Preview

Lord of the Flies

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1053 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies

William Golding uses symbolism in his book Lord of the Flies to explain how a civilized society requires order, intelligence and morals to survive or we as humans would be no better than savages or even worse Nazis. William grew up and served during World War II. It was during the war that Golding realized that even the allies thought of as heroes, were becoming scoundrels by killing innocent lives in savage ways. After witnessing all the horrors and savagery that went on during the war, Golding was inspired to write a book, explaining to all that “every single one of us could be Nazis,” which lead to the creation of the book Lord of the Flies. The most important symbol Golding uses to demonstrate the boys’ decline to savagery is the state of their clothing. “Though he had taken off his school sweater…his grey shirt stuck to him…”(7). This quote is important because this is how the boys land on the island, with clothes. Every boy starts with a way of life having morals and manners and knowing how to live in a society. The boys are fully clothed and clean. The quote shows how the boys’ society on the island starts. It shows that even though this is how they started things may end differently. This quote relates to rules and a crumbling society because this is where the boys are fully dressed as if they were still in a real society, following the rules of a civilized society. It relates to a crumbling society because Ralph is taking off his clothes to get in the water, a symbol that they are loosing their morals of a civilized society. “…. Clothes, worn away, stiff like his own sweat, put on, not for decorum or comfort but out of custom; the skin of the body, scurfy with brine-“ (110). This quote is important because the boys’ clothes are shredding away slowly. The quote means that the boys are loosing their morals from society. This quote relates to the clothing and the loss of rules in the boys’ society because this is where the clothes

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Goulding, many symbols are used to develop the overall theme of society versus savagery. In the following essay I will analyse 3 symbols to demonstrate how Goulding used symbolism to show the boys’ devolution into utter chaos.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, follows the story of a group of British boys who are stranded on a deserted island. Golding suggests that all men are born with the potential to commit evil. He shows this through the use of symbolism including the snake and the dead parachutist (the beast), the characters such as Jack, Ralph and Simon and the setting of the island. Goldingʼs view of mankind and the world is a truly pessimistic one. In the early 1930ʼs, the Nazi party led Germany into World War II. Durning the war, the Nazis were responsible for the holocaust, which was the murder of millions of people. This made Golding pessimistic about human nature and we see this to be one of the most important…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    n the Lord of The Flies, William Golding represents the characters' descent from civilization to savagery through symbolism. One of the ways it is represented is fear, and its evolution as its source ceases to be external factors such as nature and becomes people, suggesting all the boys have a potential for evil within them. Becoming more savage and letting go of their civilized morals, the boys oppress one another, resulting in many of them becoming submissive and scared.…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages

    6. Without adult supervision the some of the boys shed their outer layers to keep cool. On the other hand the rest of the boys are still fully clothed because they are continuing to abide by the adults rules even though they aren’t present.…

    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages

    f o r o b e s i t y i s e sadsad sadsadsadsadsw fwedfssaf o r o b e s i t y i s e sadsad sadsadsadsadsw fwedfssa What is the “scar”?…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, symbolism is the most important literary device used by William Golding, to reveal the central theme of the novel. The hunters…

    • 1088 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    lord of the flies

    • 1127 Words
    • 1 Page

    Jack takes over the island leading everyone to do what he says because of the fear he instills in…

    • 1127 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Golding was in World War Two, he saw how destructive humans can be, and how a normal person can go from a civilized human beings into savages. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the theme of human nature to show how easily society can collapse. Throughout the story Golding conveys a theme of how and where self-destructive human nature can lead us to be. Many different parts of human nature can all lead to the collapse of society. Some of the aspects of human nature Golding plugged into the book are; destruction, demoralization, and panic. These emotions all attribute to the collapse of society. Golding includes character, conflict, and as well as symbolism to portray that men are inherently evil.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 3372 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Piggy and Ralph meet up with each other after escaping from their shot-down plane. A large scar was made in the untouched jungle, symbolizing the first of man's destruction on the island. A war is going on in the outside world, and now for the rest of the book, everyone will be isolated from it and put into their own "world."…

    • 3372 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    lord of the flies

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In William Golding’s novel The Lord of the Flies , he questions the nature of man and origins of evil within human beings. The plot involves a plane full of British boys, between the ages of six to twelve, crashing on an empty island. There, they are stranded without any adults and as time progresses, the upbringing of the boys regarding societal rules and morals are tested as they revert into a life of savagery. Golding proposes a shocking revelation that human nature is naturally evil. This is demonstrated through mob mentality as well as hidden symbols throughout the book.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lord of the flies

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages

    As we age we lose the thrill of imagination, the value of it. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding this very much happens when pre-teen boys crash on an island. The longer they stay on the island less we see of them when the first crashed on the island. The boy’s actions and beliefs turn from innocence to corrupt. In the book there are many examples of innocence to corruption these are the examples of Jack, blank, and blank.…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the flies

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the novel, Lord of the Flies, symbolism played an important part in the development of story. The use of symbolism in objects develops the structure and meaning of the novel. Some examples of symbolism in objects are the pig's head, Piggy's glasses, the Conch and the Fire. One of the most important and most obvious symbols in Lord of the Flies is the object that gives the novel its name, the pig's head. The pig's head, in this novel, is described as "dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood blackening between the teeth," and the "obscene thing" is covered with a "black blob of flies" that "tickled under his nostrils." (Pg. 151, 152). As a result of this detailed, striking image, the reader becomes aware of the great evil and darkness represented by the Lord of the Flies.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages

    9. What does Ralph's attacker do to him during the fight? - knees him between the legs…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Lord of the Flies” by William Golding is a dramatic novel filled with irony, fear and truth. It touches on many issues surrounding government, Christianity and democracy. The book focuses on society and through its effective use of conflict, gives us an idea what life would like without rules and civilization. The novel tells a story of a plane filled with British school boys that crashes on a deserted island during World War 2. The boys, struggling to survive, test their morals, values and beliefs. Conflict is developed throughout the novel in the form of man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. himself, and man vs. society.…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ralph represents law, order, organized society and moral integrity. The quote, "Him with the shell. Ralph! Ralph! Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing" (PG.22), represents the democratic system on the island. Throughout the novel Ralph is constantly making commonsense rules for the boys to follow. As chief, he knows right from wrong. At the end of the novel he too realizes that man is not a kind creature by nature. "-after all we aren't savages really and being rescued isn't a game-" (PG.170). Anarchy finally hunts down society, but Golding does not let us know which side would win without intervention.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays