Essay question: Discuss how narrative conventions have been utilised to reveal particular ideas or issues. The novel Lord of the Flies (LOTF) by William Golding follows a group of adolescent boys whom, during a period of war, become stranded on an island with no way of contacting other humans or mainland civilisation. The boys, referred to as 'Biguns' and 'Littluns', experience a journey throughout the text where they must decide on whether to follow their inner human impulse towards the pathway of savagery or continue to follow the rules of civilisation. Golding brilliantly conveys and draws the readers attention with the idea of civilisation versus savagery through the use of metaphors, along with issues such loss of innocence shown through the character development of Jack and the importance of intelligence in society represented with Piggy. Throughout LOTF, Marsden includes many allusions to the idea of civilisation versus savagery and …show more content…
The sheer symbolism of Jack slaughtering a pig and placing the animals head on the stick shows how the lack of rules and loss shelter society provides to adolescents affected them. Simon, a biblical allusion in the novel, spends a great deal of time with the decapitated animal. "...in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned. At last Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood--and his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition." Throughout Simons time with the animal, the reader's eyes are opened to the symbolism placed upon it. The way Golding manipulates the pigs head as symbolism to reveal truly how much innocence had been lost by the boys, and also Jack lust for blood and murder. Through the utilisation of symbolism, the reader is positioned to reflect on the loss of their innocence as they grew