In the novel Lord of the flies, Golding traces the defects of society back to defects of natural Human nature. William Golding uses Ralph, the conch, and the island to show the defects of society through symbolism. A society cannot flourish without a set of laws or a leader. Out of all of the boys, Ralph had the most potential to create and lead a new society. Ralph organized this society and set rules with Piggy, who represents knowledge. Ralph never realized how dedicated piggy was as a friend to Ralph until it was too late. The downfall began once the conch came into existence. Once the savagery got worse, Ralph realizes how much he misses Piggy. ”Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man 's heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called …show more content…
At one point, all law and order came crashing down. "The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away" (Golding 82). The boys were turning to savagery, abandoning all thoughts of their past ways of life. The whole island is a jungle, which represents no civilization. The jungle is home of the beast, which can also make the island symbolize how evil can overcome the boys within a short time span. The evil contaminates almost everyone on the island. “Just as in the jungle, darkness poured out, submerging the ways between the trees till they were dim and strange as the bottom of the sea"(Golding 57). The boys go through traumatizing experiences with make them grow further and further apart from society. They are physically and mentally affected till they lose their sense of integrity. The Lord of the flies shows the fear that can create a beast from our imaginations. Golding uses symbolism to illustrate the novel 's main theme of darkness. In Lord of the Flies the symbols give off a better understanding of the underlying evil within
The boys were pushed to this level of savagery by the need for power. In chapter nine of Lord of the Flies, William Golding employs symbolism, repetition, and animal imagery to convey the theme that the need for power can cause people to become savages. Golding uses the rhetorical strategy symbolism to convey the theme that the need for power can cause people to become savages. In this story they use a conch shell to symbolize order within the group.
The decline of morality in the boys from their first arrival represents the gradual loss of innocence as sin is slowly introduced into their surroundings. Through this comparison between the island and the Garden of Eden, one can see how prone human nature is to fall into darkness and chaos despite being presented with a seemingly perfect
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, there are many symbolic concepts within the novel such as the beast, and the pigs head. Golding uses these concepts to portray to the reader his idea that when humans are left without rules or organisation they will break from a civilised manner and become savages allowing evil to over take them. One of the most important symbols used to help the reader understand Golding's idea is the beast. Many of the boys believe their is a beast on the island and become fearful.
William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies is about a group of young boys, aged around 6-12, that crash land on an uninhabited island, and without adults, they fail miserably. In E.L Epstein’s article “NOTES ON LORD OF THE FLIES” Golding reveals in his novel that the flaws in human nature lead to a flawed society; which is seen in society (Epstein par. 3). Lord of the Flies provides an example of how imperfections in human nature start to surface when people are in a groups. One imperfection is their tendency to do violent and demeaning things as a mob.
At the start of the novel, these boys within the island respected their democratic leader (Ralph) and showed a great example of good civilians throughout the island. This then showed a dramatic change from civilization to savagery as the boys gained experience with their leader and became “comfortable” with the area. This situation all relates back to showing a great example of how democracy was failed in the novel because it shows how the alter between civilization and savagery can have a negative impact on democracy in showing that someone can become more of a “savage” within leadership and affect its importance involved with good experience in it. This also had a great effect on Ralph as a democratic leader because he ended up being alone closer to the end of the novel because everyone had turned savage against him, and killed all that he had left. The relationship between civilization and savagery was shown as the other boys gained experience with their democratic leader.
(Golding 8) But little did they know that their point of view on an island without adults would change. After all the boys met up, there were stories about a “beast”. The little kids were scared of this “beast”, and they had nightmares. The older boys too had moments where they were scared that they might come across it while traveling across the huge island. The fear in their minds began to change them from who they were when they arrived on the island.
In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the conch is a primary symbol, which represents civility and order. Throughout the book it served as a power tool that the boys highly respected, in fact, the symbolism of the conch begins before it is even blown. Ralph is the one who originally discovers and posses the shell, but it’s Piggy who explains it’s significance. Piggy has to teach Ralph how to blow it; this shows how from the beginning the conch is linked with both Piggy and Ralph.
Ralph never acknowledges that Piggy was the first to point out the conch shell and explained to Ralph what it was. Ralph, instead of giving credit to Piggy for the idea of the conch shell, blows through the conch and then takes charge. Ralph begins giving orders and proceeds to take on the role of chief. Ralph’s authority was made possible because “there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.” (22).
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys get stranded on an island with no adults in the midst of a war. The boys were orderly and civilized in the beginning but then as they began killing pigs they slowly became savages and lost their civilization. The boys began turning on each other and the evil within them became present. Golding uses a variety of literary devices including personification, symbols, metaphors, and irony, to project the theme that pure and realistic people in the world can be unheard and destroyed by evil.
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.
Everyone has this underlying darkness within them that is hidden away deep inside the nooks and crannies of their hearts. Golding demonstrates this through the use of his major characters, Ralph and Jack. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding utilizes character development to suggest the idea that when individuals are separated from civilization, dark forces will arise and threaten unity and harmony. Golding presents the protagonist, Ralph, who is decently intelligent and completely civilized, to demonstrate how once individuals are pulled away from civilization, the dark forces within them will arise and change how they are for the time being.
“Which is better – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” (Golding, 180). In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the main concern is the conflict between two instincts that thrive within all human beings: Civilization vs. Savagery. Throughout the novel, Golding established a civilization that is bound to collapse by the fault of savagery; however, some of the boys in the novel are not as cruel. Ralph, the main character, attempts to create a society that is livable and organized until the group gets rescued.
1. Shortly after arriving on the island, Ralph and Piggy discover a conch in the water. Ralph blows the conch to announce his location so the boys can gather. From the first use of the conch, it signifies the unity of the boys because it is what brought them together. The conch is also used to maintain organization.
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.
Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts.