Summary: Lord Of The Flies

The use of symbolism is often used by authors to show a deeper meaning to an object within a story. These enhancements to the meaning of objects gives readers insight to what is really being represented. Although they may seem vague, they create a path to better understanding of characters and scenarios within a story. A proper use of this technique can be witnessed in Lord of the Flies. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbolism is used to depict a greater meaning within the objects that appear throughout the novel.

The Beast and the Conch Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, the young boys on the deserted island face various struggles that test their humanity and innocence. When the boys crash, the protagonist, Ralph, finds a conch. This conch is used to establish order and creates the basis of their society. All is well until rumors of a beast begin to circulate, instilling fear in the children.

The moment it crashed; it left a “scar” on the island. “All around him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.” (Narrator page 1) This line describes a physical description of the plane crash. On the other hand, the scar can be seen in a psychological way.

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, is a classic novel about a group of schoolboys stuck on an island where fear and savagery consumes them. From the beginning of the book to the last page fear has a prominent role in the novel. Fear in the book manifests itself with many thoughts including what the littluns refer to as the beast, and the fear of not getting home. Fear leads some of the boys to make regrettable decision and it also leads Jack to a position of power. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding fear dominates the island that the boys are stranded on and this fear leads the boys to positions of power and influences some of the boys to make regrettable decisions.

The ever changing meaning of the intricate monster, a very controversial topic, includes the worst qualities and things that come with being a human throughout the book. As said by Samuel Hynes,”The meaning of the book depends on the meaning of the ‘Beast.’” Fear is first represented by the “Beast”. In lines five and six of “The terrors of the unknown”(Doc A), the author claims,”They (the children) externalize these fears into the figure of a ‘Beast.’”

Symbols have deeper meaning many unnoticed objects in novels and movies. For example, the Lord of the Flies has many symbolic objects it has to show. Lord of the Flies is about a group of schoolboys that were shot down by a war plane and crash on the island. Everyone on the plane survived except for the pilot. As the story goes on some of the schoolboys start to turn into savages.

The massive explosion caused burning debris to shower over the surrounding buildings and onto the streets below, which made it clear that America was now under attack. The terrorist attack killed 2,977 people. This awful event left a scar on America’s society. American Airline Flight 11 was hijacked and flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center

The Darkness That Skulks Inside The Soul Each and every person holds a savagery inside them, and once unleashed everything that is known by society to be moral is cast aside, instead they rely solely on impulses of a dark intent. Something that displays this idea perfectly would be the use of symbolism in the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and in particular the symbol the “beastie”. In this book a group of young british boys crash land onto an island with no adults around to look out for them. Over the course of their time on the island, fears due to the beastie as well as a harsh environment, lack of civilization, and absolute freedom adds more chaos to an already chaotic situation.

Human Cruelty In “The Lord of the Flies” we learned how cruel human beings can actually be. Then we were asked if the boys’ cruel and savage behavior was based on emotional development or the environment they were in. My opinion was that this behavior was based on the environment.

The boys have an unjustified fear of the “beast”. In chapter nine specifically, Simon wakes up and realizes that the beast is actually just a dead man who had crashed on the island after his plane exploded. Simon goes to tell the others. They are in the middle of a feast and are filled with excitement and end up killing Simon. This is a turning point in the novel.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel, where a group of young British boys are lost on an island after their plane crash lands. Throughout the novel William Golding utilization of literary devices are used to reveal a theme for the novel, civilization and lives of innocent boys are destroyed and lost due to the savagery of the boys ', desire for power, and fear of the unknown. William Golding utilizes three important literary devices throughout the novel, symbolism, of when the conch is destroyed civilization on the island is gone, irony as the civilize British boys turn savages, and foreshadowing the deaths of the boys on the island. In the novel Lord of the Flies, symbolism was the most important literary device used by William

Arnold Joseph Taynbee, a British historian, explains, "Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder." Therefore, in William Golding 's Lord of the Flies, the civilization on a tropical unknown island filled with young British boys start to break away from their reality, making it a civilization suicide. They are deserted by a plane crash, which murders all the adults leaving all the boys to manage themselves. Without reality, some of the boys lose their morals, and start to turn into savages. During the course of the novel, symbols are changing, as well, showing how the civilization on the island is decaying.

William Goulding starts off the novel by placing a group of kids on an island. The kids are stranded on the island, alone and fearful. Already, Goulding creates a mood of impending darkness, cruelty and suspense. The theme of this novel is that “The defects in society are related to the defects in humanity”. The boys set rules and assign jobs, yet as time goes by, some boys are devolving and are breaking the rules which represents the defects in humanity, humans cannot stick to one thing for a long time.

In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, the reader comprehends symbols that go throughout the book. These symbols are key factors which determine the importance of the novel. The symbols are a very important part of the literary content. In order to really follow along and understand the story, the reader must understand these symbols for what they mean as well as how they are used. Some of the symbols include the conch, the island itself, and fire.

When Franklin D Roosevelt was in the presidential race with Herbert Hoover, he said something that has had an impact American citizens since 1932, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Although some people believe he was a loiter and had some pretty bad policies as president, he had something going with this quote. While most presidents typically produce quotes that make you want to fear yourself into voting for them, FDR decided to lift the fear factor altogether. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys allow fear to consume them and take over their sense of judgement, much like FDR warned Americans of nearly 100 years ago. Fear can cause your mind to react in ways you have no control over.