Essay On Lord Of The Flies Symbolism

Symbolism In the book, “Lord of the Flies”, there are many examples of symbolism that are seen throughout the text. Symbols in this story are objects or people that are giving a higher meaning, in the story. Symbols can be expressed in many forms therefore, can be interrupted in many ways. Three of the main symbols seen in Lord of the Flies are the beast, the Conch Shell, and Piggy’s glasses. The first example of symbolism is that of the “Beast”. The first appearance of the beast takes place early in the minds of the young children. The younger children were most susceptible to the fear of the beast seen through this statement, “He saw a "Beastie," a "snake-thing," the previous night in the woods. Ralph and the older boys dismiss this "Beastie" as just a nightmare, but the younger boys seem scared” (Golding, 35). From this point, the fear continues to grow and morph into that of total chaos. The Beast evolves the longer the boys are on the island. At first, some form of order is still present within the society. Common

Whoever holds the conch shell is granted the right to speak during meetings. The Conch Shell symbolizes law and order within the society. At the beginning of the story the conch shell is the boy’s holding on to order and civilization. As the story develops the use of the conch shell is forgotten as the civilization dissolves into turmoil. The first mention of the conch shell is after the boy’s land on the island. The story states, “Just then, Ralph spots a huge conch shell. Piggy realizes they can use it as a trumpet” (Golding, 15). The conch shell begins as an attempt to keep the peace among the boys. By the end of the story the conch shell is all but forgotten as the boys resort to mayhem. The conch shell is a great symbol of the underlying sense of disorder that takes place throughout the story, and shows how quickly things go wrong if the basic rules are not