Symbolism in Lord of Flies
Symbolism in Lord of the Flies: William Golding
Symbolism is a very important factor in many books. Lord of the Flies written by William Golding teems with rich symbolism.. At the first glance many may not think much of the symbols; however with some in-depth thought you can see that they reflect the various situations on this microcosm of an island. As time on the island continues, the symbols change with it, and what they mean also is represented by this change. The pigs, the conch and Peggy’s specs are all Symbolic of the destruction and savagery that grows on the island.
Before we get down to the details, we should address the fact that Lord of the Flies is one big allegory. Symbols aside, the boys as a whole can represent humanity as a whole. You can see where the pieces fall from there; the island is then the entire world, the boys’ rules become the world’s varying governments, two tribes are two countries, and so on. The boys’ fighting is then equivalent to a war. The only time we pull out of the allegory is at the very end of the novel, when the other “real” world breaks through the imaginary barrier around the island. Yet this is also the moment when the real message of the allegory hits home, when we can ask ourselves that chilling question, “But who will rescue the grown-ups?”
Firstly the glasses that Piggy wore upon arrival of the island are symbolic of the state of the island in many ways. When they arrived at the island the glasses were spotless and perfect, no damage at all, similar to how the boys were. They were used to create fire and were needed; however the boy who owned the glasses was highly disrespected. “’You’re talking too much Fatty” this also changed with how the story unfolded. Soon after this conflict occurred, Jack and Piggy had a slight scuffle, however it would be more accurate to say that Jack beat up Piggy, consequently, this resulted in “Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks” at this time the tribe was still
Symbolism is a very important factor in many books. Lord of the Flies written by William Golding teems with rich symbolism.. At the first glance many may not think much of the symbols; however with some in-depth thought you can see that they reflect the various situations on this microcosm of an island. As time on the island continues, the symbols change with it, and what they mean also is represented by this change. The pigs, the conch and Peggy’s specs are all Symbolic of the destruction and savagery that grows on the island.
Before we get down to the details, we should address the fact that Lord of the Flies is one big allegory. Symbols aside, the boys as a whole can represent humanity as a whole. You can see where the pieces fall from there; the island is then the entire world, the boys’ rules become the world’s varying governments, two tribes are two countries, and so on. The boys’ fighting is then equivalent to a war. The only time we pull out of the allegory is at the very end of the novel, when the other “real” world breaks through the imaginary barrier around the island. Yet this is also the moment when the real message of the allegory hits home, when we can ask ourselves that chilling question, “But who will rescue the grown-ups?”
Firstly the glasses that Piggy wore upon arrival of the island are symbolic of the state of the island in many ways. When they arrived at the island the glasses were spotless and perfect, no damage at all, similar to how the boys were. They were used to create fire and were needed; however the boy who owned the glasses was highly disrespected. “’You’re talking too much Fatty” this also changed with how the story unfolded. Soon after this conflict occurred, Jack and Piggy had a slight scuffle, however it would be more accurate to say that Jack beat up Piggy, consequently, this resulted in “Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks” at this time the tribe was still