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What Does Lord Of The Flies Represent

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Lord of the Flies is a classic novel by William Golding that explores the darkness of human nature and the consequences of societal breakdown. The novel is an allegory in which characters and objects symbolize essential themes, and Golding uses these symbols to illustrate his message. One such example of symbolism in the novel that relates to the text's themes is the face paint the boys began to wear as the story develops. The face paint and its use in pig hunts help develop the themes of dehumanization and loss of identity. One of the most potent symbols in William Golding's Lord of the Flies is the face paint worn by the boys. The paint is used by the boys as a way of creating an identity for themselves and to express their primal instincts. …show more content…

The mask is a metaphor for Jack hiding his true self and putting on an act that does not reflect how he truly is. The face paint symbolizes the loss of individual identity that the boys experience as they descend into savagery. When the boys first begin to paint their faces, it is a way of distinguishing themselves from each other and creating an identity. However, as they become more savage, the paint becomes a way of hiding their true selves, and they begin to blend together as a single entity. As the boys' loss of identity becomes more pronounced, they begin to wear face paint, which camouflages their faces and makes them all look alike. This represents their complete loss of individuality and identity, and their regression to a more primitive, animalistic state. Furthermore, as the boys begin to lose their identity, they also begin to lose the sense of acting and rationalizing like a human. This can best be displayed in the novel when Jack "looked in astonishment, no longer at himself, but at an awesome stranger. He spilled the water and leapt to his feet, laughing excitedly. Beside the pool, his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them. He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling" (Golding 63). This

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