Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

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William Golding was born September 19, 1911. He was mainly a novelist but his body of work also includes poetry, plays, essays, and short stories. Golding is from England, and the characters in his novel are British. His time in World War II and the Royal Navy gave him the impression that man produces evil. The outcome of his experiences in the war gave him the inspiration for his novel Lord of the Flies, which is full of symbolism and allows Golding to continue on with future work expressing internal struggle and good and evil. Lord of the Flies, did not become popular until nearly a decade after it was published. His novel is now acknowledged as a classic. In the novel the Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author develops symbols such as the conch shell, piggy, and the island in order to reveal the struggle between human nature and civilization.
In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, the conch shell represents order and law. As the novel begins the boys are all afraid, alone and unaware of each others presence. After Ralph and Piggy find the conch shell and call the others from the crash with it, it is used to hold an election for a chief. "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). After Ralph blows the conch the boys demand him with the “trumpet-thing” to be chief. The conch is used to create rules and an order for the boys to follow. Also, Bufkin says that