What Is The Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies
In the novel Lord of the flies William Golding uses boys stranded on an island as symbols. Each boy is symbolic of a different facet of society as the book wears each boy/ facet of society begins to crumble and the darkness of a mans heart begins to slowly seep in to their souls. The darkness of a mans heart is never explained in the novel however it can be interpreted as the evil that lives inside all of us. This evil is evidenced throughout the novel. It begins subtly and culminating in the horrific murder of Piggy at the hand of his peers. One of these instances at the beginning of the novel is seen when Piggy wants to go with Ralph, Jack and Simon but they don’t allow him due to his physical weaknesses. This example states, “Piggy stirred
“I’ll come.” Ralph turned to him “You’re no good on a job like this(pg22).” In this instance it is evident that the evil that lives inside of them is already subtly seeping into their souls. Even though it is very subtle you an see that the boys are already being mean to each other by not including someone just by their looks. A second instance that occurs later in the book is seen when Piggy is holding the conch on the top of the mountain while they are making the fire and is trying to talk but jack keeps talking over him saying the conch doesn’t count on the top of the mountain. This example states, “ “I got the conch.” Said Piggy indignantly. “You let me speak.” “ The conch doesn’t work on the top of the mountain.” Said Jack(Pg43.)” This quote shows the darkness of a man’s heart because Jack won’t let Piggy talk even though he is trying to help. Finally at the end of the novel the most juristic of all the examples of the darkness of a man’s heart occurs Piggy gets killed and the conch is broken. This example states, “ The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time to grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turned over and went. The rock bounded twice and was lost in the forest. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s arms and legs twitch after its been killed.” This example is the most juristic because both Piggy and the conch broke meaning that the evil that lives with in them had finally taken over and someone died. The conch shell is also important because it represented order and now that its been broken we know that society has been broken. In conclusion I believe that through out the book you will find that the darkness of a man’s heart subtly takes over and all the strings inside them finally broke. The darkness of a man’s heart is always around us and represents the evil that lives in side of us and if we let it take over something bad will end up happening. This is what Ralph meant when he was talking about the darkness of a man’s heart.
“I’ll come.” Ralph turned to him “You’re no good on a job like this(pg22).” In this instance it is evident that the evil that lives inside of them is already subtly seeping into their souls. Even though it is very subtle you an see that the boys are already being mean to each other by not including someone just by their looks. A second instance that occurs later in the book is seen when Piggy is holding the conch on the top of the mountain while they are making the fire and is trying to talk but jack keeps talking over him saying the conch doesn’t count on the top of the mountain. This example states, “ “I got the conch.” Said Piggy indignantly. “You let me speak.” “ The conch doesn’t work on the top of the mountain.” Said Jack(Pg43.)” This quote shows the darkness of a man’s heart because Jack won’t let Piggy talk even though he is trying to help. Finally at the end of the novel the most juristic of all the examples of the darkness of a man’s heart occurs Piggy gets killed and the conch is broken. This example states, “ The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time to grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turned over and went. The rock bounded twice and was lost in the forest. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s arms and legs twitch after its been killed.” This example is the most juristic because both Piggy and the conch broke meaning that the evil that lives with in them had finally taken over and someone died. The conch shell is also important because it represented order and now that its been broken we know that society has been broken. In conclusion I believe that through out the book you will find that the darkness of a man’s heart subtly takes over and all the strings inside them finally broke. The darkness of a man’s heart is always around us and represents the evil that lives in side of us and if we let it take over something bad will end up happening. This is what Ralph meant when he was talking about the darkness of a man’s heart.