William Golding's Lord of the Flies
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding a group of children are stranded on an island when their plane crashes. The freedom of having no parents while living in a society that doesn't enforce rules and laws are eliminated. As the novel progresses the kids find use for different items each symbolizing something of different significance. In this novel William Golding uses different objects to symbolize the difference between civilization and savagery.
Through out the novel, the conch shell represents a way to maintain organization and unity within the group. Ralph and Piggy discover the conch shell on the beach and use it to inform and call the boys together after the crash separates them. The conch shell then becomes a powerful symbol of civilization and order in the novel. This shell effectively influences rules during the meetings. This rule is; whichever boy holds the shell holds the right to speak. "He can hold it when he's speaking," (Golding 33), this explains how whoever is holding the conch has the right to speak; this shows a sense of civility. In this regard, the shell is most definitely a symbol. As the island civilization dissipates, the boys descend into savagery; the conch shell loses its power and influence among them. Also, the boulder that Roger rolls onto Piggy crushes the conch shell, signifying the demise of the civilized instinct among almost all the boys on the island.
Another symbol in this novel is the signal fire. This symbol is a representation of life. The boys create a watch system to make sure the fire stays lit at all times so they have a chance of being rescued. This signal fire burns not only on the mountain, but also on the beach. This is to hopefully attract the attention of passing ships. As a result, the signal fire becomes a test to the boys' connection with civilization. In the beginning, the fact that the boys maintain the fire is a sign that they want to be rescued and return to society. "There was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out!" (Golding 70). This quote explains how Ralph is angered with Jack when he let the fire burn out.
...m the island is if they make smoke. To make smoke, they must build a fire. They decide to put the fire on top of the mountain because it is the highest point on the island and they smoke would be easier to see to passing by ships. Everybody at this point thinks it’s a great idea and thinks is willing to pitch in to get the fire going. They are very enthusiastic and they all want to get of the island as soon as possible. Rescue is the first and only thing that is going through the minds of the boys. Fire also represents civilty because fire is used for warmth, comfort and tool-making. All things that are needed in a civil society and at this point in the novel, the boys are very civil. Jack and some of the other boys are starting to lose will to be rescued. ‘”We can light the fire again. You should have been with us, Ralph. We had a smashing time…”’ (Golding 73)
At the beginning of the novel, Ralph and Piggy discover a conch shell on the beach and use it to summon the boys together after the crash separates them. The conch shell becomes a symbol of civilization and order in the novel. The shell initially is a successful way of governing the boys’ meetings, following simple etiquette—whoever is holding the shell has the right to speak. The shell acts as more than a symbol, it is a tool...
It is in these games were the boys get carried away and Ralph feels a
Symbolism is a way to use symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In the Lord of the Flies, by William Golding tells a story about boys who are stranded on an island after surviving a plane crash. These children come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. On the island we see conflict between Ralph and Jack ultimately symbolising civilization versus savage. The use of symbols such as the conch shell, beast, and even Piggy's specs, demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules, allow their human nature become evil to dominate their idea of civilization.
The author, William Golding uses the main characters of Ralph, Jack, and Simon in The Lord of the Flies to portray how their desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise leads to the fall of their society. This desire for leadership and compromise led to the fall of their society just like multiple countries during times of wars.
Conch: The conch shell symbolizes the law and order of the old adult world which Piggy tries so desperately to protect. The conch represents all the authority which the boys are so used to obeying. When Jack destroys the conch, anarchy quickly ensues because any hope of strong, central leadership has been abandoned. The island society collapses into chaos.
Another thing that was symbolized in the book is the conch shell. The conch is what Ralph blew into to get the boys to come together. At first they established rules, one of them being the person holding the conch is the only person who can speak. The conch symbolizes order among the boys. As time past the boys acted more and more uncivil, and they didn't pay much attention to the conch. At this point, order stated to disintegrate. Towards the end of the novel, when the conch was shattered, all civilization of the boys shattered along with it. There was complete chaos on the island.
The fire gave the boys hope that they would be rescued. “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us… we must make a fire.” (38). The boys, well Ralph, figured out a way how they could get off the island and it gave them a spark of hope that they’ll be able to go home. The fire, also, reminded them that they did want to get off there. Whenever the fire was going out, they’d lose their motivation to get rescued, but once the fire was lit back up they would remember. “We can’t keep one fire going. And they don’t care… What’s more, I don’t sometimes…” (139) , this would be an example of some of the boys losing hope. The importance of the fire is that it brought the boys hope of escaping the island and going back
One symbol in Lord of the Flies is fire. Fire represents hope and reaching out for help. The symbol of fire is an example of symbolism used to express one of the themes in the book. In the beginning
A preeminent conflict, Ralph and Jack competed for power in the novel. While time away from civilization prolonged, Jacks morals and determination from right and wrong decreased. As a result, Jack used desperate measures such as the fire to steal complete power from Ralph. Golding stated, “Then Ralph was running beneath trees, with the grumble of the forest explained. They had smoked him out and set the island on fire.” (283). While the boys spent more time away from civilization, their ferocious and violent characteristics became evident. The symbol of death clearly shows this progression from civil to savages because the boys took fierce, violent, and uncontrolled actions to plan Ralph’s death. In addition to death, the fire ultimately symbolized a savior in the end of the
In the first few chapters of the novel, the conch was used to bring all of the boys together. This indicated that the conch shell was a symbol of civilization and order.
The conch is an important cornerstone in the processes of building and destroying civilization on the island. Ralph and Piggy discover the conch right when they get on the island. They soon realize it was an important shell and soon gave it a special identity. Ralph addresses the boys saying, ¨...I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking. And he won't be interrupted. Except by me¨ (33). Piggy and Ralph new that this conch was important, and indeed it was. The conch has a special meaning to all of the boys. An insignificant, useless, unmeaningful rock has so much value and worth. The significance of the shell holds the boys together for the majority of the story. Piggy later in the story gets angry and yells at Jack after no one will listen to him, he goes on a tirade and shouts, ¨´I say! You voted for me for chief. Didn’t you hear the conch? You played a dirty trick—we’d have given you fire if you’d asked for it—´ The blood was flowing in his cheeks and the bunged-up eye throbbed. ´You could have had fire whenever you wanted. But you didn’t. You came sneaking up like a thief and stole Piggy’s glasses!´¨(176) Up until now, whenever the conch was blown everyone would go silent and whoever holds the shell gets to talk. Now, this isn't the case, no one would listen to Piggy and it all started with Jack.
The sheer importance of the discovery of the conch, in addition to its appealing sound, it symbolizes the unity of everyone. Ralph, again, shows his leadership abilities as he recognizes the use of the conch, "Conch?" "That's what this shell's called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking," (Golding, 33). This designation shows the beginnings of organization and sharpening skills of the children.
...g so they can get rescued. He demonstrates his lust of being rescued when he exclaims “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?”(80). In the beginning of the novel, the way that the boys maintain the fire is a sign that they want to be rescued and return to society. When the fire burns low or goes out the boys have seemed to lose sight of their desire to be rescued and have accepted their savage lives on the island. In this way the signal fire functions as some sort of indicator to the boy’s connection to civilization. Ironically, at the end of the novel, a fire finally attracts a ship to the island but it is not the signal fire, instead it is a fire of savagery. To conclude, the signal fire symbolizes hope and the boys’ connection to civilization.
The novel that I am going to talk about is Lord of the Flies by