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Savagery In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

501 Words3 Pages

In the novel, “Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding, the author conveyed numerous themes through various symbols. In this complicated and diverse novel, Golding brings out many ideas and uses literary devices, which added an another glimpse into the story. The main theme that Golding conveyed is the problems between the human urge towards savagery and the regulations of the civilization. Throughout the novel, the conflict more focuses on Ralph and Jack, where they both respectively represent civilization and savagery. There were lot of symbols that Golding used to achieve the particular effect on the readers. In the first two chapters, Ralph and piggy discover the conch shell on the beach and used it to summon the people after the crash. …show more content…

It represents power of rescue and return to civilization. The result to the savagery is symbolized by the fire that sweeps the island, burning away the sign of society and threatening Ralph to death. There was a conversion between Piggy and Ralph with the fire in chapter three and four, Piggy tells Jack, “You got your small fire all right,” thus it symbolizes both hope of rescue and destruction.
The way that Golding connected hair to the theme of savagery vs. Civilization was undoubtedly smart. The growing hair is a representation of how the boys transfer from being human and civilized to savage and animal-like. “His hair was full of dirt and tapped like the tendrils of a creeper.” Ralph’s hair symbolizes law and order. It reminds of how far he is from civilization.
The beast symbolizes evil and inner savagery of boys and mankind. “The Beastie, the snake, the fire, the talk of fear. People started getting frightened.” It represents evil and darkness, where nobody sees the beast except Simon in the dark night. In chapter five, Piggy reacted: “I know there isn’t no beast- not with claws and all that, I mean- but I know there isn’t no fear, either.” The beast also connects back to the beginning of the chapter, where they were on a island, the beast represents the animal instincts of teenagers that are being left on the

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