Symbolic Elements in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

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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.
One of the main problems that the boys had on the island was the beast. In their minds the beast was a terrible creature that was out to kill them. Their fear of the beast ruined Ralph’s chances of trying to restore civilization on the island. Jack and his hunters wanted to hunt down the beast and kill it thinking that it was something that they could kill. Little did they know that the only thing that they should’ve been afraid of was themselves. Golding was trying to show the reader that the worst beast that exists is the...

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