Symbols In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

Symbolism

Throughout William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, there is symbolism strewn all throughout the book, including the cover, which it spilled onto as the book is so full to the brim of it. Lord of the Flies is a novel published in 1954, following a group of boys and their experiences while stuck on a deserted island with no adults present. Golding’s novel explores themes such as human nature and discovery of the thing itself, and the path to unlocking it while using various symbols as tools to do do. Symbolism is expressed and used to delve deep into topics in a very un-cliche way, the four main symbols being Piggy’s spectacles, the conch found on the beach the first day the boys are on the island, the face paint used to hunt, and the

"Shut up," said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. "Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things." "A chief! A chief!" "I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp." (28-30). The discovery of the conch results in a desire for order and rules: the very thing the object represents itself. Representing civilization, it brings all of the boys together as one and unites them, forming a group, letting them become one, together. This quote (as does the conch) as used by William Golding suggests the fact that the rules are made up but that isn’t to say that we should not respect or realise their value to all people, which the boys do not consider until after the conch is broken, letting chaos and mayhem take over. "'And another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'Hands up' like at school.' He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth. 'Then I'll give him the conch.' 'Conch?' 'That's what this thing is called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking'" (33). In this quote, the the conch represents authoritarianism during the second meeting with the boys as a group in the beginning of the novel. This passage also proves the symbolism of the conch as civilization that has order as well as one that is somewhat just. Ralph then proceeds to teach the other boys on the island how to use the conch, telling them to take their own turns while in a meeting, which is similar and can represent the ways in which parliament tries to act out meetings of their own. The conch represents order and what comes with such a concept, with the threat of anarchy, proven throughout the