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What Is The Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

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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

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