The Baptism : The Transition Through Life & Death
Rain is a universal metaphor for rebirth and the renewal of life, it allows strong emotions to come to the surface. This is portrayed throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In Lord of the Flies, rainfall occurs only twice throughout the book, when the plane first crashed and when Simon was killed. Every time it storms, the rain and thunder create a sense of uncertainty, madness and chaos. When the rain takes place, the boys’ chances of salvation get washed away and all that is left behind is savagery. The rain on the island indicates the cycle of life and death, the journey to the other side where communistic concepts die and totalitarianistic democracies are born into a
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The symbolism of the rain and the cycle of life it represents plays a role in how the story progressed and changed. A minor change such as Simon’s death can lead to something bigger, like the corrupt democracy all the boys had a part in creating. During the first rainfall, the twins Sam and Eric were introduced together, though as two different people. Sam and Eric were introduced as “Those two--they're twins, Sam 'n Eric” (Golding, 15) and without each other, they are incapable of certain tasks. The second rainfall led to the corruption of the island and how the hunters started confronting the beast which led to the twins being referred to as one person. For instance, Piggy mentions that “You got to treat Samneric as one turn. They do everything together–” (Golding, 21). Together, the twins represented the reliance and unity within the group, meaning that they were one of the last boys to fully embrace the beast inside them. As Sam and Eric, they are seemingly loyal to Ralph, but the tone change to Samneric causes them to eventually give in to Jack's threats. This minor change from something so simple such as how someone portrays a character’s name can distribute such a disastrous result, such as the adulteration of their adolescence. The minor change of the loss of a civilization, causes them to lose any real sense of loyalty which produces a more dramatic effect. The rain in Lord of the Flies gives life to the treachery inside of the boys and kills the faithful devotion they once