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The use of symbolism in the book Lord of the Flies
The use of symbolism in the book Lord of the Flies
The literary analysis of Lord of the Flies by William Golding
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In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, blood gives the boys feelings of power and control through violence. For instance, after the hunters successfully kill a pig, Jack “giggled and flicked them [his hands] while the boys laughed at his reeking palms. Then Jack grabbed Maurice and rubbed the stuff [blood] over his cheeks” (135). Maurice is not a leader on the island and he is entirely comfortable with being a follower and not making decisions for himself. Jack, on the other hand, has more power in island politics and Maurice could arguably be his subordinate; therefore, the smearing of the blood over Maurice’s face is Jack demonstrating his control over him. Another example of the use of blood as a symbol of control is when a lightning storm
In Blood In Blood Out is a drama directed by Taylor Hackford, and starring Damian Chapa (Miklo), Benjamin Bratt (Paco), and Jesse Borrego (Cruz), produced by Hollywood Pictures. The film was based off everyday life in East Los Angeles, from the 1970’s through the 1980’s. Damian Chapa stars as Miklo in the film, a Mexican-American who wanted to be accepted, not by his skin but for the Mexican within him. Benjamin Bratt (Paco) was the older cousin of Miklo, who learned his lesson throughout the movie and changed his ways. Jesse Borrego (Cruz) is the step-brother of Paco who was a talent artist, who ended up turning to drugs because of back problems caused by a rival gang incident.
Shakespeare used the image of blood to portray the central idea of Macbeth, King Duncan’s murder. The crime is foreshadowed in the second scene of the first act. The king shouts, “ What bloody man is that?” (I,ii,1) He is referring to a soldier coming in from battle. The soldier then explains to King Duncan of Macbeth’s heroics in battle. One assumes that Macbeth is bloody just like the soldier. The soldier describes Macbeth in action “Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution.” (I,ii,17-18) This line connects Macbeth with killing, and hints at the future.
There are signs and symbols in both novels that show the beginning of barbarism and brutality. In Lord of the Flies, the boys portray inhumane characteristics in painting their faces. Jack, being the archetypal savage, paints his face the symbolic colors of red and black. "For example, when Jack first paints his face to his satisfaction, he suddenly becomes a new, savage person. "He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling." (Al-Saidi, “Savagery and the Heart of Darkness in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies”). Jack’s transformation into a savage character results in his animalistic behavior. Likewise, Gene’s downfall into a wicked state results in his change of character. He ultimately acts as an archetype of brutality and jealousy. Similarly, “the scornful force of his tone turned the word into a curse” (Knowles) showing that once peaceful words have turned into barbarian, savage-like ones. Overall, the boys barbarian actions resulted in the degeneration of man and the archetypal character of a savage.
Racism, a plague in our society that has infected our society, and still does today, has been rooted by the premise of Darwinian evolution. Racism existed long before Charles Darwin made his mark in history; however, in the book One Race One Blood, the authors explain how there is a very close relationship between the theory of evolution and what we know today as racism. The authors intent of this book is to realize the effects of a specific ideas that has shaped racism. Mr. Ken Ham describes ideas as being seeds, “…they might seem small; they might seem insignificant; they might even go unnoticed by all expect those who hold them in the moment…” (7). Charles Darwin’s idea (or seeds) of his evolutionary has taken root and made its way into public schools, the government, and even our churches. Although, racism did not originate with Darwin, Ken Ham claims that, “he did more than any other person to popularize it” (22). His evolutionary ideas have fueled racism and this is what racists use to justify their hatred toward those who are different from them (8).
Wallace Terry has collected a wide range of stories told by twenty black Vietnam veterans. The stories are varied based on each experience; from the horrific to the heart breaking and to the glorified image of Vietnam depicted by Hollywood. Wallace Terry does not insinuate his opinion into any of the stories so that the audience can feel as if they are having a conversation with the Vietnam Veteran himself. Terry introduces the purpose of the book by stating, “ Among the 20 men who portray their war and postwar experiences in this book. I sought a representative cross section of the black combat force.”(p. XV) Although the stories in this book were not told in any specific order, many themes became prominent throughout the novel such as religion, social, and health.
Notably, when they killed the sow that became the lord of the flies they stabbed her “right up her ass!” (135). They treat killing the pig with the brutality of rape. This unsettling imagery shows how truly far from innocent the boys are . Also, when they kill the sow they “leave part of her for” the beast (137). The savage idea of leaving a severed head on a stick shows how the boys have become corrupted by the evils of the island. The fear of the beast has twisted them and made them crazy and brutal. Then the boys declare “this head is for the beast, it is a gift” (139). Their fear of the beast makes the boys frantic to appease what they believe to be the eminent danger of the beast. They throw aside their innocence as they sacrifice a severed pig's head to the beast. Clearly, the lord of the flies show the savage nature of the boys.
Later on, he orders his hunters to ‘paint’ their faces. They were ‘brown and filthy dirty’. In the view of the painted faces and long hair, it is a thin mask and behind it, is the savagery and evil of these boys as slaughter pigs for meat. Jack’s ‘bloodthirsty’ desire for meat has gained him followers as he, compared to Ralph, can provide the boys with meat. Consequently, this event symbolises how people become brain washed by their desires which leads to evil and savagery and defects of the society such as war and hatred.
... middle of paper ... ... Shakespeare employs the powerful symbol of blood to augment the tragic nature of Macbeth, while dually adding dramatic effect to the play. Blood’s recurring symbolism throughout the play constantly reminds the audience of the Macbeth’s irreconcilable guilt. Blood’s symbolism in the murder of Duncan transforms an act of treachery into a ghastly betrayal.
During adolescence a person’s genetics and environment shapes their personality; therefore, after analyzing the events in the book, The Lord of the Flies, the boys’ future personality traits are more predictable. Genetics creates personal comforts and boundaries; therefore, genetics influence decision making, and ultimately personality. Scientists conducted studies in which they separated “identical twin boys after birth” and as adults, they “shared similar hobbies” and had some similar personality traits (Cherry). Genetics influence how the brain works, the twins had the same genes, and therefore, they found comfort in similar things; moreover, genetics influenced their comfort zones and decision making, creating somewhat similar personalities. Family, religion, friends, and school are all environmental influences that people grow up around and impact people throughout their
This is significantly apparent all throughout symbols and characters in his book, Lord of the Flies. The symbol of the pig’s head on a stick represents the devil and the terrors that he brings to influence the boys to go on with violence and savagery. The face paint used by the hunters, in the book, is also a very prominent motif in depicting evil, for these masks strip away the boys’ inhibition and allow their inner wickedness to take control of them. The conch shows how the boys have order in the beginning, but wear down over time and reject the moral code they were taught. Fire, initially used for survival, gives the boys a sense of hope, yet also represents how the boy’s society slowly becomes uncontrolled as their violence increases. Piggy’s glasses, as it continually gets foggy and cracks, represents the boys’ society and how it progressively deteriorates as the story goes on. The jungle depicts the consequence of human action in reference to how it is pristine and attractive at the beginning of the novel, yet with the boys inhabiting the island, it is ultimately burned down. Golding plays with different things inside his novel to explain the evil that is man. For whether it be the influence, the Lord of the Flies, the allowance, the painted
Blood is another big symbol in the book. Blood is a symbol of sacrifice by John Grady for everything that he loves and cares about. He pays for the horses when he gets shot while retrieving his horse from the c...
After at first symbolizing bravery, blood soon becomes an image representing treachery and treason. When Lady Macbeth is trying to summon enough courage to have the king killed, she cries out to spirits to "make thick my blood," (1.5.50) meaning that she wants to try and be as remorseless as possible so that she can perform this treacherous deed. Macbeth also calls the act of treason the “.bloody business.” (2.1.60) In addition, Lady Macbeth knows that blood is evidence of treason, and so she shifts the blame onto others by telling Macbeth to "smear the sleepy grooms with blood," (2.2.64)
The first sign of the boys becoming “red” occurs when they begin to feel hungry. They aren’t satisfied from just eating the fruit on the trees, and know they must hunt to fulfill their emptiness. They have seen many pigs and know that killing one is their only hope. To prepare for battle, Jack, the antagonist, insists that the boys should wear war paint. “Jack planned his new face. He made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then rubbed red over the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charcoal across from the right ear to the left jaw. He looked in the pool for his reflection… no longer at himself, but at an awesome stranger” (Golding 63). The symbolism of applying the white, red, and then black paints shows progression of painful emotions enclosing themselves within Jack, at first innocent, then causing harm, and finally changing him completely from white to black. The colored paints have manipulated him to believe that this new façade makes him a better person, and stronger for the group, but when in reality, they just “mask” his pain. Slowly all of the boys except Piggy, Simon, and Ralph start to turn savage as a result of being led by Jack’s untrue leadership. All of the frustration and pain that has been ignored to give the others hope, is slowly causing them to become emotionally delirious. The “final straw of savagery” occurs
The image of blood plays an important role throughout Macbeth. Blood represents the murders that Macbeth had committed, the guilt that went along with the murders and the pain that it brought on him during his downfall. The soldier describes the violence and bloodshed, in the war between Scotland and Norway, "Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds." (I. ii. 43) foreshadows the violent nature of the play filled with murder, guilt and pain. Blood in the murder of King Duncan also plays a major role because it represents Macbeth's guilt as well as his shame for slaying King Duncan. Macbeth observes his blood stained hands and remarks "As they had seen me with these hangman's hands." (II. ii. 28) This reveals his guilt and shame because he is comparing his hands to those of an executioner's. After the murder, Macbeth refuses to return back to the bed chamber of Kind Duncan to smear the blood on the sleeping guards, because he is afraid that the blood will incriminate him further. Lady Macbeth smearing the blood onto the guards represents them trying to rub their guilt off onto the guard. "I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt" (II. ii. 73) but this proves to be ineffective because Macbeth ends up murdering t...
Throughout Lord of the Flies is a display of humankind’s thirst for power. Most of the boys, for example, transition to savagery and animalistic behaviors to free themselves from powerless lives. Jack, the leader of the hunters, becomes the first of the boys to paint a mask on his face. “Jack planned his new face. He made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then he rubbed over the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charcoal across from right ear to left jaw…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, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness,” (63-64). Under his mask, Jack feels no shame, and therefore is free to indulge in power as he desires. In fact, later in the book, Jack and a few other boys commit one of the ultimate crimes of violence and power—rape (although only metaphorically.) Jack...