The use of symbols in Lord of the flies and its connection to important themes
Martine Vidmar
G.Sabourin
EAE3U.02
11 april 2014
The use of symbols in Lord of the flies and its connection to important themes
In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, boys are stranded on the island and come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize the theme of evil and the loss of civilization. The use of symbols such as the lord of the flies itself, Piggy 's glasses and the rock are used to demonstrate the evil within human kind.
One of the most important symbols in the book is the pig 's head, the actual lord of the flies; the evil, shown by the pig 's head on the stake, which is causing the boys ' island society to fall into savagery, is already inside them. At the end of this chapter, the huge evil represented by this symbol can be read as Simon faints after looking into the wide mouth of the pig and seeing "blackness within, a blackness that spread" (Golding 144). The author’s description of the animal 's head on a spear is very graphic and quite scary. The pig 's head is described as "dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood blackening between the teeth… black blob of flies " (Golding 137-138). When Simon begins to talk with the dead, devil-like object, the source of that evil is shown. Even though the conversation may be entirely made-up, Simon learns that the beast, which has scared the boys on the island since they got there, is not a God, as it was seen to be. In fact, the head of the pig tells him, "Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn 't you? I 'm part of you?" (Golding 143).
The evil within the boys comes out the longer they spend on the island, isolated from the rest of the world. They are forced to create their own society and Piggy’s glasses represent this decline. As the book begins, Piggy can see clearly with his glasses still intact, and the boys are still civilized. For example, the boys decide that they "can 't have everybody talking at once" and that they "have to have ‘Hands
G.Sabourin
EAE3U.02
11 april 2014
The use of symbols in Lord of the flies and its connection to important themes
In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, boys are stranded on the island and come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize the theme of evil and the loss of civilization. The use of symbols such as the lord of the flies itself, Piggy 's glasses and the rock are used to demonstrate the evil within human kind.
One of the most important symbols in the book is the pig 's head, the actual lord of the flies; the evil, shown by the pig 's head on the stake, which is causing the boys ' island society to fall into savagery, is already inside them. At the end of this chapter, the huge evil represented by this symbol can be read as Simon faints after looking into the wide mouth of the pig and seeing "blackness within, a blackness that spread" (Golding 144). The author’s description of the animal 's head on a spear is very graphic and quite scary. The pig 's head is described as "dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood blackening between the teeth… black blob of flies " (Golding 137-138). When Simon begins to talk with the dead, devil-like object, the source of that evil is shown. Even though the conversation may be entirely made-up, Simon learns that the beast, which has scared the boys on the island since they got there, is not a God, as it was seen to be. In fact, the head of the pig tells him, "Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn 't you? I 'm part of you?" (Golding 143).
The evil within the boys comes out the longer they spend on the island, isolated from the rest of the world. They are forced to create their own society and Piggy’s glasses represent this decline. As the book begins, Piggy can see clearly with his glasses still intact, and the boys are still civilized. For example, the boys decide that they "can 't have everybody talking at once" and that they "have to have ‘Hands
Cited: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Berkley, 1954.