Island In Lord Of The Flies

Often, readers take the setting of a novel as simply a necessary backdrop of scenery for the character and the plot. However, William Golding, in Lord of the Flies, chooses his imagery and the words of his descriptions of the island, to create a setting that seems as alive as the human characters. The symbolism used throughout the book is highly noticed by the readers and has much meaning towards the characters, island, and the personalities of both. William Golding shows how significant such a small object or thing may be, it is shown how much it can affect the boys on the island, and even take over them. There have been 2 things keeping the boys together, or as you might say, intact. They have come along many objects and many areas throughout
The boys start the fire in the beginning of the book so that any passing ships could see them, they maintain the fire together to keep it intact. They do not want the fire to spread and destroy the whole island, thus, maintaining it will keep it safe. Explaining on a better note… “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?”(113-114) Slowly, the fire starts to get slower and slower, which is showing the boys have lost interest in their own survival of hope, without the fire they cannot get anywhere, but they still choose to let it burn slower and slower. The fire is the only signal of hope they have and they are letting it out of their hands. Going back to another note, good vs. evil takes over Jack once again. After long decisive days of darkness, Jack sets the signal fire but this time it was a greater signal fire than before. He had set out the fire in order to hunt and kill Ralph. This shows the significance of all of these symbols, put into one. This whole situation the boys have been stuck in is a matter of their Savagery vs. civilisation, their savagery has taken over their well-educated minds and has made them into savage beasts. Jack and Ralph were once goods friends, what would ever make Jack turn on Ralph? The answer is savagery and the
evil. Good vs. evil comes in on every single symbolic representation in this book, when you look at the conch shell, the signal fire, Piggy’s glasses, the island, and the scar, all of these Symbols represent good vs. evil and come to play when it is represented. There are many aspects to both sides of good vs. evil, but at the end, evil takes its part and turns the boys into dreadful savages. Making them turn on each other, destroying themselves, and the once known “Island”. The eagerness and curiosity of the boys destroyed their hope to survive in such a crucial and devastating place, the boys made it so far until they hit a breaking point forgetting who they really were and where they came from. The island took over the boys, and their thoughts, it made them into people they really weren’t meant to be. Each Symbol and Character play a very crucial role to why the island became what it is now and why the boys became who they are, or what they became until they were killed by their island deceived