Fire In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

The fire is a huge symbol in the novel Lord of the Flies because at the beginning it is used as a sign for them to get rescued; however, towards the end of the chapter it leads to destruction of the island. Ralph sees a ship in the ocean and says, “ ‘there was a ship out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!’ “(Golding 70). Since the fire went out, Ralph got mad because the fire is the only hope for the boys to get rescued and they let it out. With that being said the boys have to find another way to get rescued and ironically they did. For example, William Golding writes, “smoke was sweeping through the branches in white and yellow wisps, the patch of blue sky overhead turned to the color of a storm cloud, and
then the smoke billowed round him” (Golding195). The island is caught on fire because jack started it. He did not think that they were going to get rescued and ironically, the boys did. The fire meant hope in the beginning and towards the end it did to except it lead to destruction of the island also.