There is an extensive use of symbols in the novel "Lord of the Flies". Golding's use of symbols has allowed us to more accurately interpret the personality of each character, as well as their individual changes or changes as a group. His use of symbols achieves this by relating the characters to different traits and aspects of human nature and society. The conch is a powerful symbol of civilisation as well as democracy at the start of the novel. It is one of the reasons that Ralph was elected as chief, not just because of his size and appearance, but because, "most powerfully, there was the conch". As the novel progresses, we see that the conch begins to lose its power, and with it we also see the boys as a whole becoming more like savages, until the destruction of the conch, which is a clear indicator that Jack and his group has descended into a group of savages. The pig is another symbol in the novel which is used to mark the changes in the characters. When the boys kill their first pig, it marks the loss of their innocence. The characters themselves are also symbols. Ralph, similar to the conch, is a symbol of civilisation, and as the power shifts from Ralph to Jack, the group of boys too, become more like savages. The pig is another symbol in the novel which is used to mark the changes in the characters. When the boys kill their first pig, it marks the loss of their innocence. They are now savages who have hunted and kills animals and humans, no longer the innocent boys that swam in the lagoon at
There is an extensive use of symbols in the novel "Lord of the Flies". Golding's use of symbols has allowed us to more accurately interpret the personality of each character, as well as their individual changes or changes as a group. His use of symbols achieves this by relating the characters to different traits and aspects of human nature and society. The conch is a powerful symbol of civilisation as well as democracy at the start of the novel. It is one of the reasons that Ralph was elected as chief, not just because of his size and appearance, but because, "most powerfully, there was the conch". As the novel progresses, we see that the conch begins to lose its power, and with it we also see the boys as a whole becoming more like savages, until the destruction of the conch, which is a clear indicator that Jack and his group has descended into a group of savages. The pig is another symbol in the novel which is used to mark the changes in the characters. When the boys kill their first pig, it marks the loss of their innocence. The characters themselves are also symbols. Ralph, similar to the conch, is a symbol of civilisation, and as the power shifts from Ralph to Jack, the group of boys too, become more like savages. The pig is another symbol in the novel which is used to mark the changes in the characters. When the boys kill their first pig, it marks the loss of their innocence. They are now savages who have hunted and kills animals and humans, no longer the innocent boys that swam in the lagoon at