Symbolism in Lord of the Flies
Symbolism is the practice of investing things with a symbolic meaning, or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations; in other words, discussing or explaining a broader, more general topic by linking it symbolically with a specific event in a literary work. Time after time and novel after novel, authors since the beginning of literature have used symbolism to present ideas, concepts, emotions, moods, and many other feelings. Symbolism involves the quest for reality beyond the physical world. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses parallelism and symbolism to tell a story about "boys on an island" that create their own society to survive alone. The island itself is the most significant symbol in the novel because it represents mankind in its entirety, and the boys on the island represent a microcosm of humans. Golding uses these boys as an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. Three of the most important things in a society are government, higher faith, and intelligence, all of which Golding addresses in his microcosm.It may be noted that a good part of Golding's novel analyzes the negative consequences of complete permissiveness in human be
Later, Jack the dictator smacks Piggy, sending his glasses flying across the rocks. While Jack represents human primitive instinct, Simon represents a shining hope on the island. Regardless of the point of analysis, the novel is symbolic of many human characteristics on many levels. The blood and power lust prevalent in the savages, which led to the first killing of a pig on the island, culminates in this ultimate murder of a human being. Nevertheless, his agony of learning the truth and facing the fear of the real "beast" living on the island is in vain when he attempts to tell the rest of the boys about the beast. It is he that knows the truth about the mountain beast and the Lord of the Flies- that there is no beast to fear but themselves. He steals power away from Ralph and refuses to cooperate to enhance their chances of survival. The idea of intelligence or knowledge is a figure that is often portrayed as a fire-bringer; common expressions associated with intellect are "lamp of knowledge", or "fire of inspiration". " This description of Piggy's brutal murder brings back the first manifestation of the beast that lies within the human soul. Thus, it can be seen that Golding applied many meanings to the characters and objects in Lord of the Flies. Golding's choice of words when describing Jack is particularly noteworthy. "One side's broken," Piggy says calmly after finding them again. Primarily, Jack represents the dictator of a country, who possesses dictatorial and compulsory power over the boys, luring most of them to follow his way of living. Simon's slaughter by the savages itself symbolizes the coming of a wave of evil upon the island that will be insurmountable and not preventable. " This symbolic act is distinctly Christ-like and places an aura of holiness around him.
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