Lord of the Flies Essay
Coming of Age is a very scary and unfamiliar experience that eventually happens to us all. This transition can be both physical and metaphorical. As demonstrated in the book Lord of the Flies, this transition often comes sooner than we would like. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding symbolism is used to communicate theme of Coming of Age through many different symbols such as choosing a leader, the conch shell, and the island. The vote for a leader is an adult action, forming their own type of democracy. Choosing a symbol of power and authority, the conch, causes them to have to mature and respect it. The island is a new unfamiliar environment and the boys have to start over. needs a transition sentence
In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the boy’s vote to chose a leader symbolizes Coming of Age because the boys base their choice on who is holding the symbol of social order. When the boys crash land on the island they realize they will be there for a while. They decided to establish a leader by voting. This example
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The boys are thrown from their normal childhood and have to start over in an entirely new environment. The island is isolated and scary because the boys have never been on their own before. This can be observed in the text “On two sides was the beach; behind, the lagoon; in front, the darkness of the island.” (Golding 85) This quote is just describing how the boys feel about the island. When most people describe islands they are usually focused on the beautiful beaches. Much like with adulthood kids only see the “beaches”. In reality there is a lot more that goes on behind the pretty beaches. The rest of the island is scary and dark. Once the boy have to venture past the beaches they realize how scary the island (adulthood) really is. The boys most definitely regret taking their wonderful childhood lives for
In the book, the constant darkness is a symbolic feature of the island that stands for fear. “At last the way to the top looked like a scramble over pink rock, with no more plunging through darkness.” (48) The quote shows that the boys are afraid of the dark and yearn to get away from it, trying their hardest to stay together and where they can keep an eye on one another. Although darkness is seen as fear and terror, it is also seen as the birthplace of the “beast”.
Maslow, a theorist, stated in describing his hierarchy of necessities that when certain needs are not met, people begin to shift. In this case with the boys on the island none of their basic needs were met, some less met than others. On top of that this event foreshadows Jacks future
Jack is stressed because his group of hunters isn’t having much success catching any pigs and the entire group would enjoy eating something other than fruit. Ralph notices that no one, except Simon, is helping to build the shelters because they are either trying to hunt with Jack or they are playing around the island not helping with anything. Ralph is noticing how many of the rules that were put in place are not being followed, the children are going to the bathroom wherever they want, completely disregarding the drinking system. Also, at assemblies, the conch begins to show a decline in power as kids are talking on their own without the conch. The ignoring of the conch, which originally represented democracy, represents the degradation of their democracy, their rules, and their newly-found structured society.
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
I do not think we are aware of the savagery that our inner “beasts” are capable of. The boys do many things on the island that they never assume that they are able of. When the boys’ innocence is stripped of them from being stranded
They fall victim to the island, and slowly turn into savages. Because they are still children with strong imaginations, they believe they are not alone. The thought of a beast living on the island with them emerges from the boys firm imaginations, and starts killing any innocence the boys have left. One of the best examples of loss of innocence in this book is when a main character, Jack, starts hunting pigs. Before his hunt, he put clay and dirt on his face to use as camouflage, To this young boy, it was a lot more than camouflage.
The island represents isolation between the families, caused by the conflict and secrets. Moreover, the book correlates with the term "liars" demonstrating the deceptions and lies revolving around the family. Lastly, the use of fairy tales and myths referenced in the book contributes to symbolism of the struggle faced by each of the characters. Theme:
Nevertheless they had to find ways to collaborate and manage their way through the island by exploring. The boys had to use their survival instinct to survive through tough situations, though they had no rules or punishments and the island changed the way they lived. There
This island has no adults, no civilization, and no rules, making it seemingly perfect for a group of young boys. The boys’ adventures are full of insanity, fun, and fear. The plot of this
Lord of the Flies is a book that takes place in the time of war. However, that is not noticed because what it really is about is how boys who are trapped in a Island deal with the fact they have no supervision and have to make things up for themselves. This is a struggle they have throughout the book, because they can run wild and free and become savages or create order and have a somewhat civilization like time in the island. The author William Golding combines the two themes of rules and order and civilization, to show how the boys will survive on the island.
The boys no longer had adults in their lives, and because of this void, they had to become responsible. They attempted to create rules, shelters, and a way off the island. They attempted to provide for one another, and eventually began to act a little like adults. “…The ground was hardened by an accustomed tread and as Jack rose to his full height he heard something moving on it.
This shows the human nature of children and men when they are away from society and order for a long time. If they do not get what they want, then they will drive themselves crazy trying to fight and in turn, become savages, who are focused on killing and hunting. They are blinded by their anger and illusions that they forget about the real point, which is trying to escape from the island and their new goal is to kill each other off so they alone can be the chief of the island, but eventually all the boys will have to end up dying from natural causes or battles if they are not saved by a ship. Their morals are ruined and this leads to further chaos on the island. Once the chaos starts to happen on the island, Ralph also starts to rethink his idea of being chief.
The boys fight for survival, they begin to have no instincts and no morals. They attempt to kill each other, steal from each other and slowly progress to be murders. (Golding, 1962) Everyone on the island could get away with things that normally do not happen in today’s society. Some people were born evil, and they cannot help it.
Without any source of adult supervision on the island the children are left with no other option but to look for leadership and authority from another child. For instance, in Lord of the Flies the boys choose Ralph to become chief (Golding 22). Throughout time on the island the children begin to become more and more violent towards one another. Without authority from an adult the children become dangerous and begin to be a threat to each
Lord of the Flies Intro Paragraph The purpose of an author writing a piece of literature usually has a deeper, more symbolic meaning from what is read at a surface-level. The author of The Lord of the Flies by William Golding relies on the use of symbols to give the novel a deeper meaning. When the boys first land of the island, Piggy and Ralph stumble across a conch, which is symbolic for the state of their society. As the boys stay on the island longer, their hair grows out and their clothes become tattered, symbolizing their loss of humanity. Lastly, the unelected leader, Jack, created a dance and a chant for their hunting victories, which takes a complete turn as more of the boys' humanity is lost.