Symbolism in Lord of the Flies
Chinnis 1
Meagan Chinnis
Mrs. Kennedy
Lord of the Flies Essay
18 April 2008
Symbolism
Lord of the Flies is set on an island in the 1940’s. It is about a group of schoolboys who were in a plane crash and landed on an uninhabited island with no adults to look after them. Ralph, the protagonist, is the appointed leader of the boys. They go through many hardships. They must find food, make fire, and deal with each other to survive. Throughout their struggles, many objects become symbolic. One item that became symbolic was the boy’s long hair. This symbolized no rules on the island. There were no adults to scold them or to tell them to cut their hair. Many boys broke rules they would not have gotten away with back home, such as, “In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand” (Golding 60). They had no rules or instructions to tell them what not to do. This caused chaos on the island. Darkness and the beastie are also symbolic. It symbolizes fear. On the island, many of the boys were scared, especially the younger ones. The beastie was a monster that many of the boys imagined, and when the beastie was brought up at a meeting, frightened many of the other boys. Also, when darkness came around, several of the older
Chinnis 2 boys would become nervous of the beastie, even if they hadn’t believed in it before. The darkness worried the boys like, “A thin wail out of the darkness chilled them and set them grabbing for each other” (Golding 94). On the island, there were many occasions where the boys were scared for different things. Another symbolic object are the huts that the boys made on the beach. They symbolize survival. The huts were not only used for shelter from the weather, but also for protection from their fear of the beastie. Also, the huts were a good place to sleep, especially after having a nightmare, such as, “… Ralph and Simon picked him up unhandily and carried him to a shelter” (Golding 95). The boys
Meagan Chinnis
Mrs. Kennedy
Lord of the Flies Essay
18 April 2008
Symbolism
Lord of the Flies is set on an island in the 1940’s. It is about a group of schoolboys who were in a plane crash and landed on an uninhabited island with no adults to look after them. Ralph, the protagonist, is the appointed leader of the boys. They go through many hardships. They must find food, make fire, and deal with each other to survive. Throughout their struggles, many objects become symbolic. One item that became symbolic was the boy’s long hair. This symbolized no rules on the island. There were no adults to scold them or to tell them to cut their hair. Many boys broke rules they would not have gotten away with back home, such as, “In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand” (Golding 60). They had no rules or instructions to tell them what not to do. This caused chaos on the island. Darkness and the beastie are also symbolic. It symbolizes fear. On the island, many of the boys were scared, especially the younger ones. The beastie was a monster that many of the boys imagined, and when the beastie was brought up at a meeting, frightened many of the other boys. Also, when darkness came around, several of the older
Chinnis 2 boys would become nervous of the beastie, even if they hadn’t believed in it before. The darkness worried the boys like, “A thin wail out of the darkness chilled them and set them grabbing for each other” (Golding 94). On the island, there were many occasions where the boys were scared for different things. Another symbolic object are the huts that the boys made on the beach. They symbolize survival. The huts were not only used for shelter from the weather, but also for protection from their fear of the beastie. Also, the huts were a good place to sleep, especially after having a nightmare, such as, “… Ralph and Simon picked him up unhandily and carried him to a shelter” (Golding 95). The boys
Cited: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 1945.