Less Obvious Symbols in Lord of the Flies

How does Golding use the less obvious symbols in ‘Lord of the Flies’?

‘Lord of the Flies’ is an allegorical novel by William Golding in which he employs the scene of a deserted island and the cast of a group of English schoolboys to serve as a framework, through which he explores the themes of his book. The more obvious symbols in the book appear to be the conch shell, which symbolizes order and civilisation, and Piggy’s glasses, which symbolize science, intelligence and clear-sightedness. However, there are some symbols that are less obvious but still play a key role in revealing the major themes in the novel. These less obvious symbols are the action and movement of the boys, the shelters and the use of light imagery. The action and movement of the boys tracks their energy and physical ability, and this leads onto understanding their ability to persuade and control others. The shelters are the basis for their civilisation. The light imagery is used not only to describe the way that the light seen, but is symbolic of the very central theme of civilisation versus savagery, or perhaps the more universal good versus evil.

        The movement and action of the boys, as aforementioned, is important in understanding how physically able the boys are, but it seems as though the more physically able boys gain the control and authority over the weaker and less physically able boys. It is as if the boys follow the conduct of Darwin’s theory of evolution: Survival of the Fittest. At the start of the novel, we see very clearly just how able Ralph is physically: ‘He jumped down…sliding over his skin.’ (page 15). Ralph’s actions are very lively, as he jumps and leaps about, never sitting but standing; he is able to take advantage of his physical ability to blow the conch later on page 23. The blowing of the conch leads to Ralph becoming the leader of the schoolboys on the island, and this demonstrates how his physical ability enabled him to take control over the other boys. But Ralph becomes less energetic as the novel progresses, as if his energy, and power, is drained by Jack: ‘He came now out of the coco-nut trees…sat down in the grass.’ (page 191). We see that Ralph is enervated and inert, and with his lack of energy is his lack of power and control over the other boys. Piggy, who is indeed one of the less physically able boys on the island, has very little energetic motion, and this can be seen clearly in the beginning of the novel: we are told that Piggy is a fat boy with asthma and these characteristics hinder his physical ability, and some few pages later in pages 18 and 19, when Ralph is gracefully and actively swimming in the sea, Piggy sits on the side and does not swim. We can see once more how a boy’s physical ability affects his position of power on the island, as Piggy is later on mocked continuously by the other boys, and no-one ever listens to what he has to say at the assemblies and meetings of the boys. Jack is probably the best example of how physical ability is tied in with power and control, as although he is not made the leader at the beginning of the novel, his constant displays of agility and swiftness when hunting and killing pigs eventually lead to him becoming the chief of his newly formed tribe, and his absolute power allows him to do what he pleases: ‘He was down like a sprinter’ (page 61). As we can see, he is very lively and energetic throughout the novel and this leads to his ruthless reign over the boys later on; ‘“He’s going to beat Wilfred…I never heard him.”’ (pages 196-197). Jack’s energy makes him into a powerful chief who needs no reason for his actions. As we can see, the symbolism in the imagery of actions and movements is essential to discovering the vitality of each boy, and with that their power over the others.