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What Does The Fire Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

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Symbolism in the “Lord of the flies”

The book “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding is a novel set during World War 2. It follows a group of English school boys who are stranded on a remote island. This book shows themes of the inherent savagery of humans and the thin line that separates humans from barbarism. Symbolism plays a particularly important role in the understanding of the book. The three main important symbols are the conch, the beast, and the signal fire.

The conch has an especially important role in understanding the book “Lord of the Flies.” The conch represents order and authority among the boys. But as the book progresses the conch loses its importance in the boys created society. This represents one of the main themes of the book, the inherent savagery of humans. As the book continues, order and authority decrease, indicating that the …show more content…

At the beginning of the book when the Signal Fire was first established, it represented rescue and a connection to civilization. Whereas at the end of the novel, the Signal Fire symbolized evil and savagery. The first time the fire was lit, it spread out of control and engulfed a tree in flames. (This possibly foreshadows the fire’s future symbolism of evil and savagery.) But later the boys figure out how fire works. “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us …. we must make a fire.” The fire acts as a possible ----- to be rescued so it’s rather important to the group. But later in the story the fire acts as an evil and destructive force. “Then Ralph was running beneath trees …. they had smoked him out and set the island on fire”. The fire that once had the ability to save the kids, now acts as an offprint of their savagery. The signal fire changes its meaning throughout the book, at the beginning it represented rescue and a possible connection to civilization, but at the end of the novel it represented evil and

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"(page 38) The signal fire is a sign of hope of the for  boys' return to civilization. Keeping the fire going gave them hope that the smoke would attract the attention of a passing boat or aircraft. The fires connection with the boys' return to home, becomes an touchstone of the boys’ connection to the ways of civilization back home.

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The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a classic novel that explores the consequences of evil and the breakdown of social structures. The novel is set on a deserted island, where a group of young boys are stranded after a plane crash. The boys must work together to survive, but they quickly become divided and turn on each other. Golding uses the symbols of the conch, the "Lord of the Flies", and the consequences of evil to convey the theme that without social structures, humans are capable of committing great evil.

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Symbols are objects, characters, colours or figures that are often used in literature to add a greater meaning to a text. One must comprehend the significance of symbols to fully understand a literary work. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the Conch and the Fire are both important symbols that are presented in the allegory. Nonetheless, it is evident that the Fire is more significant than the Conch when one considers the plot, character and theme. To begin with, the Fire plays a more important role than the Conch because it continues to effectively develop the plot.

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