Fire In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay
Writers use symbolism when one thing represents something else. Symbols can be characters or objects in a story. William Golding uses includes many different examples of symbolism throughout his novel, Lord of the Flies. The symbols in Lord of the Flies changed constantly and the reader was given a new interpretation of the island society. Examples of symbolism in Lord of the Flies include the following: Piggy’s glasses, the conch shell, and fire. One of the first examples of symbolism in the Lord of the Flies is Piggy’s glasses. Life on the island changed when it was discovered that Piggy’s glasses could be used to start a fire. The glasses first represented the intelligence of the boys on the island. The boys were on the top of the mountain looking for a way to start a fire.
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They had many different ideas but finally thought of the glasses. “His specs—use them as burning glasses,” pointed out Jack (Golding 40). Later in the novel the boys spilt up with Jack’s wild tribe or Ralph’s civilized group. Jack stole the glasses from Piggy and Ralph. Jack proudly marched back to Castle Rock with Piggy’s broken glasses in his hand (Goulding 168). The stolen glasses now represented the key to fire. Jack abused the power that came with having the glasses. The changing symbolism of Piggy’s glasses helped the reader to get a better sense of how the power on the island shifted with just a single pair of glasses. A second example of symbolism in the novel is the conch shell. When Ralph first found the conch shell he used it to bring the group of boys together. At the meeting called by Ralph the conch shell represented authority. Ralph says, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking. And he won’t be interrupted. Except by me” (Golding 33). With the conch shell Ralph possessed authority that Jack was envious of. At the end of the novel the boys lost all sense of control and broke the conch shell. Piggy was holding the shell when a rock was pushed down the mountain toward him. The conch exploded into a thousand white little pieces and ceased to exist (Golding 181). The shell being broken represented the loss of all authority and order on the island. The symbolism of the conch shell shows how the boys lost all sense of control. A final example of symbolism in Lord of the Flies was fire.
Ralph had the idea of using fire for a purpose that would benefit all the boys. “Any day there could be a ship out there—and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off” (Golding 42). The fire represented rescue and civilization at the beginning of the novel. The importance of the fire was stressed when a ship went by the island because they boys had let the fire burn out. Ralph called an assembly and told the boys that the fire was the most important thing on the island. The boys could never expect to get rescued without a signal fire (Golding 80). Toward the end of the novel Jack had a desire to have the power of Ralph. When Jack and multiple other boys lost control they stole Piggy’s glasses. Piggy’s glasses are the key to having a fire. Now the fire represents the power Jack and his tribe of boys possess. Ralph was hiding in a thicket when Jack’s tribe started a fire to try to flush him out from hiding (Golding 195). Fire symbolized hope for rescue and civilization at the beginning, but at the end it represented the power of Jack. This change in symbolism stress just how important fire was on the island to the
boys. The symbolism throughout Lord of the Flies shows just how drastically the society on the island changed. Piggy’s glasses went from representing intelligence to the key for fire. The conch shell represented authority and when it was broken, all since of order was lost. Fire was such an important part of the boys’ life on the island. At the beginning it represented their hope of being rescued. Fire changed by the end of the novel and represented power and control. Whoever possessed the ability to make fire was in control of everything on the island. Symbolism is one of the literary devices used by William Golding to show the reader the drastic changes throughout his novel. Writers should take note of his examples and use them in their own pieces.
They had many different ideas but finally thought of the glasses. “His specs—use them as burning glasses,” pointed out Jack (Golding 40). Later in the novel the boys spilt up with Jack’s wild tribe or Ralph’s civilized group. Jack stole the glasses from Piggy and Ralph. Jack proudly marched back to Castle Rock with Piggy’s broken glasses in his hand (Goulding 168). The stolen glasses now represented the key to fire. Jack abused the power that came with having the glasses. The changing symbolism of Piggy’s glasses helped the reader to get a better sense of how the power on the island shifted with just a single pair of glasses. A second example of symbolism in the novel is the conch shell. When Ralph first found the conch shell he used it to bring the group of boys together. At the meeting called by Ralph the conch shell represented authority. Ralph says, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking. And he won’t be interrupted. Except by me” (Golding 33). With the conch shell Ralph possessed authority that Jack was envious of. At the end of the novel the boys lost all sense of control and broke the conch shell. Piggy was holding the shell when a rock was pushed down the mountain toward him. The conch exploded into a thousand white little pieces and ceased to exist (Golding 181). The shell being broken represented the loss of all authority and order on the island. The symbolism of the conch shell shows how the boys lost all sense of control. A final example of symbolism in Lord of the Flies was fire.
Ralph had the idea of using fire for a purpose that would benefit all the boys. “Any day there could be a ship out there—and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off” (Golding 42). The fire represented rescue and civilization at the beginning of the novel. The importance of the fire was stressed when a ship went by the island because they boys had let the fire burn out. Ralph called an assembly and told the boys that the fire was the most important thing on the island. The boys could never expect to get rescued without a signal fire (Golding 80). Toward the end of the novel Jack had a desire to have the power of Ralph. When Jack and multiple other boys lost control they stole Piggy’s glasses. Piggy’s glasses are the key to having a fire. Now the fire represents the power Jack and his tribe of boys possess. Ralph was hiding in a thicket when Jack’s tribe started a fire to try to flush him out from hiding (Golding 195). Fire symbolized hope for rescue and civilization at the beginning, but at the end it represented the power of Jack. This change in symbolism stress just how important fire was on the island to the
boys. The symbolism throughout Lord of the Flies shows just how drastically the society on the island changed. Piggy’s glasses went from representing intelligence to the key for fire. The conch shell represented authority and when it was broken, all since of order was lost. Fire was such an important part of the boys’ life on the island. At the beginning it represented their hope of being rescued. Fire changed by the end of the novel and represented power and control. Whoever possessed the ability to make fire was in control of everything on the island. Symbolism is one of the literary devices used by William Golding to show the reader the drastic changes throughout his novel. Writers should take note of his examples and use them in their own pieces.