What Does The Scar Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

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Symbolism is a very useful technique used to create meaning and emotion in a story. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding, uses symbolism often to create a deeper meaning to the story. Golding uses many symbols to create the idea that the downfalls of society are often caused by the defects of human nature. Three of the symbols used to convey the theme are the scar, the painted faces or masks, and Piggy’s glasses. Each symbol represents a different aspect of the theme. The scar, mentioned multiple times in Lord of the Flies, is one of the symbols used to create the theme. The scar is a place in the forest where their plane crashed which caused them to be stuck on the island. The plane was shot down and had to land on the island, but when it landed everyone except the boys left on the island, died. The scar is a constant reminder to the the boys on the island of the traumatic event that got them into the situation they are in and of inhuman ways man treats man. This contributes to the theme of the story because the defects of human nature caused the boys to create this society that is imperfect and mostly bad. …show more content…

The boys paint their faces to hide themselves from the animals. The mask, however, has another meaning. It represents how people in society hide themselves from others because they don’t want the world to know the things they have done to cause us to have the society that we have today. Which relates to the theme that the defects of human nature is what causes the downfalls of society. The mask can also represent savagery. The masks are only worn while the boys are hunting, which is considered to be bad and shows their savagery. One of the defects of human nature is savagery and acting on it which leads to downfalls of society such as in Lord of the Flies. The boys savagery leads to a dark society full of

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