...Symbolism in Lord of the Flies In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, the boys who are stranded on the island encounter many elements that are actually symbols. These symbols are significant to the story and change over the course of the novel. It is important to understand what each of these symbols mean in order to fully understand the novel. The conch shell, Piggy’s glasses, and the island itself are three important symbols in “Lord of the Flies.” The first symbolic element in “Lord of the Flies” is the conch shell. This symbolizes the rule of law and civilization on the island. Ralph uses it as a microphone and calls assemblies with it. Whoever is holding it at the assembly has the right to speak. “Jack stands and reaches for the conch so he can talk. But Ralph refuses to hand it over and Jack sits back down” (Golding, pg 81). Jack’s actions show that even though he might not agree with Ralph, he still respects the rules of civilization. When the conch is broken, Jack exclaims that he can now be chief. That is because without the conch shell, civilization and power is gone....
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...Symbolism in the Lord of the Flies In everyday life, different objects, places, and people symbolize various meanings. In the major motion picture and best selling novel, The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, the main character, Katniss Everdeen wears a mockingjay pin as a representation of bravery and courage. The mockingjay is an example of a symbol, which according to Random House Webster’s college dictionary is “something used for or regarded as something else.” William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, tells a story about a group of stranded boys on an island and the use of many symbolic items that affect their stay and character. Golding’s use and representation of the conch shell, Piggy’s glasses, and the Beast/Lord of Flies...
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...themes in William Golding's Lord of the Flies is the struggle between Society and Savagery. The boys' first intention on the island is to create a society based on the one they had in the adult world: one with rules, limitations and order. But at the same time, they want to have fun. As time progresses, they start ignoring the rules that they had originally set. Instead of using the designated lavatory stones for bathroom purposes, they start using the bathroom wherever they want, even near their special meeting place. The shelters that they all intended on helping to build end up being built by only a few of the boys and therefore, are not as sturdy as they could have been. According to Henri Talon, "[The boys] planned order and allowed disorder to settle" (Talon). The longer they stayed on the island, the more they lost touch with the boundaries set by society, and they eventually started to resort to primitive behavior. Throughout the novel, each of the boys struggles to keep remnants of society in tact, while their primitive nature tries to reel them into savagery. Some of the boys give into their primitive behavior very quickly, while others strive to hold on to their civility as long as possible. This struggle is portrayed masterfully by Golding who uses symbolism to enhance the reader's understanding of it. The first prominent symbol of society that we see is the conch shell that Ralph finds near the shore at the beginning of the novel. Upon Piggy's suggestion, Ralph blows...
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...'LORD OF THE FLIES' by William Golding “Revision notes can never replace knowing the books thoroughly” J.W.Evans These notes should be used as pointers to the directions that your thoughts might take. They are not meant to replace your reading of the novel, you must still do that yourself.. CHARACTERISATION Never forget that we are talking about a group of boys whose maximum age is twelve. RALPH Does he represent all that is good in people? Tall, fair-skinned, blond hair, very athletic, natural leader although not that good a leader as many of his decisions are questionable, which ones?. He is middle-class, father a naval officer. Elected leader but not forceful enough to maintain position. Eventually he loses support and is reduced to the status of an outcast who must flee for his life. Ralph is an idealist and a dreamer. He needs Piggy to think for him. He finds the Conch but Piggy tells him how to use it. At the end of the book, he is a disillusioned realist who now sees his world and its inhabitants for what they are. JACK MERRIDEW Does he represent the worst in people? He is thin, tall, with red hair, light blue eyes and freckles. Leader of the choir, he becomes the leader of the hunters. Increasingly in conflict with Ralph and more particularly, Piggy, he breaks away, forms his own tribe and splits the group. He manages to get the support to do this by offering the boys the attraction of the hunting life and then by terrorising them. In the...
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...Law and rules shape the foundation for civilization which is necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in order. The lawless country of Somalia in East Africa demonstrates that without an affective form of government and the restraints of civilization, the behavior of people will regress to their savage beginnings. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies explores the theme of civilization to savagery through the usage of symbolism to portray the premise that children are savages by nature and without adult guidance or supervision; their entire darker side will manifest itself in full force. The consequential regression of the boys from civilization to savagery is symbolized by the use of the conch, fire, and Piggy’s glasses. First of all, the conch shell manages to demonstrate civilization to savagery through its ability to establish order to build a civilization, lose its power and deteriorate civilization, and shatter to eliminate civilization. In the beginning, the conch is used to establish and uphold order and peace on the island, playing a key role in forming and maintaining a civilization. Ralph uses the conch and his leadership to summon the others, have meetings and delegate positions, assign power, and set rules such as: “[Giving] the conch to the next person to speak” (Golding 31). By adhering to the set of rules regarding the conch shell, the boys still maintain their civilized way of living back at home where there is the existence of government and laws...
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...Leadership and Knowledge Using symbolism, Golding enhances the meaning of the book itself and objects in the book. Many objects or event in the book have a meaning behind them that help to give the book more definition and expand Golding’s intentions. Some objects used in the book to symbolize something more meaningful could be Piggy’s glasses and the conch shell. In the book, Golding has Piggy’s glasses and the conch shell’s symbolism pop up many times. Throughout the book Golding gives certain objects a meaning behind them to make those objects symbolize important things that enhance the meaning of the book. One of the many symbols in the book is Piggy’s glasses. Piggy’s glasses are brought up in the beginning of the book and the symbol...
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...Can an author show progression in a novel by using an inanimate object? William Golding uses a few of these in his novels. In Golding’s, The Lord of the Flies, a symbol that shows the deterioration of the boys on the island is Piggy’s glasses. The boy’s specs start out as perfectly good glasses, but one of the lenses eventually lose cracks, then they are completely broken, which shows how the boys’ society declines. When the boys get to the island, the society and Piggy’s glasses started out perfectly normal. One way that Piggy’s specs represent the society of the boys on the island is in the beginning when his specs are completely whole. This shows that their society is whole and structured. For example, Ralph sets up the society by setting a few ground rules to help the boys live well and have a better chance of being rescued. Ralph states, “‘There aren’t any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves…We can’t have everybody talking at once…I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking’” (31). The boys respect these rules and abide by them for the time being. Their society has only had positive results so far. Although...
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...Lord of the Flies Symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something. It could also be a mark or character used as a common representation of an object, function, or process. In the lifetime that anyone has lived so far, there is at least one symbol that is of importance in your life. Everyone has something that symbolizes them or some part of their life. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, shows a lot of mental/physical symbols and their importance. Some of the symbols that Golding shows and introduces in the novel are the conch, the beast, and Piggy’s glasses. One of the symbols that Golding showed in the novel was the conch. The conch was something that Ralph, a 12 year old boy, and Piggy, Ralph’s “lieutenant”(helper), had discovered and it was used to gather the group of kids that got stuck on the island along with them. In the group of kids, whoever had the conch, was the person who the the right to speak, meaning that the person was the leader of the group. Although later in the novel, the conch was no longer of use because of the savagery that came out of the kids made their ways of thinking different, which led them to become violent and out of control. Similar to an anarchy because if there is no control, then everything is chaotic. Soon after the boys have become savagery, the conch was crushed along with Piggy by a boulder that Roger, Jack the new leader’s “lieutenant”, pushes and so the conch shell is now of no use. The conch shell was a powerful...
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...Final Essay Lord of the Flies By: Cole William Golding was a famous author and one of his most famous novels was Lord of the Flies. It is about a group of boys who survived a plane crash and are stranded on a island. He liked using symbols to represent different objects from civilization. Piggy represented civilization, piggy’s specs repressed power, and the conch represented democracy. Goulding uses lots of symbols in his book such as the conch, Piggy’s specs, and Piggy. Golding uses a character named Piggy to represent civilization. Piggy was a biggin that was smart and had all the good ideas but nobody listened to him. He represents civilization because he is the only level headed kid on the island and likes how Ralf runs things. He comes up with a lot of good ideas such as writing the names of all the children in the island which would have helped in different parts of the books. The character Piggy has a pair of glasses that are very important for the boys. If they didn’t have the glasses later on in the novel they would have been stuck there till they died. Golding uses Piggy's glasses represent power. They use Piggy’s glasses to make fire to signal any ships that come near the island. In chapter eleven tribe Jack and tribe Ralf fight over them because without fire they can’t cook there pigs. The reason why...
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...How would you survive an island full of rambunctious boys? Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding is an allegorical novella that uses allusions, symbolism, and irony to convey the idea that evil is within us. The story takes place during World War II, when a group of schoolboys are being evacuated from England. They crash on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and have to fight for their lives in a new and strange environment. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, find a conch and use it to gather the other children in an attempt to form order. The elect Ralph as the leader and they work together as a civilization, at least at first. Unfortunately, some of the elected hunters would rather have fun, hunt, and play savage. This leads to a feud between the boys. Eventually, Jack, the leader of the hunters convinces the majority of the boys that fun...
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... Period 2 Lord of the Flies Symbolism Symbolism is an object, animal, idea, or a person that stands for itself and something beyond itself. Symbolism is used many times in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The Conch is one example of this symbolism. Another example is the fire and Piggy’s glasses. The Beast is a great example of symbolism. The Conch is used to summon the boys after the crash and later used to call assemblies or meetings. The shell effectively governs the boys’ meetings, for the boy who holds the shell holds the right to speak. In this regard, the shell is more than a symbol: it is a vessel of political legitimacy and democratic power. “Which is better--to have laws and agree, or to hunt and kill?” This quotation states what the conch originally stood for. The conch shell becomes a powerful symbol of civilization and order in the novel. As the civilization erodes and the boys descend into savagery, the conch shell loses its power. The boulder that Roger uses to kill Piggy also destroys the conch shell, signifying the demise of the civilized instinct among the boys on the island. One of Ralph’s original ideas to create a signal fire to catch the attention of passing ships. The only way fire can be started is by using Piggy’s glasses. Piggy is the most intelligent, rational boy in the group: his glasses represent the power of science in society. This is clear from the start of the novel; when the boys use the lenses from Piggy’s glasses to focus the...
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...In the midst of a nuclear war, a young group of British boys find themselves lost on a tropical island without the supervision of adults. The group stumbles upon countless problems in Lord of the Flies during their duration of being stranded on the island, resulting in multiple disputes between the boys. Conflict is apparent through the novel, whether it's being man versus man, man versus himself or man versus nature. Author, William Golding, portrays conflict through two of the main characters, Ralph, leader of the civilized group, and Jack, leader of the savage group. Golding reveals the growing tension between civilization and savagery from when a signal fire is let out, Piggy’s glasses breaking, and the pig hunts by Jack. The adventure that the boys encounter in Lord of the Flies explores the dark side of humanity showing the civilized versus the savage-like nature of human beings. Golding attempts to unearth the flaws of society back to the flaws of the nature of humans. The first key moment in the rising action that shows the growing tension between civilization and savagery is when Jack and his hunters let the fire die out, causing a ship to pass by without a smoke signal showing and allowing the group of boys to miss an opportunity of being rescued. This key moment is important because it marks the first dispute between the antagonist and protagonist in the novel. Ralph’s priorities are to build shelters and keep a signal fire going in order to get rescued, however Jack’s...
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...William Golding writes about this in his novel, Lord of the Flies, a story of boys stranded on an island whom establish systems of organization to survive. A boy named Ralph is selected as chief, and immediately a power struggle begins between him and another boy named Jack. As time goes by, powerful connections to the culture of the old world that they came from...
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...Inner darkness in human nature is discovered by the use of disorganization and violence. As order collapses, terror becomes reality. Criticism is recognized as man rips nature apart without thinking about the consequences and outcomes. An attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature is revealed through criticism. There are several tools used to symbolize the fight against chaos. Golding uses objects as a representation of mass hysteria, and to show the end of innocence and the darkness of a man’s heart. Symbolism is evident within the story through the fire, the glasses, and the beast. Violence is shown through rescue and destruction. It shows the intention of humans to control nature by destroying it. Through harming the island surrounding them, the boys destroy their own habitat and cause damage to themselves. The signal fire serves the purpose of helping the group to be recognized by passing ships, eventually being rescued. If the boys’ world is just a symbol for the real world, then they are not being rescued at all. They are just going to a larger scale of violence. But in the novel, the fire gets out of control and threatens the boys’ lives. Consequently, the signal fire is a symbol of the boys’ diminishing hope. Golding uses the signal fire to also symbolize hope, something which Jack destroys as the novel progresses. At times the signal fire rages out of control, symbolic of the boys themselves. Furthermore, the signal fire is the island...
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...Lord Of The Flies By William Gold Lord Of The Flies by William Golding is about a group of British boys, that crash landed on an island and must fend for themselves till they are rescued. They must build a shelter, find food, and keep a fire going to flag down any ships. During an unnamed war, a plane carrying a group of British boys is shot down and the pilot is killed instantly. Many of the boys survived the crash, Ralph the oldest of the boys is put in charge but Jack wasn't pleased at all. Jack was an aggressive, rude, and loves to pick on Piggy because Piggy won't do anything back. After being on the island for a day, Ralph leads Jack and Simon on an expedition through the island to find food. They find a pig and Jack plans to kill it but it runs away before he can kill it. Ralph calls a meeting and attempts to make some rules, Jack agrees saying whoever breaks the rules should be punished. Ralph and Piggy don't agree because they all need to survive till they are rescued. Ralph says they need to build a fire to flag down any passing ships but Piggy lashes out saying they need to build shelters first. After a while, the little boys building the fire lost interest, the fire died and a ship passed the island by. Piggy yells out that it was Jack's fault because he and the hunters were too busy trying to kill the pig. Jack punches Piggy in the face, breaking one of his lenses, this causes tension to build between the boys. The group slowly...
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