ipl-logo

Motifs In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

984 Words4 Pages

Organized society does not exist anymore and it’s everybody for themselves. Renowned philosopher Thomas Hobbes described life in this state of nature as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”(“Contractarianism: Crash Course Philosophy #37”). William Golding, a British author, portrayed this state of society in his famous book, Lord of the Flies. The story begins with a group of schoolboys being stranded on an uninhabited island. At first, the boys attempt to signal ships, but most of the boys succumb to their primitive instincts. Of course, this book contains content that has been considered inappropriate, which raises the debate about whether or not it should be taught in schools. Despite its explicit content, Lord of the Flies also educates …show more content…

His ego decided that killing the pig comes with the cost of guilt and helping the pig comes with the cost of his energy being put into helping the pig. Instead, he hesitates, so he won’t have to spend any effort on helping the pig, and won’t end up with any guilt. Clearly, Lord of the Flies is the perfect book for teaching psychoanalysis. Furthermore, the book has a lot of motifs, which help students practice identifying motifs. One of the many motifs in Lord of the Flies is the motif of the conch. Throughout the book, the conch represents order. For instance, Ralph says “...I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak to. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” (Golding 32). To prevent complete chaos during meetings, the person holding the conch is only allowed to speak. This shows how the boys are forming an organized society using the conch, which is why the conch is correlated with order and rules. Another motif in Lord of the Flies is fire, which represents the boys’ hope for rescue and their ability to message civilized society. Jack says, “There’s another thing. We can help them find us. If a ship comes near the island, they may not notice

Show More
Related
777 Words | 4 Pages

Civilization turned Savage In Lord of the Flies, Golding makes use of multiple symbols to represent his view on human nature. And yet, the most common motif/symbol was the Conch. The conch symbolizes a democratic process, and a civilization and it has a magnificent effect on the readers. The boy who holds the conch has the right to speak at meetings, which is why the conch essentially controls them.

Read More
653 Words | 3 Pages

In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, the reader comprehends symbols that go throughout the book. These symbols are key factors which determine the importance of the novel. The symbols are a very important part of the literary content. In order to really follow along and understand the story, the reader must understand these symbols for what they mean as well as how they are used. Some of the symbols include the conch, the island itself, and fire.

Read More
750 Words | 3 Pages

For Piggy, the conch represents order and reasonable thinking, because the conch is what holds civilization together and keeps the boys from becoming savage. As for Jack, his interpretation of the conch is that it holds rules, because it limits him from doing what he wants. In Lord of the Flies, the conch represents authority to Ralph, order to Piggy, and rules to Jack. Ralph is introduced in chapter one as a privileged boy with blonde

Read More
1331 Words | 6 Pages

Often in our society we tend to form hierarchies and rules which dictate the way we run things, and in Lord of the Flies it’s no different. Although, the author uses the characters and other symbols in the book to portray society in many differing ways. For example, the Conch is probably the most obvious symbol, it could be seen as representing power or order. William Golding uses symbolization like this to shake our perception on how we see things. Another example, could be Ralph.

Read More
762 Words | 4 Pages

" Lord of the Flies" is a novel about a group of young boys who find themselves alone on a barren island. They build norms and organizational systems, but in the absence of adults to serve as a civilizing impetus, the children inevitably become violent and vicious. Through the emblem of the conch shell, William Golding shows how the loss of order/civilization and law leads to the emergence of barbaric behavior triumphing over society.

Read More
882 Words | 4 Pages

Symbolism of the Conch in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represents civilization. The novel Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys from England who have been stranded on an island after an airplane crash. They are expected to fend for themselves and are slowly reverting back to their primal savage ways. The group is quickly split into two a savage side and a rational, civilized side. Throughout the novel a key symbol was the conch.

Read More
526 Words | 3 Pages

The Collapse of the Conch In Lord of the Flies, William Golding utilizes symbolism throughout the novel in order to distinguish between civilization and savagery. The novel uses various symbols to relate concrete objects to the deterioration of the boys’ society. The boys’ society on the island morphed from an orderly group of children communicating with each other into a group of immoral beings with no laws to govern their actions. Golding uses the symbolism of the conch as a representation of order to argue the regression from civilization into savagery on the island.

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Golding uses symbolism in every possible way to represent something in our own lives that we can learn from. For example, items such as the conch, piggy’s glasses, the fire, the beast represent humans impulsive emotions, such as the need for order, intelligence and power, hope and fear. Golding’s book ingeniously uses these ideas to almost make fun of our impulsive emotions, such as the islanders fear of a “beast”. In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses physical objects to symbolize involuntary human impulses and emotions enhancing the story. One of the symbols in Lord of the Flies is the conch.

Read More
167 Words | 1 Pages

The conch is an important symbol in Lord of the Flies because it decides the state of the meek society. For example, “’We can use this to call others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us-’” (Golding 16).

Read More
267 Words | 2 Pages

Symbolism In Lord of The Flies The novel Lord of The Flies, by William Golding, includes symbols with important hidden concepts that reveal how certain circumstances can corrupt one's actions. To begin with, when fighting for over who has power on the island, the conch, symbolizing power, is presented as a method of guaranteeing uninterrupted speech: “‘I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.’. ‘And he won’t be interrupted,’”

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

The conch and the sow’s head both wield a specific type of power over the juvenile boys in Lord of the Flies. The conch, used to call assemblies, represents progress and civilization while the sow’s head represents terror, barbarity, and malevolence and is partly to blame for Simon’s demise. Lord of the Flies is a novel about power because throughout the book Jack and Ralph quarrel over who should be the chieftain of the children and the novel uses the conch and the sow’s head to represent divergent forms of power and authority. Also, the book shows the reader the power of symbols such as the conch and the pig’s head and even the island that the children remain inevitably imprisoned on until their liberation at the conclusion of the novel. Just about everything within this novel is a representation of something that is considerably greater.

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Till date, a lot of impenetrable mysteries still surround the nature of the cherry eye ailment. The anatomical analysis of the ailment shows that it’s related to a defective nictitating membrane. The nictitating membrane (also known as the third eyelid), is a connective tissue underlining the lower eyelids of dogs. It is responsible for eye lubrication and the production of the tear film, and also acts as a protective shield against dust and other foreign objects. The third eyelid also comes with a tear gland that supplies the dog’s eye with 35%-50% of the total moisture required, hence it’s a crucial component of the dog’s ocular system.

Read More
945 Words | 4 Pages

The novel “The Lord of the Flies” by William Golding illustrates how the disruption of civility and power can affect even the most innocent. In this case, it focuses on a group of young boys and drives them mentally to turn against each other. This novel compels readers to understand how the corruption of power allows us to confront the deprivation of civility that takes over and drives individuals to take drastic action for survival. Ultimately, the book calls on us to confront our human nature and the importance of maintaining civility and cooperation when faced with challenges. As the boys confront the reality of their isolation, it is clear that a deep conflict begins to mount and tensions begin to rise.

Read More
1036 Words | 5 Pages

This is an example of how the conch symbolizes the rules within the boys society because the conch is what tells when the boys when they can talk. The rules created by the conch is what led to a lot of the boys disagreements which slowly drove them to become¨beasts¨. Overall the conch is the most symbolic piece in Lord of the Flies because it symbolizes the boys rules, their civilization, and power over the boys. This is important to the theme of the story because the conch helps the boys realize that they are the beast all along. The conch helps the boys to notice this because when it breaks they realize it was controlling them all along and making them the

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

The conch is an important symbol because it helps the boys stay civilized and not chaotic. For example, Ralph says, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (31). They will use the conch for when they are at meetings so that no one talks at the same time, and to make the society refined. In addition, William golding states, “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (164).

Read More

More about Motifs In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

Open Document