characters, or even landmasses to represent ideals derived from basic human morals and Christian religion that has a major influence
People go through life in different ways, each having their own set of morals and beliefs. Nonetheless, the bond between humans and their moral system can be compromised under stressful and life-threatening circumstances. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, humans cannot reach their fullest potential without fulfilling their elementary needs for survival. When situations come and strip them of that, it begins to tear the system a person has; leaving them to desperately leave everything behind for the sake of survival. Night and Lord of the Flies explore the limits of humans under extreme conditions.
Jack has finally started his own tribe, he retaliates against jack this piece of evidence says “ He began to pound the mouth below him, using his clenchedfist as a hammer ; he hit with more and more passionate hysteria as the face became slippery.” (167). This shows that even though Ralph knows that the boys are the only ones on the island he still hits the person very hard until they start to bleed. This means that the boys are trying to fight and raid each other for some fire and Piggy’s glasses, when they said they’d give them fire if they would’ve just asked for it. Throughout the story you can see the boys transform from kids to savages, this piece of evidence shows how savage kids twelve and under can get when they want to survive.
In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, the reader comprehends symbols that go throughout the book. These symbols are key factors which determine the importance of the novel. The symbols are a very important part of the literary content. In order to really follow along and understand the story, the reader must understand these symbols for what they mean as well as how they are used. Some of the symbols include the conch, the island itself, and fire.
When Ralph encounters old friends while hiding from Jack, they warn him of their plan, “’I dunno. And Ralph, Jack, the chief, says it’ll be dangerous-’ ‘- and we’ve got to be careful and throw our spears like at a pig.’” (Golding 188). The spear that was created to hunt pigs for food to survive, to protect their group for safety, is now used to hunt down their friends without remorse because of the fear that Jack instilled in them. Ralph wasn’t an exception to this contagious fear for it also changes him, “While he was eating, he heard fresh noises- cries of pain from Samneric, cries of panic, angry voices.
The boys were pushed to this level of savagery by the need for power. In chapter nine of Lord of the Flies, William Golding employs symbolism, repetition, and animal imagery to convey the theme that the need for power can cause people to become savages. Golding uses the rhetorical strategy symbolism to convey the theme that the need for power can cause people to become savages. In this story they use a conch shell to symbolize order within the group.
In Lord of the Flies, Golding explores the idea that human nature, when left without the regulations of society, will become barbaric. As one of the prevailing themes in his work, the dark side of human nature is represented through the novel, not only in symbols and motifs, but in his characters as well. The dark side of human nature is an integral part of the novel 'Lord of the Flies.' William Golding, a British novelist employs symbols, motifs and characters to create the idea that human nature, without civilisation will become barbaric.
Everyone will face evil at some point in their lives, but the way the evil is embraced or deflected will differ among every man. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbolism is used to communicate the theme of Understanding the Inhumanity/Inherent Evil of Man as represented through the double ended spear, the fire, and the Lord of the Flies. The spear represents the evil inside of humankind and the perception that killing and hurting each other out of anger is acceptable. Fire symbolizes the evil act of stealing to achieve a human wants. Lastly, the Lord of the Flies symbolizes the Inherent Evil of Man through demonstrating that a boy understood that the evil is within them instead of around them, and is not something that could be killed
However the beast truly is only within them, Golding uses the beast to symbolise and show the reader the evil within everyone including a pack of young boys, the concept the boys have of the beast begins to break down the order on the island.
The Lord of the Flies novel, by William Golding, is a symbolic allegory, delving deep into the true horrors of war, savagery, and the loss of innocence throughout the duration of time the children spent on the island. I the novel a situation arises involving a dead parachutist, still he represents so much more than Mr. Golding makes apparent. Commonly applied to the story is the ideology of a “beast,” the concept behind these two aspects are similar, yet have a distinct separation between them. Just like the notion of the “beast” and the dead parachutist is the “Lord of the Flies” himself, pertaining to reasons related to that of the other two major examples of symbolism. The dead parachutist is so much more than what you see, you must go deeper
Lord of the Flies remains Golding’s most accredited piece of work. It is an apparently simple but densely layered novel that has been categorized as fiction, fable, a myth, and a tale. Generous use of symbolism in Golding’s work is what distinguishes him with other authors of the same genre. For example, the conch shell, that represents a vulnerable hold of authority which was finally shattered to pieces with Piggy’s death. Secondly, for the other boys, Piggy’s eyeglasses represented the lack of intelligence which was later defeated by superstition and savagery.
Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts.
Overall, The Lord of the Flies was a very graphic novel that sought to depict the dark side of human nature. Every aspect of the novel contributed to the overall theme. From the Golding’s decision to use teenage boys as the main characters because of their disposition to behave recklessly to his use of the pig’s head to represent the devil, the story is a very effective cautionary