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Symbols In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

1050 Words5 Pages

Symbolism is the use of, an object or a person, to represent something more abstract. These objects or people are referred to as symbols. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses several symbols to communicate his themes and messages about society. Of these symbols, the two most significant to his message are the fire and the conch shell. In contrast, In Damselfly, Chandra Prasad prefers to directly relay this message through the characters' thoughts and actions. In Lord of the Flies, the novel begins and ends with the conch. In the beginning, the boys create laws and a small society using the conch. Additionally, throughout the novel, the conch slowly loses power and control over the boys, during this time the boys' society slowly begins …show more content…

Rittika's actions and slow descent into madness illustrate the collapse of society and its standards when away from civilization. After Rish kills Pablo, Rittika begins preaching her animalistic and savage ideals to the other children saying…“We’ll make our own rules, without anyone telling us what’s right or wrong. We’ll live how we want--- for as long as we want” (Prasad 254). Ritika’s mental collapse transforms her from a rich, popular, law-abiding student, into a savage, mean, animal. This is because of the absence of society, which eliminates her need to be civilized. Additionally, as a result, she begins to want to live without anyone “telling us what’s right or wrong” illustrating how she no longer wishes to obey social norms and morals. In addition, Chandra Prasad also uses Rish’s actions against Pablo on the island to further her message about civilization. After Pablo is freed from his shackles, he immediately begins teasing Rish and attempting to provoke him. Eventually, Pablo crosses a line, and Rish snaps, which is when he …``embarrassed and furious, sprang forward and jabbed the knife into Pablo’s stomach. One swift play, in and out. Pablo winced and toppled over awkwardly on his side” (Prasad 252). Rish’s agitation comes as a result of the continued collapse of the society around him. As a result of, living on the island his sense of right and wrong has completely blurred, which is something that is normally upheld by society's laws. Additionally, Rish’s actions exhibit his animal instincts as he does this without thinking later and being confused about what happened. Despite delivering the same message, Prasad and Golding both took very different

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