In William Golding's Novel, Lord of the Flies, there are many examples of symbolism. Golding uses a vast range of symbolism to show how the boys are adapting to the island as well as how they are slowly descending the ladder of civilized behavior. He uses the conch shell as a symbol of highhanded authority. The beast, as the evil that resides within man and irrational fear, and further expanding on that, the pig's head or, "Lord of the Flies," was a symbol of the beast's danger and power. All the symbols are important in one way or another to the plot of the novel. However, the fire and Piggy are the most important symbols found within Lord of the Flies.
             After the first meeting with Ralph on the beach, the boys decided that a fire had to be kept going continuously in order to be rescued from the island, "There was something good about a fire. Something overwhelmingly good"(Golding 163). The fire took on a symbol of hope. Ralph and the boys decided that the fire should be on the mountain side, so distant ships could see it's smoke. They used Piggy's glasses to ignite the flame. When the boys first started a signal fire, it blazed and spread on the mountain side, burning everything in it's path. The fire then became a symbol of destruction. It was an emblem of imperfection, corruption, and evil. This destructive fire broke the paradise of the island. The fire, racing out of control, predicted that life on the island would become out of control as well. Ralph wanted the fire for hope and to be used as a signal. He wanted to get everyone off the island as well as himself. He wanted to be civilized and have order. Ralph urged them to make shelters and gather food as well as keep the fire going. However, not everyone wanted the same thing. Ralph stated his frustration with this when he said, "We can't keep one fire going. And they don't care. And what's m...