What Does The Fire Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, it is evident from the start that symbolism is going to be a major theme in the text. The most important symbols include The Conch, The Beast and The Signal Fire. These symbols demonstrate the movement from order to chaos which I will show individually. Golding tries to show that savagery is more of a basic instinct in humans than we would like to think. His choice of young schoolboys, which includes choirboys, sets the scene with innocence personified in Ralph “the boy with the fair hair” (Golding, 1954, p. 1). Whereas, The Conch shell shows civilisation and order as it symbolises meetings and respect throughout the group. The aim of this essay is to investigate the different symbols used to demonstrate

The symbols I am using are always important that either Ralph or Jack use intentionally or unintentionally. Symbolism is crucial throughout the novel as Golding shows that an item is more powerful than first shown.

The main symbol from the beginning of the novel is the Conch shell. It is Piggy who first notices it. The Conch gives him the idea to give it more purpose than just a sound machine. Ralph decides that whoever has the handling of the Conch has the responsibility of speaking and everyone should accept it. The power of The Conch is made clear by Golding when describes the situation after the election of Ralph as the main leader “Most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch” (Golding, 1954, p. 19). This rule is made by Ralph through Piggy and shows that the conch stands for law and order since everyone has the right to free speech with the conch. The conch becomes a symbol of parliamentary order as Piggy together

It is a symbol used for the boy’s connection to civilisation. The fire itself, after being created by Piggy’s glasses is a very important symbol for both order and chaos. The signal fire has to be lit at all times so that passing ships can pick up the boys. “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever re rescued by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going?” (Golding, 1954, p. 86) The boys find it hard to keep the fire burning which is the start of the chaos. The boys do not understand the importance of the Fire so choose to ignore it. Jack is not too interested on the fire but after the ship misses them as the fire was out he apologises to Ralph’s for the mistake. Ralph tries to talk sense into Jack that the fire is the main symbol, for rescue and is upset how Jack feels about it. “I said before, the fire is the main thing. Now the first must be out… hasn’t anyone got any sense?” (Golding, 1954, p. 111). When the fire is lit it gives the group a sense of hope and saves them from being attacked by the beast or any other creatures. The fire provides a place of safety and sense of being home but Jack thinks otherwise, he uses it as a weapon for his gang as part of his quest to hunt and kill Ralph, and after Jack steals the specs from Piggy he uses them for his own tribe’s interests. From then on, the fire represents for Jack and his tribes camp, the place where Jack and his followers meet to