Symbolism - Lord of the Flies

Symbolism,

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of children are stranded on an island when their plane crashes. Golding tells the story by using a group of boys stranded on a tropical island to illustrate the malicious nature of mankind. The boys are in a world of freedom of having no parents while living in a society that doesn't enforce rules or laws. Golding uses the theme of human nature to show how easily society can collapse, and how self-destructive human nature is. The groups of boys on the island, are left out to survive for themselves. They start off as innocent schoolboys, but quickly descend into savages. This deterioration is caused from various events. As the novel progresses the kids find use for different items, each symbolizing something of different significance. In this novel William Golding uses different objects to symbolize the difference between civilization and savagery. Lord of the Flies dealt with changes that the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the isolated freedom from society. These main characters depicted different effects on certain individuals under those circumstances. Lord of the Flies is a symbolizing novel, and many of its characters signify important ideas or themes.

Ralph was introduced as a fair and likeable boy whose self-assured manner made him feel secure even on the island without any adults. He started as a self-assured boy whose confidence in himself came from the acceptance of his peers. His interaction with Piggy demonstrated his pleasant nature as he did not call him names with hateful intent as Jack had. His good physique allowed him to be well accepted among his peers, and this gave him enough confidence to

speak out readily in public. His handsome features, and the conch as a symbol of power and order, made him stand out from the crowd of boys and led to his being proclaimed Chief. Towards the end of the novel, Ralph was forced into independence when he lost all his followers to Jack's savagery, and when Piggy and the conch were smashed by Roger's boulder. He was forced to fend for himself and to determine how to avoid Jack's savage hunters alone. Ralph represents order, leadership, and civilization.

Piggy was an educated boy rejected by the kids of his age group because he was overweight, pale, and asthmatic. Size, athleticism, and his physical appearance are indicators of status on the island. So due to his physical limitations, his glasses, he becomes an outcast among the boys. The representation of Piggy's glasses, starts to be mentioned near the end of the novel. Piggy's glasses symbolize civilization and when they were shattered it represented destruction of the civilization the boys had at the beginning of the book. His status in their society allowed him to look at the boys from an outsider's perspective. He could learn of the hatred being brought out of the boys without having to experience the thirst for blood that Ralph was exposed to. Since Piggy had an academic childhood, he was more mature than the others and retained his civilized behaviour. But his experiences on the island gave him a more realistic understanding of the cruelty possessed by some people. Piggy represents the scientific and intellectual aspects of civilization.

Jack Merridew began as the arrogant and self-righteous leader. His desire