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Symbolism In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

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The Evolution of the Beastie’s Symbolism
Nightmares are something that everyone gets in their lifetime but the “worst nightmares can also happen with your eyes open” (Florence Welch). The book Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is about a bunch of boys who are stuck on an island because their plane has crashed, no one knows where they are and they are no adults present on the island with them. Another major factor that had affected all the boys that were stuck on an island was time. Time goes by really quickly and with time even people change. Fear soaked in the boys, and as time passed on they went from being civilized little kids, to irrational, schizophrenic little kids to finally being complete savages, which corresponds to the …show more content…

Jack speaks up for Percival, who is trying to speak but can’t, and says “He says the beast comes out of the sea” (Golding 96). Golding shows the boys perception of this as he states that the boys “considered the vast stretches of water, the high sea beyond, unknown indigo of infinite possibility” (Golding 96). The boys are slowly changing as shown in this quote, they are all scared of the beast and all over the place. This is followed by the sighting of the beast from the air. Sam and Eric were the ones to spot the beast and “They became motionless, gripped in each other’s arms, four unwinking eyes aimed and two mouths open.” (Golding 107). The beast from the air is truly a man, but the schizophrenia of the kids motivates them to believe that the adult, who represents civilization is truly a beast, which is quite ironic. Fear inside the kids had become much worse day by day, till they finally recognized a beacon of hope as its opposite, fear. This shows the kids slow, but steady decline from …show more content…

Towards the beginning the boys were rational in thinking of a potential danger, a beastie, and they embodied it as a snake. But after a while the boys changed the beastie to absurd creatures, and use it to gain power over each other. They finally show it as Simon, who has just realized that the beast truly does not exist, and for this they kill him. All these things combined led to their unstable mental condition. Golding uses the beast as a source of fear in the boys, to bring out the evil and ability to be

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Additionally, in “Now he says it was a beastie”(Doc B) the text says,”He says the beastie came in the dark… He was dreaming… He must of had a nightmare…” Both of these quotes clearly show how the creature represents fear.

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In chapter 9 of Lord of the Flies, William Golding suggests that sickness comes from inside of the boys with his use of diction and imagery. Golding describes the actions of the boys with the words “clamorously” and “demented” during the dance initiated by Jack. When these words, which have evil connotations, are used, they indicate that there is something sick inside of the boys which is reflected onto their actions. Golding’s diction displays the boys’ corrupt feelings. Imagery is also used to describe the sickness inside of the boys.

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Usually, when the term “beast” is mentioned, negative connotations are developed. In Lord of the Flies, the meaning of the entire story is determined by the symbolic definition of the “beast”. Lord of the Flies surrounds a group of boys stranded on an island. The presumed idea of a beast materialized and spread amongst the group.

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Could it possibly just be the fears that the individual boys have? Or is it the darkness in each of their hearts? Therefore, in Lord of The Flies, is the beast just fear? Do the boys just imagine their worst fears because they are scared? Think about it, little boys stranded on an island with no one there to comfort them, for their nightmares are coming to life.

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In the novel Lord Of The Flies the author, William Golding, uses imagery to convey his theme that the biggest fears are self developed and in one’s head. At a meeting between all the boys, Jack brings up the topic of a possible beast; they all argue about whether or not there is a beast or not. First, Piggy asks “What would they eat?” and they reply “pig” (Pg.83).

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And I’m the beast” (Golding 111). The mindset of the boys has changed and they have been corrupted with evil. There is no real beast, but the “beast” is actually themselves. The group has been corrupted and changed them in a physical way that is not recognizable anymore. They are no longer young little boys, but heinous

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Simon was the first to realize there was no actual beast on the island, and that it was only a dead man with a parachute. He believed there was no such thing as a beast on the island, and he helped the littluns believe it too by saying: "What I mean is... Maybe it 's only us." (89). Simon was trying to suggest the idea that the beast was only an illusion to the boys’, as it had been created only within their imaginations.

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Corruption’s Rise to Power Combined Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler killed 54 million people. This begs the question, why do people who are clearly corrupted and even murderous followed by many? William Golding in his novel The Lord of the Flies attempts to answer that question through his portrayal of the character, Jack. In the novel, a group of boys get stranded on an island and attempt to create a proper government.

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In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, there are many symbolic concepts within the novel such as the beast, and the pigs head. Golding uses these concepts to portray to the reader his idea that when humans are left without rules or organisation they will break from a civilised manner and become savages allowing evil to over take them. One of the most important symbols used to help the reader understand Golding's idea is the beast. Many of the boys believe their is a beast on the island and become fearful.

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Beauty, Betrayal, Blood. The human mind is altered at the introduction of fear. Distress consumes the mind with the need for more control and desire to hunt. How could an island with such beauty and life become overtaken with death and despair. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the symbol of the beast to illustrate that man initially responds to fear with denial and violence.

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In the novel, Golding associates the conch with the boys nature, signifying there civilisation till it was destructed and therefore, the dark side of the boys was released when there was no unity or order. The beast is another important symbol demonstrating their impulses to becoming violent, that the 'beast' is within the boys themselves. The antagonist Jack is addressed to represent that without regulations of society all human beings are savages by nature. Golding includes these symbols, motifs and characters to confront the idea the dark side of human nature is represented when left to your own

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This fear controls the boys because the beast is something they haven’t really seen, which makes them think of the worst possible scenario. The older boys become irrational, lose their original thinking, and start to believe in the existence of the beast because of how far this fear has grown. The only character to still question the beast is Simon, who searches for the truth behind the beast. Simon eventually figures out that the beast is just a dead paratrooper, but it is too late. This fear reaches a high point, and the boys see Simon running down a hill to tell the other boys the truth, but he is killed because of the fear the boys still have.

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The collective fear of the unknown leads to the untimely and accidental death of Simon. The distress present in the boys causes their impulsive action, of Simon’s horrific murder. Fear of “the beast” an imaginary creature causes the boys to act irrational, and provokes survival instincts as a result of life threatening terror. The fear of the boys in this moment is epitomized when they chant, “Kill the beast!, Cut his throat, Spill his blood!” (168).

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798 Words | 4 Pages

Being on the island everyone is contsantly faced with the fear of the unknown the younger boys need someone to protect them from the fears on the island. Although nothing manages to scare the boys as much as the beastie does. When a little boy with a mullberry birthmark informs everyone that he has seen a beastie. The older boys emitiatly belive its his imagination but even later in the novel the boys start to question the exsitance of the beast. After the killing of simion, jack is belives ut was simon disguised as the beast, and that the beast is not dead.

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(Golding, 77). Although the boys laugh at Simon’s idea, his belief conforms Golding’s idea that inner evil exists. The boys develop into the beast when they kill Simon. Simon was desperate to explain the unidentified creature on the mountain but the boys weren’t in the mood for listening to him. With his brutal murder by the other boys, chaos takes over civilized order on the island.

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