ipl-logo

Imagery In Lord Of The Flies

1284 Words6 Pages

In life, humans constantly change, and one of the most common change is civilization. This change happens for multiple reasons. As time progress and people get older, they have different opinions about certain people, rules, and systems. In the novel The Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses subtle images and symbols to illustrate the boys highly structured and civilized origins; however, as the boys begin to lose their sense of self and their civil leanings, symbols begin to reflect their slow descent into savagery. The change is made evident by symbols that Golding uses in the novel, such as the conch, the fire and the beast to represent the contradictory forces acting on the boys throughout the novel. First, Golding uses the …show more content…

The beast is one of the best symbols that shows how the boys progress from civilization and let out their inner savagery. Simon expressing his belief says, “Maybe there is a beast… maybe it 's only us.” (Golding 82). A littlun complains about there being a beast that roams around at night, they all gather around to come up with strategies on how to fix the situations. Simon suggests the beast is the boys themselves, and at this point, the savagery is taking over them and they are becoming more and more uncivilized. Beasts are mainly described as wild animals. The boys have been acting like beasts for the duration of the novel, they behave and act very similarly to what one would expect a beast to act and behave like. While Simon is having a verbal battle with the lord of the flies, they say, “You knew, didn 't you? I 'm part of you? Close, close, close! I 'm the reason why it 's no go? Why things are what they are… You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there- so don’t try to escape”(Golding 133). The lord of the flies from the head of the pig begin to talk to Simon, it explains that it is the beast and it is within the boys. When Simon goes to warn the boys about the beast, he is killed by them all. The true savagery and civilization are in the boys, all of them. The beast says that it is within the boys, and it warns Simon if he went to the other boys it will be there. It was not lying as it was there, and it killed him. The savage and civilized boys are the beats themselves they have all been scared, they did what a beast would do, which is attack and

Show More
Related

  • Dbq Essay Lord Of The Flies

    885 Words  | 4 Pages

    The “beast” not only has a physical form of a human, it also represents the savagery of human nature that is displayed through the boys. Throughout the novel, the boys slowly lose their sense and morph into horrendous and violent monsters. The most prominent example of this savagery is during Simon’s murder. A very “beast”-like and aggressive vocabulary is used during this scene to describe the boys attack on Simon, including, “leapt… screamed, struck, bit, tore… and the tearing of teeth and claws,” (Doc F). While these words are expected to be used to describe a monster, they describe the boys instead.

    Read More

  • Isolation In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

    471 Words  | 2 Pages

    To elaborate on motif, there is a chant that keeps repeating among the group of little boys “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 152). In this excerpt from the book the boys chant leads up to Simon a side characters death.

    Read More

  • Quotes And Imagery In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

    408 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses many quotes and Imagery to represent nature of mankind and society. Golding uses lots of analogies to try to foreshadow you about the real life. Throughout the book Golding uses many of the character and the setting to really make the point go across the whole story. As the story is told you begin to think humans are inherently good but nature and other people can turn you evil. In the beginning of the story jack is trying to get the group together to form so type of group which really means they are trying to set up a government.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices Used In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    709 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Does Golding Use Ethos In Chapter 9 Of Lord Of The Flies

    962 Words  | 4 Pages

    The major use of symbolism was describing and developing the presence of the beast on the island. The beast started off as a mysterious monster that lurked in the water only to come out at night in order to kill. As the book progresses, it becomes more evident that the monster is not a tangible being but more spiritual. The boys describe it as "A blackness that spreads” in chapter nine while Jack is talking with the boys. Simon says "I'm the beast ...

    Read More

  • The Lord Of The Flies: A Symbolism Analysis

    615 Words  | 3 Pages

    Golding says “The boys broke into shrill, exciting cheering” (41) in the beginning of the novel, then at the end of the novel says, “A great clamor rose among the savages” (164). William Golding who wrote The Lord of the Flies changes his word choice from “boys” to “savages” to emphasize the fact that the boys change into savage creatures. Three symbols represent civilization and change into chaos over the course of the novel. The three symbols representing change are Piggy’s glasses, The fire, and the conch. These figures demonstrate the important theme that the calm civilization will soon break out into disorder.

    Read More

  • Dbq Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

    590 Words  | 3 Pages

    Savagery, uncivilized, and hypocritical children have clouded their judgment when trying to figure out if there is a real beastie. A monstrous figure frightens the juvenile boys that landed on this forsaken island. In the Lord of the Flies, these English boys are all alone to defend for themselves, thats when it all unravels. This mythical monster sooner called the “beast” is symbolized a fear of a mistaken beast, as the darkness of war, and the evilness of humanity waiting to be unleashed.

    Read More

  • Dbq Essay On Lord Of The Flies

    486 Words  | 2 Pages

    The beast in Lord of the Flies at the beginning of the story is fear. In document A Claire Rosenfield says “they externalize these fears into a figure of a beast.” The children on the island create a beast that they base on their fear from everything that has happened so far and what could happen. The children make the beast to show how scared they actually are and what they're afraid of because they aren't where they normally

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

    1122 Words  | 5 Pages

    The quote “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head.” (Golding 164) expresses that the Lord of the Flies is divulging to Simon that the evil is not something that can be hunted or killed but is within the boys. Simon also learns that the beast of evilness was in the boys all along. The theme Inherent Evil of Man is displayed through Simon learning that evil is within the boys and that this was the beast. This shows how the evil action appears as a beast and the understanding of evilness by

    Read More

  • What Does The Beast Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

    407 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Simon Lord Of The Flies

    585 Words  | 3 Pages

    This shows that the boys are only afraid of themselves, because they are their own worst enemy. He is the first to figure out that the beast is not an actual beast, and how it is only the boys becoming savage, and starting to be afraid of one another. As Simon began to explain this to the doubtful boys, he was the only one who died knowing the

    Read More

  • Analogies In Lord Of The Flies

    2042 Words  | 9 Pages

    Lord of the Flies dates back to 1954 when a famous novelist, William Golding decided to write a book which could show an unusual version of the human beings. Born into an environment where his mother was a suffragette and later experiencing World War II where human ruthlessness was at its peak, made him better inclined in to writing a piece where he could explain his readers how human beings react in different situations. The setting of the novel depicts a situation where the human behavior is rational. The novel hence persuades the readers to realize the importance of ethics and civilization and how their absence can disrupt the society .Furthermore, the novel shows a negative aspect of the mankind and explains the reason it develops savagery

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Essay About The Beast In Lord Of The Flies

    957 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although the other boys laugh off Simon’s suggestion, Simon’s words are central to Golding’s philosophy of anti-transcendentalism, that innate human darkness exists. Simon is the first character in the novel to see “mankind’s essential illness” which in turn, shows the beast not as an external force but as a component of human nature. Simons deep understanding of the beast is further expressed in his hallucination or his “discussion” with the lord of the flies that he has after one of his fainting spells, “There isn't anyone to help you. Only me. And I'm the Beast...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Fear In Lord Of The Flies

    733 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Power Of Fear in “Lord of the Flies”: No Greater Illusion Than Fear Fear is intangible yet has perceptible effects. It plays a significant role in human behaviour. Each individual reacts to fear differently, some overcome it, while others give in to it. In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” the theme of fear is discussed and it becomes clear that fear has the power to take over not only one’s mind but also control one’s actions.

    Read More

  • Human Nature And Evil In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

    1127 Words  | 5 Pages

    During Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies, Golding reveals the central issue concerning human nature. Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that the beast is inside each boy and cannot be killed. The boys go from behaving like civilized young men to brutal savages. “What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.”

    Read More

More about Imagery In Lord Of The Flies

Open Document