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Theme Of Coming Of Age In Lord Of The Flies

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Lord of the Flies Essay
Coming of Age is a very scary and unfamiliar experience that eventually happens to us all. This transition can be both physical and metaphorical. As demonstrated in the book Lord of the Flies, this transition often comes sooner than we would like. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding symbolism is used to communicate theme of Coming of Age through many different symbols such as choosing a leader, the conch shell, and the island. The vote for a leader is an adult action, forming their own type of democracy. Choosing a symbol of power and authority, the conch, causes them to have to mature and respect it. The island is a new unfamiliar environment and the boys have to start over. needs a transition sentence
In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the boy’s vote to chose a leader symbolizes Coming of Age because the boys base their choice on who is holding the symbol of social order. When the boys crash land on the island they realize they will be there for a while. They decided to establish a leader by voting. This example …show more content…

The boys are thrown from their normal childhood and have to start over in an entirely new environment. The island is isolated and scary because the boys have never been on their own before. This can be observed in the text “On two sides was the beach; behind, the lagoon; in front, the darkness of the island.” (Golding 85) This quote is just describing how the boys feel about the island. When most people describe islands they are usually focused on the beautiful beaches. Much like with adulthood kids only see the “beaches”. In reality there is a lot more that goes on behind the pretty beaches. The rest of the island is scary and dark. Once the boy have to venture past the beaches they realize how scary the island (adulthood) really is. The boys most definitely regret taking their wonderful childhood lives for

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In the book, the constant darkness is a symbolic feature of the island that stands for fear. “At last the way to the top looked like a scramble over pink rock, with no more plunging through darkness.” (48) The quote shows that the boys are afraid of the dark and yearn to get away from it, trying their hardest to stay together and where they can keep an eye on one another. Although darkness is seen as fear and terror, it is also seen as the birthplace of the “beast”.

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Jack is stressed because his group of hunters isn’t having much success catching any pigs and the entire group would enjoy eating something other than fruit. Ralph notices that no one, except Simon, is helping to build the shelters because they are either trying to hunt with Jack or they are playing around the island not helping with anything. Ralph is noticing how many of the rules that were put in place are not being followed, the children are going to the bathroom wherever they want, completely disregarding the drinking system. Also, at assemblies, the conch begins to show a decline in power as kids are talking on their own without the conch. The ignoring of the conch, which originally represented democracy, represents the degradation of their democracy, their rules, and their newly-found structured society.

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The boys fight for survival, they begin to have no instincts and no morals. They attempt to kill each other, steal from each other and slowly progress to be murders. (Golding, 1962) Everyone on the island could get away with things that normally do not happen in today’s society. Some people were born evil, and they cannot help it.

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The author discussed how the boys were not guided at all throughout the time of the story. They lacked an adult figure, without one, they believed there were no rules around. No way to get caught or be in trouble. He also claimed that everyone has their own inner aggressions, the cause for the boys’ case was the impact of what the whole island had in store for them. Another thing Golding discussed was the way the act of killing changes you.

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