ipl-logo

Lord Of The Flies Smoke Analysis

601 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is the symbolism of the fire in lord of the flies

In this essay I will be discussing the “smoke“ and what it stands for as a symbol in the Lord of the Flies. I’ll explain how the smoke symbol changes and connects with society and the storyline of the book. The smoke stands for what separates the boys from beasts and it is the hope for of rescue from becoming entirely beasts. I think the smoke is a more overlooked symbol than other more obvious symbols like one of the main characters Piggy and his glasses. However the smoke changes in significant meaningful ways which could be seen as parallels of basic human instincts.

Smoke is usually seen as a dark and mysterious disappearing shape that can hide but also is a warning or a signal for help. Smoke is also associated with obscurity and …show more content…

Throughout Lord of the Flies, more characters start to gradually lose these qualities which make us human.
“The fire's the most important thing. Without the fire we can't be rescued. (Ralph would) like to put on war-paint and be a savage…(but) we must stay by the fire and make smoke.” (pg.142)
The smoke also is a way of saving the boys from dieing on the island when they created a huge fire that was destroying the whole island and a navy officer saw the smoke in the distance. It is also is a signal that some the boys at least remain partially humanized and need to saved from becoming fully savages.
In many of the chapters from Lord of The Flies the narrator describes the smoke as “...a thin trickle...” (pg.41) or “a thread of white...” (pg…142) This signifies the dwindling amount of humanity. Another important quote on pg.197 explains how Ralph, a character constantly fighting to keep a fire going (and therefore trying to remain more human than the others)is being driven away and becoming separated. “ (the boys) had smoked (ralph) out and set the island on

Show More
Related

What Does The Conch Represent In Lord Of The Flies

653 Words | 3 Pages

Jack takes his place and Ralph takes his. The boys are each trying to win over the other boys to join their different societies. Fire is the most important part of the novel; it represents hope. The boys start the fire in hopes to make enough smoke for someone passing by to notice they were there stuck on the island. Towards the beginning of the story, a plane passes over the island and the boys get excited about being rescued.

Read More

Why Did Jack Lose In Lord Of The Flies

789 Words | 4 Pages

In the Lord of The Flies the boys seem to lose some qualities when they are trying to survive, The main example of this is Jack. The things that i think they lose the most are sympathy, common sense and the ability to think clearly. First, the boys seem to lose their sympathy for other things and for themselves. At this point in the book Jack starts to try to take control over the group of kids, a piece of evidence that shows this would be, Ralph made a step forward and Jack smacked Piggy’s head.

Read More

Symbolism In Sherman Alexie's 'Smoke Signals'

792 Words | 4 Pages

It is not necessary to start the film if one wants to find the first symbol; it is enough to look at the title on the cover that is really thought-provoking. Smoke Signals cannot refer to anything else, but the American Indians.

Read More

Cancer In Firefighters Research Paper

393 Words | 2 Pages

Smoke is a mixture of solid and liquid particulates that is very harmful if inhaled. Smoke contains a vast array of harmful carcinogens such as sulfur dioxide, benzene, and cyanide. All of these chemicals are linked to cause cancer. One common cancer that fire fighters are prone to develop is lymphoma. Smoke is dangerous, but a big contributing factor

Read More

Dialectical Journal For Lord Of The Flies

729 Words | 3 Pages

We’ve got to have smoke.” There was silence, except for the multitudinous murmur of the

Read More

Lord Of The Flies Allusions

272 Words | 2 Pages

In the early chapters of the the Lord of the flies, the island they are on resembles the Garden of Eden from Genesis in the bible, with its scenery, food, and great weather. The boys are symbols linked to Adam and Eve even before they crash. Ralph's first act after the plane crash was to remove his clothes and bathe in the water, the nudity in bible show the innocence of Adam and Eve. Golding starts his second this biblical allusion when he begins to introduce island life as full of fear, when that of the first reports of a creature the boys refer to a "snake-thing. "

Read More

Imagery In This Is For You By Dallas Fletcher

993 Words | 4 Pages

This smell makes you think of better times and comfort. These are the feelings the smell of smoke brings to the main character. Smoke stands for everything in this story. “his warm breath on your cheek and the smell of smoke and cologne in your nostrils” (61). The smoke makes Evra, “start coughing and you watch her clutch her stomach, her fists in balls against her abdomen, but she will still march towards him, screaming and rasping and coughing, their heads swimming in a cloud of smoke” (63).

Read More

The Theme Of Violence In Long Way Down

434 Words | 2 Pages

In the elevator he meets these people and remembers their stories, which starts to make him question his thoughts. He starts to doubt himself and his intentions on getting revenge. The smoke that starts to form in the elevator symbolizes this, it symbolizes his uncertainty and confusion. I personally couldn’t imagine having something like this happen and being put into that sort of situation. But looking at statistics it shows that happens quite often.

Read More

Lord Of The Flies Fire Symbolism Essay

1077 Words | 5 Pages

The first fire is built to signal ships for their rescue; it symbolizes hope here. Once the fire is burning brightly, the boys “paused to enjoy the freshness of [the fire]... they flung themselves down in the shadows that lay among the shattered rocks,” (41). The fire comforts the young island inhabitants because it lets them relax with the hope of getting rescued. The boys on the island start to lose hope, even Ralph. Ralph tells Piggy “let the fire go then, for tonight,” (164), showing that he has stopped caring about getting home.

Read More

Lord Of The Flies Human Nature

1057 Words | 5 Pages

The island is used as a sort of playing ground to reveal the true underlying qualities of each character, and as mentioned above, the qualities of humanity. When the boys first gather on the island, they are quick to order themselves in a society, more of a tribe in their case, that reflects the social structure they were exposed to at home. This process involves electing a leader, holding meetings or assemblies to vote on matters, and working together for the greater good of everyone on the island. The assemblies become a part of keeping order within their society. To illustrate, when Ralph finds out that Jack neglected the fire he calls an assembly to prioritize.

Read More

Tropic Island In Lord Of The Flies

280 Words | 2 Pages

In the book Lord of the Flies, William Golding makes his book symbolic from beginning to end. He uses many different significant symbols throughout this story. I have chosen three symbols to explain how these were used and changed over the course of the book. The first one to talk about would be the island.

Read More

Lord Of The Flies Symbolism

220 Words | 1 Pages

Authors use symbols; an object, character, or place that represents something; in order to give their writing a deeper, hidden meaning. Symbols usually stay static throughout the entire course of a story or novel, but in the case of the novel Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding, changes the symbols in relation to the state of the island’s society. One symbol that changes in Lord of the Flies is the conch, first representing the boys' society being more civilized and governed, and later representing their loss of that civilization and government. The fire, another symbol that changes throughout the story, depicts the boys' hope to be rescued from the deadly island that they are lost on, but is later gone out and forgotten, showing

Read More

The Smoke Creature Analysis

302 Words | 2 Pages

In the piece there is a reference to a myth, it is mostly likely referencing to the smoke figure that is grasping the woman. The home of the smoke figure seems to be at that forest, due to the woman sitting on a tree branch with some roots and shrubbery around her. The lady might have been waiting for indicated by the cloth she is sitting on or she could have been modeling for a painting and the creature just appeared but there is no definite answer. The sky also seems very dark so it could be that the smoke creature can only coming out during cloudy day or when the sun begins to set. From the way the smoke creature is grasping the women and getting close to her face with its face, I cant tell if the creature is evil or good or just wanting love, the woman however looks to be locked in some kind of trance.

Read More

Theme Of Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

835 Words | 4 Pages

Symbols are objects, characters, colours or figures that are often used in literature to add a greater meaning to a text. One must comprehend the significance of symbols to fully understand a literary work. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the Conch and the Fire are both important symbols that are presented in the allegory. Nonetheless, it is evident that the Fire is more significant than the Conch when one considers the plot, character and theme. To begin with, the Fire plays a more important role than the Conch because it continues to effectively develop the plot.

Read More

Symbolism In Seryozha's Drawing

1067 Words | 5 Pages

The word smoke is a dead give away symbol. In a literal context, Checkhov is not referring to chimney smoke in the drawing. Slyly, he is trying to show Seryozha’s thoughts about smoking by using the symbols of chimney and smoke. Another symbol in the same drawing is “zigzags.” Supposedly in the story, he was talking about lighting but I highly doubt this is the case.

Read More

More about Lord Of The Flies Smoke Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document