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Symbols In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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In literature symbolism plays a significant role. Symbolism basically relates to the symbols that points towards specific ideas not in a literal sense but by use of multiple symbols. It really gives the deeper stratum of meaning to a work of literature.Symbolic meaning is employed to give something totally different meaning which is much more deeper and you can say the idea becomes implied to some extent . In novels symbolism highlights the deeper implications of the situations or characters and their effects. William Golding has used several symbols in his novel “Lord of the Flies”. In the novel “Lord of the Flies” one of the most important symbols is the “conch”. Talking about the literal sense the oft quoted word is basically an instrument …show more content…

The sense that is tendered from fire is of cooking and, accordingly Jack makes use of fire for the cooking or roasting of hunted pigs. But more significantly fire becomes a symbol of rescue. Ralph suggested that fire should be lightened at all times on top so that it might attract attention of the sailors of a passing ship. Therefore he seemed disgusted if the fire was put down due to the negligence of jack and his fellowmen who seemed more inclined towards hunting than letting the fire lightened up. Ralph repeatedly urges the boys not to forget to feed the fire and to keep it burning all the time. Ralph emphasis the need of maintaining a fire by saying “the fire’s the most important thing. Without the fire we can’t be rescued. I’d like to put on war-paint and be a savage. But we must keep the fire burning. The fire’s the most important the island….”Thus the fire symbolizes the hope of rescue and at the end it is the fire blazing all over the forest which attracts the attention of the commander of a passing ship and brings him to the island to rescue some boys. Fire also serves as the symbol of comfort to some of the boys. When piggy lights a fire close to the platform, the twins seem glad as they presumed fire as a source of solace at night. Later in the novel even Ralph recognizes the fire as a source of comfort. Ralph admitted “the double function” of the fire. As it was also the hope for rescue in the day so that they can be

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In the first meeting Ralph says "There's another thing. We can help them to find us. 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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The conch was a symbol used to display order and power in the lord of the flies. In the beginning of the book Ralph is voted to be the leader of the group just because he has the conch they littleuns started chanting “Ralph, Ralph” “Him with the trumpet thing”, and Jack does not like the conch he wants to get rid of it just to prove that he is the rightful leader of the group and at the end of the story he ends up destroying it and all orders and power is gone. The Conch also represented order throughout the group in the book people can only speak if they have the conch and others can only speak if they raise their hand up like if they were in school to maintain order. Golding also uses the Fire to represent technology and also represents human

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The boys vote on Ralph to be their chief in the beginning of this book. Ralph is very structured and works in a way that society would. Under the direction of Ralph, the boys make a fire on the top of a mountain on the island. Ralph explains to the boys that the fire will get them rescued. This quote shows how the boys are very enthusiastic about the fire, because they all want to be saved from the island.

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During the film Ralph commands Jack and the hunters to make sure the fire does not die. Jack, of course, does not follow Ralph’s command and leaves the fire to burn out (Lord of the Flies). What Jack does not know, or does not care to know, is that the fire was to attract nearby planes. Finding a way out of the island and being rescued is their number one priority. Letting the fire go out goes against Montesquieu’s concept of common good.

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Symbolism is referred to an object or person who stands for or represents something else. In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, there are a countless amount of times that the story reflects symbolism. The most popular being, the hearth, and fireplace. These symbolize the comfort and destruction that fire brings. But, in the novel, there are more symbols that are not so easily recognized that are overlooked.

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So when Golding tells us that in Jack’s “left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses.” (191), it demonstrates that Jack’s savage boys now have the power to make fire. The fire symbolizes hope when on the civilized side but its inner demon is of destruction and evil. Predictably this demon does in fact come out when in the end Jack and his boys “had smoked him (Ralph) out and set the island on fire” (Golding 224), in order to kill Ralph. Ironically, the fire instead fulfills its civilized purpose, of a signal instead of killing Ralph. The purpose and the extreme strength of the fire here shows us that the boys had become brutal savages, literally killing civilization out of the their systems.

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There are several instances in the narrative of this novel that details the destructive force of the fire. One in particular happens as the boys are building their first fire. The wind gets up and ambers rush down a hillside igniting the undergrowth and spreads quickly to the canopy of the trees. During this time the boys begin to question each other about the location of one of the other small boys. “”That little ‘un that had a mark on his face-where is-he now?

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At first the fire was used as a signal in order to try and save the boys, making it a tool for success to return them to the normal world. Ralph proclaims “We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us.” (Golding). Furthermore, in the novel, the fire becomes a source of comfort for the boys, providing them with warmth and usefulness as a source of light and method to cook food.

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The fire symbolizes the boy's compassion and morals throughout the book and how he always finds a way to keep hoping. The boy knows his father must die but can not bear to lose him. He doesn't want to leave, but knows his father does not want such a loving and compassionate person to go with him when he can continue to live his life. This shows the boy's internal conflict

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Throughout the beginning of the novel, Ralph is the leader of the fight to keep and maintain the fire, but he is starting to give up hope and lets the fire die. Lastly, fire symbolizes hope during the end of the novel. Jack and most of the other boys have turned on Ralph and want to “hunt” him. They decided that the best way to get Ralph to come to them on the beach was to light the whole forest on fire so Ralph would be forced out to the beach. Ralph was trying to run out of the forest as “the roar of the forest rose to thunder and a tall bush directly in his path burst into a great fan-shaped fan.

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Finally, the fire: It represents their last hope to be saved from the island, as with the smoke they can be seen. Without it they can be lost there forever, and in this extract is shown its importance: “There was a ship. Out there! You said you´d keep the fire going and you let it out!” Said Ralph to Jack.

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The fire was also a symbol of civilization, that the boys would survive and get rescued. Fire is quite profound in what it reveals about humans. The fire was the object that the hunters didn’t have, it was desirable because it was limited. The fire brought out the innate greed that humans possess. The hunters weren’t content with asking for fire from Ralph, they were too prideful and savage to be civil in any manner, so they stole it.

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Fire was used to represent Wright’s development educationally when Richard begs for Granny's house guest, Ella, to read to him. Richard says “my imagination blazed” (Wright 39). In this context the word has much meaning about Richard’s yearning passion for reading. This shows that Richard has a desire for learning and reading and once, and even after Richards Granny had told him he could not read in the house again, he vows to read as many books as he could when he got older.

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Symbolism in Lord of the Flies William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, written in 1954, is about a group of british boys who crash land on an island and act their own ways in order to survive. The boys start out their time on the island with an organised system and rules, but as time passes the boys lose control and turn into savages. Symbols are seen multiple times in this novel. The Conch symbolizes law and civilization, Piggy’s specs symbolizes technology and intelligence and Simon symbolises peace and kindness. These three symbols are repeatedly mentioned in the novel.

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Ralph becomes infuriated when he discovers that Jack and the other boys left the Fire unattended to hunt. After Jack comes back with a successful kill, Ralph immediately confronts him and says, "There was a ship out there. You said you 'd keep the fire going and you let it out" (74). Ralph expresses his disappointment in Jack and implies that they missed possibly their only chance to be rescued. The Fire causes Jack and Ralph to provoke tension between themselves, eventually leading to deeper conflicts that drives the plot continuously in the novel.

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