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The use of symbolism in Lord of the Flies
The use of symbolism in Lord of the Flies
The Lord of the Flies allegory
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To say that William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies is a dystopian novel with a double-meaning would be an understatement. In this work of fiction, it is not difficult to see that it could be an allegory. An allegory is a narrative, typically a novel, containing symbolism or another story within it. Moving on to the story itself, its main plot consists of a group of boys that have been trapped on an island after a plane crash, and must figure out how to survive with one another. Behind the scenes of this developing society, there are many consistent symbols that reveal much more depth than one would first think. The symbols are clearly intended, and they all have connections within each other that make the novel become an allegory. These symbols that clearly show their allegorical connection include the island itself, the scar formed in the island, and the actual Lord of the Flies, the “beast” and one of the true antagonists in the story. Shortly after the boys …show more content…
First presenting himself to Simon, the conversation that took place between the two would be vital to the storyline. The Lord of the Flies represents evil, specifically the evil capabilities and thoughts within each person. This is made undoubtedly obvious with the first encounter, “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’...For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?’” (Golding 206). The Lord of the Flies himself says that the real beast was not anything that could be hunted, or killed, implying that the beast was really the one within Simon as well as the other boys. This is only further confirmed by The Lord of the Flies also saying “I’m part of you”. The strongest piece of evidence is this massive symbolic figure, but it also is together with the other symbols presented in the
Have you ever thought about six to thirteen year olds ever acting like savages and turning into a serial killer? After reading Lord of the Flies, this is exactly what happened. Ralph, Piggy, Jack and other kids cash land on a gorgeous island with leaving no trace for the world to find them. Ralph tries to be organized and logical, but in the other hand, Jack is only interested in satisfying his pleasures. Just like in the short story, The Tortoise And The Hare, Lord of the Flies, stands for something. This novel is a psychological allegory, the island, as the mind, Ralph, the leader, as the ego, Jack, the hunter, as the id, and Piggy, an annoying little boy, as the super ego. As we read Lord Of
The nature of Simon’s death by the members of the group thinking that he is the beast, who is going to attack them, becomes very prominent with foreshadowing throughout the novel because it implies that he is going to get defeated by acts of savage displaying his death. A scene that foreshadows this defeat of Simon takes place when he is hallucinating to "The Lord of the Flies" in the jungle." You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?.....We are going to have fun on the island! So don't try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else"(158). "Lord of the Flies" declares that Simon will never have the ability to escape him due to him being within all the humans. This enhances that there is no beast, and that the beast on the island is actually the boys themselves. This foreshadowing approaches when "Lord of the Flies" promises to have some “fun” with Simon, which results in him getting hurt by the ‘beast’ (also known
In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of British schoolboys are stranded on an island, and soon find that fending for themselves and staying civilized is not as easy as they thought it would be. Although they start off with an organized society, through interactions with each other and objects around them, they become completely savage over time. Golding employs the symbolism of Jack, the conch shell, and the beast to serve the purpose of the allegory of the inherent evil of the human race.
Simon is perhaps the most important character in the novel for he is the first and only character to come to the realization that the Beast is inside them all, and is not represented by a physical manifestation. Simon is a follower, not a leader. He believes and trusts what Ralph, his leader, says. That’s why he mentions that the beast could be inside all of them once, and immediately discards that because Ralph doesn’t think so. His confrontation with the Lord of the Flies is the only way he can liberate that information to himself. The encounter begins with “Even if he shut his eyes the sow’s head still remained like an after-image.” This represents the beginning of the fixation Simon is having on the head, thinking of it even after he shuts his eyes. Golding then points out that the pig had half shut eyes and were dim with infinite cynicism of adult life. Those details come back a little later. It’s at this point where Simon asks himself a question and answers it aloud. “ ‘I know that.’ Simon discovered that he had spoken aloud”. “He opened his eyes quickly and there was the head grinning amusedly in the strange daylight, ignoring the flies, the spilled guts, even ignoring the indignity of being spiked on a stick.” That sentence shows the continuing evolution of the fixation Simon has in this encounter. The first thing he sees when he opens his eyes is the head, and he ignores every detail around it. This is when Simon comes to the realization that his original conclusion is credible, the one he let be because of Ralph. He looks away, trying to forget the head even exists, but cannot accomplish that task.. He pulls himself back to the head “Might not the beast come for it?”, simply because he believes the Beast is not a physical manifestation, therefore being impossible for it to come. According to Simon, the head seems to agree with him. At this point, he knows the Beast doesn’t exist physically, but he is hesitant none-the-less. The head says “Run away […] go back to the others. It was a joke really—why should you bother? You were wrong, that’s all. A little headache, something you ate, perhaps. Go back, child.” Simon is making excuses for himself through the pig. Here, the fixation on the head is nearly complete.
Golding makes it clear that evil is part of all humans through the discussion of the beast. Simon comes to a realization that evil is within themselves, not only in the boys on the island, but in everyone’s hearts, when he speaks to the Lord of the Flies. Lord of the Flies is never actually talking to Simon; Golding chooses to make Simon hallucinate in order to hear the voices of the boys altogether in Simon’s mind. The sow confronts Simon with the truth, he questions Simon: "You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you?” (Golding 143). The sow confirms the reality that the beast is without any regards within Simon as well as all the other boys. Although the beast is within the children, Golding never shows Simon to have any evil intentions. Instead he makes Simon deny the beast’s accusations and makes him pass out due to shock and confusion: “Simon found he was looking into a vast mouth. There was blackness within, a blackness that spread" (Golding 144). The sow’s head, or the Lord of the Flies, represents the evil found in the boys’ hearts and minds. Golding shows the sow’s head as a symbolic object. The head allowed Simon to understand and hear his inner thoughts about evil. Golding uses this conversation between the Lord of the Flies and Simon to fully demonstration that the “beast” is skulking inside of the boys and therefore being a natural essence of the boys, and mankind.
This is the first encounter that Simon has with the beast, which he calls the Lord of the Flies. Simon represents Jesus in the Lord of the Flies. The beast tempts Simon, which is similar to how Satan tempts Jesus in the bible. Simon meets the Lord of the Flies, who is the representation of the devil and the beast, in the forest and the beast tells Simon, "I'm warning you. I'm going to get angry. D'you see? You're not wanted. Understand"(Golding, 144)? The beast tries to manipulate Simon against his friends, and attempts to tempt him into joining him. Simon's behavior also connects to how Jesus feeds thousands of hungry people when Simon takes the hungry littluns into the forest, "Then, amid the roar of bees in the afternoon sunlight, Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to endless, outstretched hands"(Golding, 56). Simon feeds a group of littluns he found hungry in the forest because he had the ability to. The third way Simon relates to Jesus is that Simon hears the group's problem and goes off to solve them, just like Jesus did. During the assembly Simon hears about the beast and the groups fear, "Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind's essential illness. Inspiration came to him"(Golding, 89). Simon plans at this moment to go into the forest and confirm that the beast is not real. Simon
In the novel, Simon is the pure one and the one who is kind and thoughtful, just like Jesus. Simon is “enlightened” and finds the truth about the beast and the other boys kill him after he finds the truth. Jesus also is killed. He is killed for the kind of life he lived and what he did and said. Also, when Simon talks to the Lord of the Flies it connects to the Bible. The Lord of the Flies literally means Beelzebub, which means demon in Greek. So literally Simon was talking to the devil in the forest. This connects to when Jesus confronts the devil during Jesus’ days in the wilderness. Simon strongly connects to
Simons deep understanding of human nature allows him to realize they should be more scared of themselves than the ‘beastie’. Near the end of the story when Simon encounters the lord of the flies, which is actually just Simons conscious, The Lord of the Flies says “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill![...]You knew didn't you? I’m part of you?’”(Golding 143) This demonstrates how Simon knew that all along themselves are what they should be fearing the most. The insightfulness shown in Simon helps him understand that the boys are the real beast who are far more capable of death and destruction then the ‘beastie’. Simon’s knowledge of the cruelty of human nature allows him to try to convince the other boys who they should really be afraid of. Although little listen to what he has to say, Simon still tries to help the boys understand what they should really be afraid
Dealing with your inner demons is not an easy thing to do. Most of the time you do not even realize when they are there. In the Lord of the Flies, however, Simon is the first to recognize what the boys are turning into due to their fear of the beast and tries to help them see who the real beast is. His efforts in doing so throughout the story, however, causes the other boys to see him as “batty” and he ends up walking into his own demise and is never able to reveal the truth to the other boys. In the Lord of the Flies, Simon displays traits of insight, courage, and wisdom to try to help the boys understand their inner demons and discover the true beast that was them all along.
In many classic novels, authors use biblical allusions to highlight a certain character or situation. By using biblical allusions, authors can help the reader better understand what it is that they want to convey through their literary work. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Golding utilizes symbolism of places and characters to allude to the Bible. Out of the many references, four significant biblical allusions – title of the novel, Simon, beast, and the island itself – emphasize Golding’s theme inherent sin and evil in mankind.
On contrary from all the other boys on the island Simon, a Christ like figure in the novel, did not fear the ‘beastie’ or the unknown. “Maybe there is a beast....maybe it's only us” Simon explained. (p. 97) The fear of the unknown in the novel contributes to the boys’ terror of the beast, the beast is an imaginary figure which lays in all of the boys’ minds and haunts them. Golding uses the beast as a symbol of the evil that exists in every creature. "You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close close! I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are the way they are?" The sow head announced to Simon to be the “lord of the flies”. The “lord of the flies” is a figure of the devil, and brings out all the evil and fear in people. It wants you to fear it, but if you don’t believe in the “lord of the flies” nothing can happen to you. Therefore Simon didn’t fall into the trap, but the beast killed him, meaning the other boys on the island did. Simon discovered that the beast is in fact just a dead parachute man before he died and ran down to tell the boys about his finding. When Sim...
Throughout the Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Simon, one of the boys on the island shows a very complex inner conflict. Simon battles with the inner conflict of whether to give into the human nature to deceive or to tell everyone the truth that he believes there is a beast within everyone. This inner conflict is prevalent throughout the book, however it doesn't manifest until halfway through the book.
In Lord of the Flies a group of boys gets stranded on an island with no adults after a plane crash.They are forced to escape the island and deal with having no adult supervision all while staying alive. So, let's get to the question. Is Lord of the Flies an accurate portrayal of human nature and is it still true today? First of all, an allegory is a story that appears to be simple but really is just a real life situation simplified. The purpose is to help make a complex situation or life problem easier to understand. Also, it enables a book to be more than just a book. It makes the book something worth reading even after it’s time. The basic allegory of Lord of the Flies is a world led by democracy with an autocratic government along with forces
Imagine a group of young boys who have just crash-landed on a deserted tropical island with no adults or supervision. William Golding showed in his ground breaking novel Lord of the Flies, what may happen in just those circumstances. In his very complicated and diverse novel Golding brings out many ideas and uses many literary devices. Above all others though comes symbolism of three main important objects being the conch, fire, and "Piggy's" eyeglasses. Through each of these three symbols Golding shows how the boys adapt and change throughout the novel. These symbols also help to show each of the boy's ideals on a variety of elements from human nature to society and its controls. All three of these symbols also change and are one of the most important elements of the story.
Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, took place on an isolated tropical island. There were many symbolic items within the story, and their meanings changed as the story developed. The fire was the symbol of hope and civilization at the beginning of the novel, but at the end it had become a fire of destruction. Ralph, in the beginning of the book, stood for leadership and almost perfection, however as the story progresses, he was nothing more than a normal human. The beast, upon its first appearance, symbolized fear, but soon, it represented the savagery within them. The different symbolic figures within the book, such as the fire, Ralph, and the beast, shifted in meaning as the story develops.