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The Lord Of The Flies Identity Essay

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The true identity of a person or object cannot be seen until a person reveals it. William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies follows 4 main characters, Ralph, Simon, Piggy, and Jack as they uncover these identities. A plane full of British schoolboys is shot down during a war and crash lands on an island; the boys must group together and survive their fears and themselves. Golding’s appropriate choice of symbols, the conch, Piggy’s glasses, and the Lord of the Flies, accurately represents the society of the boys and how they view themselves and others. These symbols can be seen where the conch represents an orderly society, Piggy’s glasses represent science, and the Lord of the Flies is the inherent evil in man. The conch plays an imperative …show more content…

Baker disputes the symbolism of this image “The sow’s killing and erection symbolizes the release from the blood taboo”. This quote proves Jack’s group is ultimately untied from society. There is no outside force like parents, policemen or laws from the normal society to stop them. They are completely savages. Baker also mentions “The dripping head is an image of the hunters savagery”. This quote shows how the brutal killing of the sow directly relates to the hunters savagery, their cruel nature of slowly killing the beast and laughing and enjoying it. They don’t mean to kill this animal to survive but rather enjoy having blood on their hands. Lastly, when Simon discovers the head in the forest and has “a talk” with it, the Lord of the Flies mentions “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill… You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you” (Golding 147-148) This proves the beast which everyone is afraid of is just a disguise, and the boys should be afraid of each other, as man is inherently evil. The corruption and evil in the boys is shown by the Lord of the Flies. It shows us the boys savagery and their corruption by how brutally they killed the

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Stuck on an island with kids and an unknown “beast” what is it? The story of Lord of the Flies occurs during World War 2 on a deserted island after a plane filled with children crashed and where a new beast takes over . What is the beast? The beast in Lord of the Flies is constantly changing from fear to war then to savagery. So what is the meaning of the beast in the Lord of the Flies?

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They were in desperate need of meat and the sow was their source of precious protein. When they seized her, Jack "was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife. Then (he) found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands." He even took it further, as the author wrote, "He giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms" (Golding 135). This is definitely not something a sane human would act in a situation when they are covered in another once breathing animal's blood.

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Instead of responding to Piggy’s arguments, the savages use violence and noise to drown out any opposition with no real reasoning to back them up. The main theme emphasized in Lord of the Flies is that humans are by nature corrupt and evil. This passage embraces that theme because the savages make immoral decisions to gain power and silence the voices projecting against them. It is a turning point in the book where the darkness in the boys’ hearts wins over their compassion and empathy. The real struggle for power is over and hatred has proved to be stronger than kindness and

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Furthermore, later in the book Jack decides to leave the group and make his own tribe. It is characterized by the tribe that is fun and the one that hunts, “I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too”(127). The pig’s head on a spear is a part of characterization as well.

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In the novel by William Golding Lord of the Flies, the young english men that are left alone on the island make contact with many important symbols that help to display ideas and concepts. Through symbols like the beast, the Lord of the Flies, and even Piggy's specs, Golding demonstrates that humans, when freed from civilization’s rules and restrictions, allow their primal necessity for evil to control their life. A symbol that is arguably the most important object in the book,the book’s namesake, the pig's head. Golding's description of the murdered animal's head on a spear is very dark and more so scary. The boar's head is depicted as "dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood getting darker between the teeth," the "obscene thing" is covered

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All children have a fear of something; spiders, snakes, even unknown monsters. In William Golding’s Lord of The Flies, a group of English boys are stranded on a deserted island with no adults. Being such young boys, they start to become afraid of a beast. But the big question is, what is the beast in Lord of The Flies? Is it the War that is happening when the boys plane crashed?

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1122 Words | 5 Pages

The quote “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head.” (Golding 164) expresses that the Lord of the Flies is divulging to Simon that the evil is not something that can be hunted or killed but is within the boys. Simon also learns that the beast of evilness was in the boys all along. The theme Inherent Evil of Man is displayed through Simon learning that evil is within the boys and that this was the beast. This shows how the evil action appears as a beast and the understanding of evilness by

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Lord of the Flies remains Golding’s most accredited piece of work. It is an apparently simple but densely layered novel that has been categorized as fiction, fable, a myth, and a tale. Generous use of symbolism in Golding’s work is what distinguishes him with other authors of the same genre. For example, the conch shell, that represents a vulnerable hold of authority which was finally shattered to pieces with Piggy’s death. Secondly, for the other boys, Piggy’s eyeglasses represented the lack of intelligence which was later defeated by superstition and savagery.

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The relationships that we have and form with others have a strong and profound impact on our sense of self and identity. In Lord Of The Flies, the protagonist Ralph’s sense of self is positively shaped by 3 important relationships: his friendship with Piggy, his rivalry with Jack, and his connection with Simon. These relationships help Ralph navigate his true role as a “leader” and Lord Of The Flies encompasses how the people we surround ourselves with have a tremendous impact on our identities and the choices we make in difficult circumstances. Throughout Ralph’s journey of self-discovery, the immense impact that others can have on our identities is revealed. The friendship between Ralph and Piggy plays a pivotal role in shaping his sense

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The Beast in Every Human Thesis Statement: The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding portrays the theme that regardless of each person’s different background and characteristics, every individual has the ability to commit brutal acts. While this book depicts Ralph and Piggy as the most civilized characters, and Jack and his hunters as young English choir boys, their actions reveal that they all have the capability to act violently. While Jack and his hunters started out as just choirboys, they become obsessed with violence and are driven to kill. At the beginning of the book, Jack hesitates and misses his chance to kill a trapped pig. Later on, as Jack and his newly formed tribe hunt in the forest, they discover a sow.

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In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys get stranded on an island with no adults in the midst of a war. The boys were orderly and civilized in the beginning but then as they began killing pigs they slowly became savages and lost their civilization. The boys began turning on each other and the evil within them became present. Golding uses a variety of literary devices including personification, symbols, metaphors, and irony, to project the theme that pure and realistic people in the world can be unheard and destroyed by evil.

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969 Words | 4 Pages

Literary Analyses of the Lord of the Flies The Lord of the Flies demonstrates a wide variety of symbolism; from Christ to Satan the children are portrayed in an abstract manner to represent these religious beings, as well as a symbol of great strife for power. Two of the main symbolic devices are used in the form of a mystical Conch and a cumbersome Sow’s head perched atop a stake; however these symbols represent very different ideas. Next the Lord of the Flies demonstrates the burden and struggle of power in multiple ways. William Golding included within this novel the power of symbolism, using inanimate objects, characters, or even landmasses to represent ideals derived from basic human morals and Christian religion that has a major influence

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549 Words | 3 Pages

To begin with, Nancy has an unhealthy relationship with Bill Sikes; he is emotionally and physically abusive to her. Majority of the time, Nancy’s life is threatened if she does not obey what Bill says. For example, Oliver had ran away from Fagin’s home too and so it was Nancy’s duty to bring Oliver back to Fagin’s because Monks want him dead. Nancy does what she is told and is very loyal to the gang because she would do anything they tell her to do.

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William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies does not simply describe the life of a group of children stranded on an island, but rather it is a representation of the qualities of human nature. As the novel progresses, the children grow deeper into savagery, performing actions that would be often criticised in society. The absence of law and order devolves even those that attempt to recreate it, like Ralph and Piggy. In this novel, Golding uses children to answer the question whether or not humans are born inanimately good or truly evil. Golding answers this question by symbolising the main characters and their descent into savagery.

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1127 Words | 5 Pages

During Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies, Golding reveals the central issue concerning human nature. Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that the beast is inside each boy and cannot be killed. The boys go from behaving like civilized young men to brutal savages. “What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.”

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