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What Does The Fire Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

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In Lord of the Flies, By William Golding, a combination of the author’s imagery and symbolism reinforces aspects of character. In Lord of the Flies, the fire, the Beast, the mask and the boys names are symbols that support the idea and the belief that human nature is evil. The author wants the reader to read carefully so they see the real meaning behind those symbols. The signal fire in the story is a symbol of survival and hope for the boys to return back to the society but the symbol is later transformed into destruction. The fire is used constantly in the novel to cook food which increases the boys’ chance to survive. By keeping the signal fire going, they hope to attract the attention of passing boats or aircrafts so they can be rescued. The fire starts off on the mountain but then later moves to the beach. Because it is linked closely to the boys’ return to society, it becomes the indicator of the hope. For example, when the signal fire is out, Ralphs’ hope is erased since they miss their greatest chance to be rescued. However, when the the source of fire is taken away by Jack, the symbol starts to …show more content…

Against that is the following quote “The long scar smashed into the jungle.”(Pg.7) that is related to the Christian symbolism that is going to have a big impact on this novel.It is the scar that god is put on Cain’s forehead to mark him as a murderer for killing his brother Abel. The boys on the island are much more like feuding brothers. Jack can be read as a bombastic person he thinks that he is the only one that can take decisions and the only one that can help them get out of their situation. He is the flip side of Ralph. Jack is prepared to kill Ralph. This idea or symbolism of the scar is very closely matched to the idea of original sin that we carry with us. Adam and Eve chose to defy God and give into temptation which caused their expulsion from

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372 Words | 2 Pages

I think that the signal fire represents the boys on the island saving out in hope that they will eventually be rescued. Jack and the others stop caring so much because I think they believe they will be there forever but Ralph cares so much about it. He is scared of being on the island forever so he focuses so much on the fire in hope of being saved. “They let the bloody fire out.” (pg.71)

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1039 Words | 5 Pages

Jack represents the corruption a thirst for power can easily influence on a person, the island turns him into a confident, jealous, violent, and manipulative tyrant. Of course Jack doesn’t necessarily start off as a the monstrous image the book paints him in. In fact, in the

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568 Words | 3 Pages

To begin with, Jack’s quick embracement of savagery is represented through his hair which shows that he let his power lust get in the way of his friendship. The first time the reader meets him, Jack is described as having red hair, although it was covered by a cap, “Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap” (20). Jack’s red hair symbolizes his evil natural desires and the cap

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688 Words | 3 Pages

When first introduced, adorned in a golden badged choir boy cap, Jack sizes up the stranded children “and peered into what to him was almost complete darkness” (20). Because of the archetypal diction used in this quote, an assumption arrises supporting the assertion of Jack as an antagonist. The archetypal references continue throughout the quote. Jack peering into darkness symbolizes ignorance towards the situation, and the negligence with which Jack will accept its importance. As a result of Jack’s negligence, the young dictator turns into a monster of instinct “and for a minute became less of a hunter than a furtive thing, ape like among the tangle of trees” (49).As opposed to Ralph’s previous perception of Jack, this description of “the new Jack” juxtaposes the choirmasters previous appearance.

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587 Words | 3 Pages

The Lord of the Flies is a novel filled with many objects and individuals that represent different ideas. Symbols such as fire, Piggy’s glasses, darkness, and the conch shell are important in reading The Lord of the Flies. Through these symbols, Golding is able to present the idea that human nature is, in fact, evil at heart. Golding uses fire as a symbol in more ways than one. Not only does fire represent safety and rescue, but it also represents destruction.

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254 Words | 2 Pages

From the beginning to the end of Lord of the Flies by William Golding symbols like the fire, hair, clothes and the conch had their meanings changed and were essential to the novel. Symbols and meanings are scattered around and the reader makes the decision as to how they want to interpret it and there are many clues as to what the meanings are. Symbols such as the fire, hair, clothes, and the conch are in Lord of the Flies and the meanings change throughout the book and have moments of foreshadowing. The hair and clothes represent how the boys state changed physically but eventually become the savages that do not care for their appearance or beliefs they are accustomed to. There is no doubt that the boys have good intentions with the fire but

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1047 Words | 5 Pages

The Buzzing of Flies: Symbolism in William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ When a group of boys gets stranded on an island due to an unspecified war, they slowly devolve from order, leading to two murders and the burning down of the entire island. Ralph is the original leader of the boys, who creates a signal fire and uses a conch shell to keep the peace, but he is usurped by Jack, a hunting-crazed leader who causes two murders and is partially responsible for the creation of The Lord of the Flies where the book gets its name. How the boys interact with the conch shell, the signal fire, and the Lord of the Flies tells of humanity's savagery and animalistic instincts. The conch shell is a tool of democracy, the fire is protection, and the lord of the flies is the

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The fire connects to Ralph and Jack because they are the ones who make the fires, and it goes from rescue to death which leads to rescue. At the beginning of the book, Ralph stresses the importance of the fire and says, “We’ve got to have special people to looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there” (Golding, 52). Later on in the novel a ship goes by, but the fire is not going, leading to Ralph being outraged that nobody was looking after the fire. A loss of concentration on the fire led to a loss of a chance at rescue, making the fire a symbol that could be forgotten if not focused on.

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Government organizations often use symbols to portray their power or military strength. Writers also use symbols to convey a message to the reader. In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbols to help readers track the loss of civility of the boys. The fire is both a symbol of hope and the reckless behavior of the boys.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, is about a group of boys who struggle in maintaining a signal fire while stranded on an island. Often, people believe that the fire does not play an important role in the novel, however, the fire is actually much more sophisticated and is able to represent how their connection to society keeps the boys alive. By continuing to believe that the fire represents the boys’ rejection of society, readers will misunderstand Golding’s emphasis on having faith and reliance in society. Throughout the progression of the novel, Golding uses the symbol of fire to represent how the boys’ necessity for societal interventions and actions are important in everyday life. When the fire goes out, it signifies the boys losing their link to civilization and represents when their savage behavior begins to take over.

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704 Words | 3 Pages

As the flames of WWII were ceasing to exist, a new flame arise in a stranded pacific island along the carcass of a taken down plane. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a representation of society itself; it's an exposition of the darkness that hides in the heart of man, residing within children themselves. Golding empowered objects such as the conch shell, the signal fire and Piggy's glasses as pillars of civilization, holding back humanity´s primal desires, “the beast”, and therefore portraying the struggle between the two of them. Together they serve as symbols of power, order and knowledge that gain and lose their importance from the priorities the children hold.

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220 Words | 1 Pages

Goulding’s novel suggests that the symbol of fire primarily signifies that within man, there is good and evil but it is up to the individual to choose which part of themselves they wish to harness. At the start of the novel, the boys are all completely civilized and therefore they decide to use the fire to exercise the good and civilized part of human nature. The boys choose Ralph as their leader and the one of the first tasks he sets upon the them is make orderly use of fire, announcing to the boys that "If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.

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461 Words | 2 Pages

Fire has been around since the beginning of mankind; therefore, it has a lot of different meanings such as protection, hope, warmth and light. Fire is often used in writing to serve as a characters last hope for survival. In the lord of the flies the fire is used in an interesting way. The fire in the novel represents the main milestones of a Christian's journey through life.

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1039 Words | 5 Pages

Yet, this brings up another symbolism to Christianity; the island. The island symbolizes the Garden of Eden from the time of Adam and Eve. Before the boys arrived, the island was an untouched, prefect paradise, much like the Garden of Eden. Golding descriptively tells the reader about the island.

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1781 Words | 8 Pages

The Beast that the boys talk about in Lord of the Flies is also a symbolic element. The beast represents the savage instinct that is within all humans. The Beast starts out as a figment of the younger children’s imagination. Then it starts to be believed in more and more. At the beginning of the novel the younger kids on the island talk about a beast.

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