How Is The Diction Used In Lord Of The Flies

In the novel Lord of the Flies, author William Golding selectively uses diction in chapter titles to reveal main ideas throughout the novel. One such chapter is “The Sound of the Shell,” the first chapter in Lord of the Flies. Denotations of the words “sound” and “shell” are used; for example, “sound” indicates the audible vibrations that travel through the air, the emitting of sound, or to convey a warning, while “shell” means the hard, protective outer case of a mollusk, or an outer form without substance. Through the use of denotations, Golding gives the reader a literal interpretation or (a rather short) preview of possible events that could occur during the chapter. But although the denotations of “sound” and “shell” seem quite obvious,

In fact, it is through this scrupulous yet seemingly obvious usage of diction that Golding is able to allude to the meaning of the words not only in the chapter title, but throughout the context of the chapter

Although the plot elements of Lord of the Flies could be interpreted in a literal sense, Golding uses protagonists to characterize and portray different aspects of society. As the plot goes, a group of boys are stranded on an uninhabited island, and soon form a makeshift community, with Ralph being the leader and Piggy as his unofficial advisor. Eventually, tensions rise between Ralph and Jack, a savage, power-hungry boy who enjoys hunting and killing for food. Ralph is revealed by Golding to represent the “shell” of order and civilization on the deserted island, as Ralph holds official power thanks to the conch shell, and is recognized by others as the executive leader of the group. Ever since the sounding of the shell, Ralph had seemed the most desirable for chief, as Golding writes: “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart” (Golding 22). Golding makes it clear that the shell was a symbol of power, and that Ralph was the one worthy enough to bear its power, in contrast to his counterpart Jack. Through the