Symbolism and Imagery in Lord of the Flies

homophileufacturer of the Flies Symbolism and Imagery circulateim everyday life people occasion certain emblemic representations, or images, to doctor their feelings and unconscious thoughts to some intimacy much tangible and concrete. To a young kid, a special(prenominal) blanket might provide them with a sense of security and cling to furthermore, said blanket may include the ability to calm the child in a state of distress. Some bingle who had recently lost a loved one, might put on objects that contain a degree of artificial value in order to better hold onto the memories of the lost relationship.The attribute of the maple leaf, to Canadians, represents a sense of belonging and acceptance, a sense of pride and trueness to a society and culture unique to that of Canada. In his novel shaper of the Flies, Golding provides his audience with kiboshless amounts of symbolismism and imagery. Some of the more prominent ones demonstrate in his novel include that of the Conch representing order and democracy, the Fire representing hope and fork up, and terminally, solely possibly about importantly, that of the Beast representing Fear and uncertainty.As the novel progresses and evolves, so too, do the symbols of the conch, net, and puppet. Through the use of his symbols, Golding ch exclusivelyenges his audiences pre-societal-conceived views, provides an overall commentary nigh the devolution of mankind, and emphasizes his grander ideas somewhat humanity and the mounting barbarity that exists on the island. In the earliest stages of the novel, the symbol of the conch holds an inexplicably fear-inspiring compulsion over the boys. piggy, being the initial to orient it out among the creepers, is amazed by its beauty and intricacies.Described as seem and delicate the conch demands circumspection, not only in description but as well as sound. Gosh Ralph had whispered in a sense of delight in following the initial sounding of the booming ho rn. As the children gather from all corners of the island they are immediately drawn to Ralph But there was stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out there was his size, his appearance, and around obscurely, yet most precedentfully, there was the conch. (Golding 19). Through electing Ralph as their chosen starter, the boys correct the unconscious finality of emocracy, clinging to their traditions of society and, in turn, their niceness and, what could arguably be, their inner goodness. As one of his first roles as Chief, Ralph establishes what is known as the convention of the Conch if one wishes to speak, they must hold the conch and cannot be interrupted, except by Ralph and then creating a divide between himself and the average individual of the island cultivatedization- Sufficiently furthering the hypothesis that the conch stands for democratic figure and society.After all, what is society other than rules and regulations made by those in a position of aut hority meant for the common man to pearlow? As the belief of time, both natural (day and night) and well as artistic (plot development), progresses the conchs power, and, in turn, Ralphs, start to diminish. Jacks presence and the evil he represents bring increasingly more powerful and dominant Jack broke in, contemptuously. Youre always scared I got the conch. Conch Conch Shouted Jack, We dont aim the conch anymore. (Golding, 37) indicates that the power of democratic society is crumbling under the weight of the growing savagery on the island. Jack begins to out state of wardly and publicly undermine and oppose Ralph, the rule of the conch and, more largely, society and civility itself. He speaks out of turn, accuses Ralph of being a coward and takes over leadership on multiple occasions demonstrated in their hunt for the Beast in chapters six and seven- Jack continuously takes the lead while Ralph strays behind to ponder inwardly and with Simon. The conchs symbolic centre de pends on the state of the childrens minds. erst power becomes more true to Jack than rules, the conch is meaningless. (Kinkead-Weekes and Gregor, 7) illustrates that there is no real, physical power to the conch it is simply a shell- that power is in what society, and individuals deep down society, allow it to be. In chapter eleven, Castle Rock, hoggish is brutally murdered by Roger while clinging desperately to the conch in his last stand against Jack, his family, and, lastly, barbarity. The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from bring up to knee the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. (Golding, 200) through the oddment of the conch in such a convulsive manner Golding extinguishes any gradual hope for Ralph and civility. The audience experiences a complete and utter sense of privation and hopelessness at this point, they mourn not only for the death of Piggy but the realization that their pre-conceived optimistic views on society have bee n challenged and in the long run shattered both literally and metaphorically. The shell, whose sound began as a physical process to society, ends as a murderous explosion on the rocks (Kinkead-Weekes and Gregor, 4) adequately demonstrating that society, wish humanity is ultimately flawed, and depart collapse when confronted with an opposing force of darkness or even the slightest hint of a brutal spirit and tendency. The symbol of the fire is similar to that of the conch in the respect that it develops thoughout the course of the novel, but differs in the fact that it does not so much devolve, but rather changes shape and takes on two meanings.The fire in fact, becomes a double-edged sword. When one is asked what are the first three things you would do if stranded on an island? closely would reply with find food, water, and shelter, of course. Ralphs main priority on the island, after his daring exploration with Jack and Simon, is to be rescued. In the beginning he is wi ld set on the notion that sooner or later a ship will come by the island and when it does, that the grown-ups will coincidentally pass by, he wants to be ready We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us.So we must overhear smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire. (Golding, 37) indicates that the boys, and Ralph in particular, are mainly focused and devoted to the concept of rescue. All the children go charging up the mountain in eager abandonment to create a fire in the hope that it will increase their chances of salvage befittingly emphasizing the remaining touches of society present in spite of appearance the boys and on the island. Once the fire is made and lit, through the use of Piggys glasses, the boys speedily realize that if not controlled and kept in check, the fire can become rapidly dark and dangerous. On ones side the air was cool, but on the other the fire thrust out a savage build up of heat that crinkled hair on the instant (Golding, 41) through the use of imagery Golding depicts the fire as something savage and threatening, effectively foreshadowing the boys fierce decline. The destructiveness of the fire could also be used as a symbol to parallel the outside worlds perils of atomic warfare A tree exploded in the fire like a bomb. (47) The detriment and assumed death of the boy with the mulberry mark parallels the deaths of thousands of innocent bystanders at the mercy of manmade creations i. e. the fire and the atomic bomb. The chaos and destruction that the fire evolves into corresponds with that of the undisciplined mass chaos that is warfare. The vigorous importance with which Ralph views the fire becomes the bone of enmity that eventually drives him and Jack apart. While Ralph holds steadfast to the importance of the fire , Jack, and most of the other boys, abandon it and allot all their time and energy to hunting, regressing into their imbruted instincts of savagery, emphasizin g Goldings theory about humanity that, if discombobulaten the choice, man will always choose to resort to their barbaric nature.Ironically, by the end of the novel, Ralph is driven from hiding and hunted through the use of the fire. Jacks tribe sets an all-consuming raging fire that envelops the island and destroys all life within it meant as a signal fire for passing ships of planes it becomes, though misuse, a wild sentient being with a life of its own which invades the whole place What happens accidentally in the second chapter is done deliberately at the end by the boys turn savages. (Delbaere-Grant, 78). Golding illustrates the boys making the conscious and all too thought out decision to resort to this act of barbarism.And only through said acts, were they able to action a smoke signal large enough to attract the attention of a passing ship We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war or something? (Golding, 223) Ralph replies with a sincere nod of the head, but the naval policeman continues to treat it all as a joke. The officers naivety and complete overleap of seriousness pertaining to the events taken place on the island is a symbolic course credit to mankind as a whole and its propensity for violent ignorance.He could not see that the events taken place on the island were a instantly reenactment of the war he himself had participated in and an example that even the most polish of men are capable of the horrors of murder. No one of Goldings symbols is more prominently demonstrated than that of the Beast, he allots multiple chapters in the novel to the concept of the Beast. In the first stages of its evolution, there is much speculation as to what the zoology actually is. The children contemplate that the Beastie is a snake-thing which then evolves to the imaginary hold a ghost and then to that of a childrens-fable concept of the squid.They use their imaginations to justify and explain the fear and uncertainty that is becoming predominately present with the ever evolving concept of the Beast. wish well children anywhere they experience nightmares and illusions about the Beast they take the unknown fortune of its existence and turn into something more relatable in order to justify their fear. The thing is- Fear cant hurt you anymore than a dream. there arent any beasts to be afraid of on this island. (88) at this point in the novel all the evidence pertaining to that of the beast is based on imagination and fear. There is no physical locution of the beast.Simon is the only who begins to imagine that peradventure its just us In chapter six, Beast form Air, a dead parachuter falls from the sky to land on the top of the mountain where Samneric are maintaining the fire. Due to the fear already instilled in them by the groups speculations of the beast, they immediately become frightened and run away. This physical manifestation and the illustration that it is, indeed, human, greatly contributes to Gold ings intentions regarding the Beast The tangle of lines showed him the mechanics of this play he examined the white nasal bones, the teeth, the colors of corruption (162).The figure that had fall from the sky, thought to be the beast, is human and, ironically, Beast all in once- furthering Goldings overall proposition that within all mankind, there holds the innate electrical condenser and propensity towards evil and our own, personal, inner beast. In addition, the manner in which the parachutist is introduced, through the act of falling, is a theme that repeatedly occurs throughout the novel both literally the planes fall from the sky after it is shot bring down and Piggys fall to his death on the rock jut out from the sea, and metaphorically the fall of mankind.The fall of the parachutist parallels that of the fall of Lucifer which, discussed in Dantes inferno, is neither angelic nor demonic, but profoundly a human reality. The fall of Lucifer, which theologists describe as the fall from grace, and, in turn, a loss of civility is the result of hubris, otherwise known as excessive pride. The boys, and most in particular, Jack demonstrate pride in the way they view their newfound society in the beginning.The boys view that they are proper English boys and somehow superiorly unflawed, leads to the ultimate downfall of their humanity and lead them straight into the grasp of their barbaric roots. At a key point in chapter nine, A pass for Darkness, Simon speaks to the lord of the flies, but rather his inner beast You knew, didnt you? Im apart of you Close, close, close (158) confirms what he had been thinking all along, that the beast is something that dwells within, there is no externalization of a beast, simply the evils we see within ourselves and our companions.Through Simon and his foreboding chat with the pig head, Golding demonstrates most sufficiently and prominently the nature of mankind, and externalizes the inner conflict that humanity is sure to reflection, pertaining to the certain devolvement they face when left to their own devices, stripped of societal law. Golding also states in direct contrast that the beast is both harmless and horrible (162) meaning that unless confronted and accepted it will take siege.The boys, in their persistent and vigorous denial of fact that maybe its just us give fuel to the ever-growing and present fire that is the beast. By fighting so hard to deny their inner beasts the boy unconsciously become beasts themselves Their defense against an imagined external beast allows the beast within them to gain absolute and transform them into murders (Boyd, 16). As the Beast changes and evolves, gaining speed and momentum, the boys civil nature diminishes, allowing them to commit terrible and unimaginable horrors ill thought of by society.By regarding the Beast as God-like, offering a ritualistic sacrifice, the boys completely give in to their base instincts and tendencies for barbarism and savag ery. They become awed by the power of the Beast and the possibilities it withholds. By the end of his novel, Lord of the Flies, and through his careful use of symbolism and imagery, Golding challenges his audiences view on society, thoroughly and sufficiently enforcing his comments about to the issues pertaining to the devolvement of mankind.He methodically emphasizes his theories regarding humanity and the increasing savagery that exists on the island. Golding demonstrates the conchs shimmy from order and democracy to that of chaos and dictatorship. The symbol of the fire goes from that of hope and rescue to that of danger and destruction. The Beast, on the other hand, transforms symbolically from that of fear and uncertainty to awe and reverence.Through closer observation of Goldings uses of symbolism and imagery, no matter how versatile and complex the said symbol may be, there is always a reoccurring theme and connection present savagery. Every path of every symbol leads back to one root, one destination the savagery in which the boys ultimately resort to on the island, as well as the common involvement they all have regarding the outside real world. Goldings symbols do an stupendous job in helping his audience grasp the larger encounter that is his novel mankinds certain devolvement into savagery.Works Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. capital of the United Kingdom Faber and Faber Limited, 1954. Print Boyd, S. J. The Nature of the Beast The Novels of William Golding. Sussex, UK. University of St Andrew Press. 1988. Delbaere-Grant, Jeanne. Rhythm and Expansion in Lord of the Flies William Golding Some Critical Considerations. Ed. Jack Biles & Robert Evask. University of Kentucky Press. Lexington, 1975. Print. Kinkead-Weekes, Mark. Gregor, Ian. William Golding A Critical guinea pig of the Novels. Faber and Faber Press, 1984. Print.