Lord of the Flies is a book written by William Golding that has many symbolic features hidden within itself. It starts with a plane crashing into an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The book goes through many twists and turns, where the characters drift apart. Lord of the Flies ends with the characters of the book getting rescued while the rest of the island is burning down. Lord of the Flies includes symbols by showing them throughout the novel, whether they´re important or not.
In Lord of The Flies by William Golding, dozens of british schoolboys find themselves stranded on an island after an horrific plane crash. As the boys get more accustomed to life on the island, they lose their grasps on civilization and even result to savage tendencies such as murder. Right before the barbarous boys, who were deceived by their power-crazed peer, (Jack) were about to kill their former chief, a navy general arrived to the island and brought them back to civilization. Golding uses an abundance of symbolism throughout the novel to give characters complex and deeper attributes. For example, hair is a major symbol and is used frequently throughout the novel to give us insight on characters and the setting.
On the surface, The Lord of the Flies seems as if it is just a common adventure story about the struggles of a group of young boys. However, if you look closer you will realize it is a complex story about power and the power of symbols. The plethora of unspoken symbols and the impressive use of power in The Lord of the Flies transforms the novel into much more than just a favorable story. The Lord of the Flies is a legend in the world of literature, and the novel’s fascinating use of symbols allowed it to become this way.
Kaiden Sheridan Mrs. Browne English March 15, 2023 Literary Lens Essay Both literal and metaphorical fires divide several boys who land on an island during a nuclear war. These boys fight over power and resources without the bindings of society. William Golding believes that civilization has no room for goodness and is pessimistic about mankind’s ability to live successfully. Not only the breakage of faith in the chief, but also the idolization of the Devil, and the extermination of children, support Golding’s pessimistic view.
In William Golding’s book, lord of the Flies, multiple symbols are used to convey deeper themes and meanings. The most significant symbols in the novel are the conch shell, the signal fire, and ‘the beast’. All of these symbols play an essential role in the narrative, reflecting the overall themes and character development. One of the first symbols to be introduced in the book is the Conch Shell.
William Golding is making many references to Revelations the New Testament within Lord of the Flies, from a simple title of a chapter to something that happens in the book. An allusion in Lord of the Flies is the reference to the beast. The beast is spoken of in Revelations chapter 13 of the New Testament, it states, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea” (Revelations 13:1). This quote goes with the title of Chapter 5 in Lord of the Flies, “Beast from Water” ( Lord of the Flies 76). The similarities are that both of the beasts rise up from the water or the sea.
The novel Lord of the Flies can be viewed through many lenses of literary criticism, and depending on the specific approach, it can be interpreted in wildly different ways. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, argues how a group of boys would behave if left alone on an island, showing that eventually, the boys would delve into a savage way of life. Analyzing the story through the Jungian and Mythological-Archetypal approach leads to a discovery of common archetypes that the characters Jack and Ralph represent, symbolism contained in the various elements, and an allusion to many Biblical stories. The characters and events in the book all relate to archetypes and myths which have been prevalent in literature and history.
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.
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boy's small conflicts with nature and each other constantly test one another on their ability to survive. Fear of the unknown, surviving the natural elements and rivals between groups constantly show throughout the story. The boys that died were missing something that the boys who survived had, the natural instinct to survive, a mental or physical advantage over everyone else. One of the little boys on the island confused fantasy with reality and claimed: “It came and went away again an’ came back and wanted to eat him” (Golding35). In this case, the boys were letting their imagination get in the way of what was really going on.
The Lord of the Flies novel, by William Golding, is a symbolic allegory, delving deep into the true horrors of war, savagery, and the loss of innocence throughout the duration of time the children spent on the island. I the novel a situation arises involving a dead parachutist, still he represents so much more than Mr. Golding makes apparent. Commonly applied to the story is the ideology of a “beast,” the concept behind these two aspects are similar, yet have a distinct separation between them. Just like the notion of the “beast” and the dead parachutist is the “Lord of the Flies” himself, pertaining to reasons related to that of the other two major examples of symbolism. The dead parachutist is so much more than what you see, you must go deeper
In the third passage of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the usage of word choice and symbolism foreshadows the possible danger that is present on the island with Ralph and Piggy because of the boy’s dependence on their past life in modern society. After Piggy tells Ralph that they would most likely die on the island, the heat of the sun “seemed to increase” and that the water “attacked them blinding effulgence,” which implies that the urgency of the problem has finally set in with the boys. The significance of the words “attacked” and “effulgence” represents how the boys have realized that they do not know anything about the island and that they are in potential danger. By being on the island, the boys have more freedom in their decisions,
In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, he created this book about a group of proper british boys to show that even the most civilize of all can turn inhuman and go savage. Also being in the war helped Golding to see what people were capable of even if they were good at heart. The themes in Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, were influenced by his childhood, his experiences in the war, and his view of human nature. Golding’s early life influenced the theme in Lord of the Flies.
In Lord of the Flies, Golding explores the idea that human nature, when left without the regulations of society, will become barbaric. As one of the prevailing themes in his work, the dark side of human nature is represented through the novel, not only in symbols and motifs, but in his characters as well. The dark side of human nature is an integral part of the novel 'Lord of the Flies.' William Golding, a British novelist employs symbols, motifs and characters to create the idea that human nature, without civilisation will become barbaric.
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
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel that’s shaped by its representation of childhood and adolescence. Golding portrays childhood as a time marked by tribulation and terror. The young boys in the novel are at first unsure of how to behave with no adult present. As the novel progresses the boys struggle between acting civilized and acting barbaric. Some boys in the novel symbolize different aspects of civilization.
