William Golding's Lord of the Flies

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Recommended: The influence on the behavior of the boys in the novel lord of the flies Essay

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the color pink is hard to overlook. Throughout the text there is pink mentioned at virtually every turn: The pink platform, cream-pink conch, pink mountain, pink faces of the children, pink pig, etc. This color represents a vast amount including, "This color represents compassion, nurturing and love. It relates to unconditional love and understanding, and the giving and receiving of nurturing." (Judy Scott Kennis, "The Color Pink") Pink further details, "Brighter pinks are youthful, fun, and exciting...” (Kate Smith, "All About the Color Pink") With so many meanings, however, the primary symbolism of this color lies with the utter youth of the children, the characters of Golding's novel; many of the survivors of the crash being younger than eight, while some were around the age of twelve. The boys are rushed into responsibility all at once to look after themselves, while also presented with freedom from their parent's authority. They are lead to extremes in human nature, that of violence, savagery, eventually catapulting themselves to the killing of one of their own thought to be the beast that caused uproar and panic on the island. After the killing of the first pig, "...crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink." (Golding 70) The boys begin their descent into tribal ferocity, having tasted freedom from their parent's jurisdiction and the overreaching power of their English society. Secluded on the island, the boys are allowed the ability of molding their own morality, as well as given the ultim...

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..., and finally the ever sought after pink pig that sealed their submission to violence and took what sliver of innocence had remained amongst them. All these symbols of youth, combined, bring the ultimate destruction of their childish nature.

Works Cited

Golding, William. The Lord of the Flies. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1954. Print.
"Children and World War Two." History Learning Site. HistoryLearningSite.co.uk, 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Hughes, Thomas A. “World War II: The Battle of Britain.” Encyclopedia Brittanica. 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Kate Smith. “All About the Color PINK.” Sensational Color. Kate Smith, LLC. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Judy Scott Kennis. “The Color Pink.” empower-yourself-with-color-psychology. empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
"William Golding." Biography. A&E Television Networks, LLC, 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

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