Symbolic importance in Lord of the Flies In “Lord of the Flies” written by William Gilding, there are several symbols throughout the novel that are significantly important due to their meaning. In my opinion, the three main symbols are the signal fire, the conch and Lord of the Flies. A symbol represents something else; Gilding did a good job helping the reader understand the true significance of the object or thing. Firstly, the signal fire represents the boys last connection with civilization as well as their hope.
At the beginning of the book, the fire was watched closely by Ralph and the others. As the fire was burning the boys knew there was a chance ships passing would be able to spot them. Later on, Ralph asked Jack to watch the fire; instead he decided to go hunting. As the fire burnt low and a ship went by, they began to lose hope. Ralph was so mad at Jack for not staying focused on what mattered most, which was the fire. Rally’s angry words were. “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going?
Is a fire too much for us to make? ” (Chapter 5 page 80) Ironically, at the end of the book the huge fire Jack lit on the entire island to find and hunt Ralph was the reason the boys were found. Secondly, the conch becomes a powerful symbol of civilization and order. The conch positively helped the boys assemblies, by the boy who holds the shell can speak and the others listen. Ralph, being the one of the leaders on the island makes the rules of the conch to keep everyone civil and aware, “We an use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us. (Chi. 1 page 14) As the island civilization erodes, savagery becomes a problem. The conch begins to lose its power and influence on the boys. Gilding make it clear that the death of Piggy and the conch being crushed are a major indication of how corrupt the boys have become, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. ” (Chapter 1 1 page 1 64) When Piggy and he conch are crushed, it symbolizes that there is no more sanity on the island and the complete downfall of the boys.
Thirdly, “Lord of the Flies” symbolizes that there is evil in every human being. In chapter 5, the boys discuss the beast about whether it exists or not. Simon makes a suggestion, ‘What I mean is… Maybe it’s only us. ” This shows that the boys are noticing the problem might not be the outer world (the beast), never the less (њdoes never the less make sense Daniel? What could write instead) inside their own heads. Also, when Simon confronts the sow’s dead he hallucinates the pig speaking to him about the evil in everyone.
Simon hears the pig say that they will have some “fun” later on, which symbolizes Simony’s death. The evil in Lord of the Flies can also be a symbol of In conclusion, “Lord of the Flies” is a novel about objects that mean more than they appear to. For example; the conch symbolizes civilization and the fire symbolizes hope and connection to the real world. Lord of the Flies symbolizes the evil in man kind and how the deserted island took its toll on the young boys.
