Symbolism in William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’

Symbolism in William Goldings Lord of the travel Definition A symbol is something that is itself as well as something else. In literature it means substantial or objective sense coupled with abstract meaning. Symbolism refers to serious and enormous use of symbols in a ferment of literature. Symbolism in Lord of the Flies The myth is rich in symbolic representation. A host of variant interpretations of the storys symbolisation political, psychological and religious exists. We pass on look at some of the big(a) symbols employed by Golding and rise harmonizing the different interpretations.Since symbolism is an evocative device to decl atomic number 18 the radical of a literary piece, we must(prenominal) primary agree on the theme of Lord of the Flies. Theme Evil essential in macrocosm depends to be the central idea of the sweet. It may rec all told the Christian nonion of the original sin or the idea of the failure of refining as seen during the Nazi Holocaust or a general pessimistic view of kind-hearted personality. It may be all the third combined. A group of boys aged 6 to 12 find themselves al wiz on an island, with discover adult supervision.At offset printing they try to organize themselves on the pattern of the civilised world they behave known. The attempt fails and closely of them elapse into poisonousry and fauna existence. The novel was deliberately patterned on the childrens classic The Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne. Only, it turns Ballantynes theme on its organise. W hereas Ballantyne made the childrens isolation on the island a loving interlude in a proceed life of civilized existence, Golding shows how thin the cladding of nicety really is and how the animal record of man breaks through in vertical a few weeks.It is non so much moral judgment as recognition of the essential tragedy of serviceman its intellectual and spi ritual nature losing out to its animal nature again and again. all important(p) Symbols 1. The Scar The novel lettuces with the mention of a scar in the jungle. We learn (or rather, surmise) subsequent that it is a swath cut by the falling passenger tube in which the children were travelling. The word scar appears in the text without this preliminary in formulaation and serves to create atmosphere. The illustration prepargons us for the horrible things to come.In itself it is excessively the symbol of mans churning influence on his world. 2. The Conch It makes its appearance as an accidental find of Ralph and Piggy on the beach. It soon assumes importance as Ralph, on Piggys advice, blows it to gather the survivors. Ralph is choose leader of the group mainly be stupefy he was the one in possession of the conch. From here onwards the conch becomes a symbol of jurisprudence and redact. At meetings the speaker has to hold it in his manpower. It gives him the privilege of being heard uninterrupted. consecrate starts breaking down in the one-fifth chapter when bull speaks without holding it. Later, breakdown of order is signalled by poop snatching it from Ralph in the 8th chapter. In the tenth chapter jack up raids the tax shelter occupied by Ralph and Piggy to overcharge Piggy of his glasses. however he does non bother to ingest the conch a vogue. It is no age immense important. In the el hithertoth chapter the conch is destroyed, symbolizing the perform rout of order at the hands of chaos. 3. The Man with the Megaphone (Grown-ups) When Piggy meets Ralph, his first capitulum is, Where is the man with the megaphone? A few pages posterior the question is repeated by diddly, Where is the man with the trumpet? This, we can assume, was the man in charge of the boys in the aeroplane He stands for authority and control which has suddenly been remove by the crash. A grown-up appears again wholly at the end in the form of the ocean officer who saves the life of Ralph without realizing the detail and brings an end to the ch aos. But conversely, the adult is the cause of the boys being there in the first place. The war raging outside is nonentity besides the conflict on the island on a much grander scale.The appearance of the naval officer at close suggests that civilization has been given another chance, despite the sp atomic number 18 outlook. 4. wildcat from Air In the one-sixth chapter another adult appears on the look a dead parachutist. He has plainly evacuated himself from a warplane that has been hit. The man crashes to his margeinal at the top of the hill on the island. He, with his parachute, is taken to be a cloak-and-dagger supernatural beast by the boys among whom the disgorge of a snake-like beast of the jungle is already rampant. The dead parachutist is not, however, just an propagation of the ghost metaphor.He also represents the diachronic past intruding on the background and influencing it in a profound manner. For the boys the historical past is the war they left behind . For reality it would be the past of man as an insidious influence in his present. 5. The Beast Lord of the Flies The title of the novel is itself symbolic. The phrase is a literal description of the Hebrew Beelzebub, one of the demons named after a philistine god. Later the term was often used in Christianity as a name for the D abomination. The metaphor is one of obsession (in its original sense of paganism) and evil (in its later meaning of the Devil).In the novel one of the younger boys, who is referred to as the boy with the birthmark on his face, tells the others slightly having seen a snake-like beast on the trees. though Ralph tries to allay their fears as unfounded, the belief in the beast persists. It is strengthened by the undetermined disappearance of the boy with the birthmark. It is reinforced by the beast from air mentioned above, so cornmeal mush so that even Ralph and Piggy start entertaining the possibility of a beast. Jack, half believing himself, uses th e fear cleverly to asseverate his followers under control.He makes the ritual sacrifice of a wild position to the beast and lets the head of the animal fall down on a stick, ostensibly to tranquilize the beast. Only Simon does not believe in the existence of a beast. In his wanderings in the forest he comes across the head of the sow and the entrails of the animal which have attracted a lot of travel by now. He has a hallucination in which the head appears to him as lord of the flies and speaks to him. The symbolism of the beast is also say in this imaginary conversation in so many words, as follows You knew, didnt you? I am part of you?I am the reason why its no go? Why things are what they are? The beast is within man, not without. It is the darkness in mens hearts. It is their primitive nature, hidden behind a thin layer of civilization. 6. The Signal burn down and the Shelters on the Beach The signal kindling and the shelters symbolize ordered society, civilization and hope. They are contrasted with the barbaric and blood-thirsty hunts. The signal provoke is Ralphs idea. He believes that the children will be bring through soon and therefore there should be a smoke signal termination all the time for a notch ship to spot.Piggy, who is more(prenominal) of a realist, realizes that those who were judge to know about the children are all dead and it may be a long time before bear comes. So he suggests the building of shelters. though both symbols together stand for civilization against barbarism, there is this subtle difference amidst them, arising as they do from their originators differing perceptions of the situation. 7. The Hunts and Mock Hunts unneurotic with painted faces and long hair the hunts and scoff hunts symbolize reverse into primitive savagery.The hunters not only seem to have muddled all hope of returning to civilization, but they seem to actually enjoy the nominee and neglect to keep the signal fire burning. The hunts can be interpreted as symbolizing the boys primal urges or even anarchy. Soon after the hunts start, they cease to be a necessary activity aimed at gathering food. The lust for blood becomes more important. Ceremonies and chants invented by the hunters similarly denote regression. The taunt hunts of Chapters 4 and 7 are manifestations of regression too.The mock hunts serve another purpose. In Chapter 4 the mock hunt is a mild affair, performed largely for fun. In the ordinal chapter it turns into a violent affair in which the boy playing the hunted animal suffers injuries. Thus the mock hunts define the regression of the hunters as civilized humans. The scene in Chapter 7 also shows the good and certain Ralph timber the excitement of the mock hunt, thusly showing how evil can take hold of any human, unless resisted. 8. Painted Faces and extensive Hair This is the heading of Chapter 4.The degeneration of the boys way of life is symbolized by clay-and- charcoal secretes and long h air. When concealed by masks, the hunters, especially Ralph, seem to have new personalities as they go away the taboos of society that once restrained them from vainglorious in to their natural urges. When Jack first paints his face to his satisfaction, he suddenly becomes a new, savage person. He began to dance and his joke became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.The feeling of liberation that results from wearing the masks allows many of the boys to get in in the barbaric pig hunts, the savage ceremonies and the mock hunts. 9. The Island Those who incline towards a religious interpretation of the novels symbolism maintain that the island is the symbol for the Garden of Eden, which is moved(p) by original sin on contact with the human race. This interpretation may have some merit. But the symbolism can be equally validly interpreted as the state of nature to which the civilized children have been returned.It provides the setting for the arising up of their fundamental urges. 10. The Characters The principal characters Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack and Roger symbolize certain attitudes and qualities. Ralph and Piggy are on the side pf law and order. Jack and Roger represent primitive urges and tyranny. Simon is a hugger-mugger who has clearer view of reality than the intellectual Piggy, the intelligent Jack or the manipulative Jack. But we have to be watchful not to over-emphasize the point. Otherwise the realistic and believable theatrical role of the characters will be compromised.The symbolism lies more in how the characters grow or regress rather than in their basic make-up. Jacks character is the some fundamental from this point of view. From the leader of a chorus group he regresses into the leader of a violent and primitive group which calls itself a tribe. The above list of symbols is by no means exhaustive. The novel is m ake full with metaphors and symbols. Lord of the Flies is called a ordinal century allegory. It is also one of the most carefully crafted novels of the century. In consequence the careful reader can find a symbol on almost each page. s