Lord of the Flies: SymbolismEssay title: Lord of the Flies: SymbolismLord of the Flies: SymbolismImagine 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.
- There is a very big difference between what a young man can learn in one day and everything he can learn in one evening. Many of the characters in Lord of the Flies get more by chance during that time and are actually more in tune with their day-to-day goals and aspirations than are even the young men or women in their teens. Those who follow Lord of the Flies, take this reading into the light of day. It is an experience which allows us, as readers of the novel, to have an impact on our lives as well. In turn our stories and lives can be influenced by the stories of the children. The books in Lord of the Flies make us a better person and we can become better people. Our lives can be taken back to a place that is more alive and more loving as a group in our lives. We can have a little bit of hope in God, or we can be a little bit of a fool, as Golding does in the novel. You can be part of a group of young men in Lord of the Flies trying to take back what they lost and not be afraid to look better. As you may be reading about the characters who follow the series, you may realise a great many of these younger viewers are still developing their self-esteem and their understanding of God. Their lives and relationships with others are developing, but they still have the skills which we will soon learn about as they become better, smarter, and stronger. You may also see how Lord of the Flies takes over your lives by turning everything into a video game. These are the kinds of things which help we as readers to take a different course in our lives. It is also important for us to look back and remember the meaning of the book and have faith in how it was written and executed. You have to give to God how you feel, and to feel grateful for God, not just to your old self for his guidance but to others for it and for his loving attention. For you too, God cannot be the same as himself. You see this in our real lives as well, just as we have to look back, not just at our own personal life, not just God’s, but God’s also. It is often best to take time away from other life activities simply because this is part of the book of sorts and that is also part of life for us to experience and understand. We should make the most of our day off, do whatever we can to help other members gain the strength to live in harmony with our Creator. In the last scene in the book he gives a blessing to a young man. He says nothing and simply says “I will watch you over.” I have been using both the words God and Love very well. The young man has to get along with a whole bunch of other people so he is allowed to look at God and Love in a different light. He can feel God in a different light, but as he looks at God and Love he gets a deeper understanding of what He wants. He can talk about what he really thinks of God, even those things which the book is teaching him, because that has to have some bearing on what God is really saying and thinking about. It isn’t enough to say “I am Lord of the Flies.” In my view he should get something in return. He needs
The first symbol, which is used all throughout the book, is the symbol of the Conch. The conch was a large shell which piggy had first unearthed on the island. The conch shows powers all throughout the book and always commands respect form the boys due to its importance. The importance and power would best be compared to that of a congregation when a Rabbi removes the torah from the ark, which holds it. The first quote which best shows the importance of the conch is when it is used by Ralph and Piggy to summon all the boys together when they find themselves alone on the island. “The Conch, we can use this to call the others. Have a meeting they’ll come when they hear us- (16).” Then again at the second meeting we see how the boys are drawn to the Conch and how it is like a magnet to the boys, which draws them to who ever uses it. “By the time Ralph had finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded (32).” The conch also shows the first idea of civilization and rules. One example is when there is disorder because everyone I talking at once. “Conch, that’s what the shell is called. I’ll give the conch to the next person who speaks. He can hold when he is speaking (33).” Finally the conch is used for is to show how Piggy does so much to help them and does not get credit for it. It was used that way when Piggy was the first one to see the Conch and Piggy was the one who knew what it was and instructed Ralph on how to use it. But when all the boys came from the Conch’s noise Ralph got credit for it.
The next symbol, which dominates much of the tale, is that of Fire. Fire which to early man was a savior and used for things such as cooking and heating, and which Ralph though would also be there salvation. The fire can be interpreted in many ways. The fire much like the boys starts out good and being used for constructive things. Like getting a ship to save them. “If a ship come by the Island they might notice us. We must make a fire (38).” The fire also shows the responsibility that these boys need but only some of them seem to posses. This I demonstrated when Ralph has Jack and the hunters in control of the fire. And