Symbols In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

Lord of the Flies Symbolism and Theme In the story Lord of the Flies by William Golding, main ideas and themes are conveyed through symbolic characters and objects. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work and symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. The author, William Golding, uses a variety of literary devices in his novel about a group of British schoolboys whose plane is shot down over an uninhabited desert island. Golding uses symbolism to create a mood to his writing, three main symbols used are the conch shell, the signal fire, and Piggy’s glasses. Ralph and Piggy, two English school boys, discover the conch shell on the beach at the start of the novel. They use it to summon the boys together after the crash separates them, revealing the theme, “when firm order is lost, control is lost”. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak.” “He can hold it when he’s speaking” (33). This quote is to say that the boys want rules and civilized order within the group when they first crash. As the island civilization erodes and the boys descend into savagery, the conch shell loses its power and influence among them. Towards the end of the book, the last boy with
Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel, many of its characters and events signify important ideas or themes. The symbols used were the conch shell, the signal fire and Piggy’s glasses. The three main themes that were interpreted by these symbols are “when firm order is lost, control is lost”, “no matter where mankind steps foot, land is destroyed”, and “man, when taken from society will descend to savage human ways”. Having these symbolic events, items, and characters create depth to the story and add interest for the reader. This essay explains my personal interpretation of the symbols and