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Use of symbolism in lord of the flies
Use of symbolism in lord of the flies
Analysis for Ralph in the Lord of the Flies
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Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The symbolism of the conch, its importance in the novel and the
attitude of the boys towards it.
William Golding uses a lot of symbolism in his novel, Lord of the
Flies, for objects that represent ideas or progression into savagery.
One of the main objects is the conch. This shell represents power and
authority, and we can see this because Ralph uses it to call the
others to join him in a meeting. In these meetings whomever holds the
shell is entitled to speak and this represents democracy and freedom
of speech within a group instead of a purely autocratic assembly that
Jack would have. The conch shows how people use objects to give power,
like a crown or scepter. Ralph first gets the confidence to suggest
that a chief is necessary from the conch and from then on he uses it
as his support, I quote, " 'Shut up', said Ralph absently. He lifted
the conch. 'Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things' ".
His forcefulness gains respect from the others, and I quote "Ralph
smiled and held up the conch for silence" and immediately the boys
listened to what he had to say. Ralph uses the shell to set up the
rules by which the boys will live and says "I'll give the conch to the
next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking". This is an
enormous privilege because it allows this person to share their ideas
with the group. This is the way in which Ralph convinces the boys that
they must light a fire in order to be rescued and also gives Jack the
responsibility to lead the hunters which gives him power and keeps the
former prefect and leader of the choir happy.
At the beginning, the co...
... middle of paper ...
... It is also obvious
that it is Jack and Roger who have finally destroyed all of the rules
that Ralph made, and "The conch exploded into a thousand white
fragments and ceased to exist". It is then the boys who are not
hunters that suffer and Jack hurts a little one for no apparent
reason. "He got angry and made us tie Wilford up" is all that his
followers knew, and yet they did not doubt him for the boys still need
some rules in their lives. It is the society members that suffer when
there is no democracy; not the leaders like Jack, and at the end of
the book there was nothing that prevented the boys from complete
disorder. It is when this happens that we realize that even though an
object can give power like a spear to Jack or the conch to Ralph, an
object can never truly provide power for others can just disregard it.
2. “Oh yes. Without the fire we can’t be rescued. So we must stay by the fire and make smoke.” (156).
‘A chief! A chief!’ ‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack simple arrogance, ‘because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.’ Another buzz. ‘Well then,’ said Jack, ‘I—’ He hesitated. The dark boy, Roger, stirred at last and spoke up. ‘Let’s have a vote.’ ‘Yes!’ ‘Vote for chief!’ ‘Let’s vote—’ ‘Him with the shell.’ ‘Ralph! Ralph!’ ‘Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing.’ ‘All right. Who wants Jack for chief?’ With dreary obedience the choir raised their hands. ‘Who wants me?’ Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air. Ralph counted. ‘I’m chief then.’ (22-23).
...m the island is if they make smoke. To make smoke, they must build a fire. They decide to put the fire on top of the mountain because it is the highest point on the island and they smoke would be easier to see to passing by ships. Everybody at this point thinks it’s a great idea and thinks is willing to pitch in to get the fire going. They are very enthusiastic and they all want to get of the island as soon as possible. Rescue is the first and only thing that is going through the minds of the boys. Fire also represents civilty because fire is used for warmth, comfort and tool-making. All things that are needed in a civil society and at this point in the novel, the boys are very civil. Jack and some of the other boys are starting to lose will to be rescued. ‘”We can light the fire again. You should have been with us, Ralph. We had a smashing time…”’ (Golding 73)
lips. As the boys settle into their lives on the island, the conch is the primary source of authority;
In the novel, Ralph deserts civilization. At first, Ralph uses the conch to establish civilization and a form of democracy on the island. In the beginning of the novel, Ralph declares, “Whoever has the conch gets to speak” (16). The conch was used as a tool to retain ord...
After Jack separates himself from the rest of the tribe, Ralph barges into the camp and attempts to use the conch shell to gather up his former tribe mates. The boys say that the conch doesn’t work here, and they start throwing rocks at Ralph.
and Jack are in the forest and they see the pig for the first time Jack does not
The boys Ralph, Jack, and Simon go off to explore the island and see what it has on it. Upon returning from walking around the island Ralph makes a decision that they need to build a fire. He thinks that the smoke from the fire will catch the attention of other planes flying over the island. They decide to try and start a fire by using dead wood that has been dried out and reflecting the sun out of Peggy’s glasses. They were successful in...
The sheer importance of the discovery of the conch, in addition to its appealing sound, it symbolizes the unity of everyone. Ralph, again, shows his leadership abilities as he recognizes the use of the conch, "Conch?" "That's what this shell's called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking," (Golding, 33). This designation shows the beginnings of organization and sharpening skills of the children.
What is human nature? How does William Golding use it in such a simple story of English boys to precisely illustrate how truly destructive humans can be? Golding was in World War Two, he saw how destructive humans can be, and how a normal person can go from a civilized human beign into savages. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the theme of human nature to show how easily society can collapse, and how self-destructive human nature is. Throughout the story Golding conveys a theme of how twisted and sick human nature can lead us to be. Many different parts of human nature can all lead to the collapse of society. Some of the aspects of human nature Golding plugged into the book are; destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic. These emotions all attribute to the collapse of society. Golding includes character, conflict, and as well as symbolism to portray that men are inherently evil.
William Golding’s book, Lord of the flies, begins with the central character stuck in a jungle of which he knows little about. Ralph as we later find out his name, is the athletic, level-headed, leader of the boys on the island. He is the emotional leader of the group, and he has a major influence on all of the other characters. Ralph is used as a sort of reminder of the old world. He reminds the boys that there are laws and rules and everyone must abide for survival. When the boys realize that they are not at home anymore and they being to rely on their natural instincts they lose the society that man-kind has created. Ralph is trying hard to keep the boys together because he knows if they are not the chances of being rescued become lesser.
of the book, the conch is a good example of this. The conch is a
The conch was used to call meetings but is also symbolic of the government structure and power. One of the main themes in the novel “Civilization vs. Savagery” is fought between two egos, Jack the Id who represents savagery and the desire for power and Ralph the Ego and protagonist, who represents order and leadership. William Golding created a society that was controlled by the dominant ego and influenced mostly by the person with the most manpower. Jack who was the leader of the hunter group influences the rest to join his tribe to hunt and kill. However, not all of the children on the island had the same savage trait as some others. This created a clash between tribes and leaders. You were left with the Good vs. Evil or Civilization vs. Savagery scenario.
Right away, the shell is established as something good virtuous because Ralph is the person to find it. In literature, appearance often correlates to morality and goodness. Golding presents Ralph as a very attractive boy, therefore his readers can infer that he is a moral character. It is also stated that Ralph “might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil” (Golding 10). The author explicitly states that although Ralph has the potential to be menacing and malicious, he is too virtuous of a character to do any harm.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding Through his writing in the book Lord of the Flies, William Golding's view on. nature is not as in the plant and tree kind of nature, but in the nature of man at a young age of life. Golding is trying to portray what instincts and desires are like at an early time in a man's life when there are no adults around to help shape those. feelings to fit in with the mainstream society that people live in everyday. The nature of man is any and all of the instincts and desires of a person or animal.