Symbolism

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Symbolism
In each of the three works Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, and “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, written by William Shakespeare all have a strong common characteristic. Keeping in mind each author came from different backgrounds and had very different motivations for writing each novel/play it’s ironic that in each story the main idea is redundant. Each of the three stories uses symbolism as a way to relate conflicts in the story to the conflicts in the real world.
Symbolism in Lord of the Flies
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbolism in three important areas: objects that have symbolic value as references to ideas, characters that symbolize important religious and historical people, and the setting which frames conflict on the island in comparison to the whole world. (Bernard Oldsley, pg. 215)
Many objects in the Lord of the Flies have symbolic value. The conch shell represents power and authority, Ralph uses the shell to call for the boys to come to the meetings, whoever has the shell has the power to talk. “The conch shows how people use objects to give power in the world, like a crown, ribbon, or other things that show who has power. We also learn that objects don’t really give a lot of power when people choose not to obey it, like Ralph’s conch.”
(Steven Magill, pg. 2059)
The pigs head of Lord of the Flies are both important objects, to Jack it’s a sacrifice for the beast. This object shows that people will make religions and rituals to control their world, even when what they think is not true. (Chris Dakins, pg. 123)
The Lord of the Flies is also a symbol of Satan or the Devil. When Simon talked to the Lord of the Flies “he learned what the real evil was, which is in people’s hearts.” (Chelsea House, pg. 22). The Lord of the Flies is a symbol of the things we make up to be the cause for evil, when those things aren’t the real reason.
The fire is a symbol of hope and rescue. When the fire was burning bright, it was because the boys were working very hard to get rescued. When the fire burned out it was because many boys, like Jack did not care anymore about being rescued. In the end, the fire that got them rescued was not meant for rescue it was there because Jack was burning down the island to kill Ralph.

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