Lord of the Flies – From Heaven to Hell
             William Golding uses the novel Lord of the Flies to reflect today's society and the tainting impact man has had on earth. One of the links between the novel and the real world is the decline of a human society from being civilized and well educated to being primitive and war mongering. This reflection of human society has been achieved with symbolism and metaphor but mostly through the degeneration of the setting (the island), from a utopian paradise to being a chaotic hell.
             The Lord of the Flies island starts out as a heavenly and fun place to live. Right from the beginning, the island is given enchanting and pleasing attributes, as demonstrates the following citation of while Ralph explored the area in which they landed.
             "He picked his way to the seaward edge of the platform and stood looking down into the water. It was clear to the bottom and bright with the efflorescence of tropical weed and coral. A school of tiny, glittering fish flicked hither and thither. Ralph spoke to himself, sounding the bass strings of delight." (Page 12)
             Here, the use of imagery and soft-spoken adjectives greatly help in the depiction of the island as a paradise. Alliteration can also be found in the fragment "sounding the bass strings of delight", which uses the "s" sound to create an image of the softness of the sea and its surroundings. This discovery and a few similar explorations of the island have led Ralph and the other children to the conclusion that "It's a good island. Until the grown-ups come to fetch us, we'll have fun." (Page 35) During the boys' first assembly, there is another heavenly setting to be found.
             "The sun slanted in and lay golden over half the platform. The breezes that on the lagoon had chased their tails like kittens were finding their way across the platform and into the forest." (Page 34)
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