'Lord Of The Flies' Is An Allegory. Examine The Symbolism In The Novel. Consider The Island, The Conch, Ralph, Piggy And His Glasses, Simon And His Death, Jack And His Actions, The Beast, The 'Lord Of The Flies' in Chapter 8, The Hunts, Nature And The W

Authors Avatar
'Lord Of The Flies' Is An Allegory. Examine The Symbolism In The Novel. Consider The Island, The Conch, Ralph, Piggy And His Glasses, Simon And His Death, Jack And His Actions, The Beast, The 'Lord Of The Flies' in Chapter 8, The Hunts, Nature And The Weather

The book 'Lord of the Flies' was written by William Golding in 1954. It is an allegory or moral story as Golding uses it to ask questions about society; 'which is better - to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?. . . which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?' (Piggy, page 200) The message the book carries is directly related to the time period that the book was written, just after the Second World War. This is due to the fact that Golding portrays, through a group of boys, what can become of a civilisation if we let it get out of control, as in the Second World War. When the boys forget civilisation, democracy, order and social organisation they are lost to dictatorship, anarchy and savagery; which is exactly what happened in Word War II. However Golding recognised that by using innocent boys to portray his message it would have a much more dramatic effect.

The chapter titles enable the reader to know what state the civilisation on the island is in. Chapter one, entitled 'The Sound of the Shell', shows the to be civilised. This is apparent as in the chapter as the conch (the shell in the title) becomes the symbol for authority when every boy on the island responds to its call. The conch remains an important symbol all the way through the book and as it's colour lessens in vibrancy, the boys respect for their old lives and authority also decreases. As Ralph blew the conch it is obvious that he stands as a symbol for order on the island and later he proves to also be a symbol for democracy as he calls a vote for who should be leader. Although the competition for leadership is between Ralph and Jack, Piggy would have made a good leader due to his intelligence, which he is also the symbol for, however he backs Ralph up and is the thought behind Ralph's actions; ''we got to find the others. We got to do something.' (Piggy, page 10) ''I expect we'll want to all their names,' said the fat boy, 'and make a list. We ought to have a meeting.' '(Piggy, page 5) There is not much description of Jack in Chapter one as what he becomes a symbol for is not yet relevant, however a negative image of him has already been painted by page fifteen. Here the rest of the choir are introduced and two members of the choir, Jack and Simon (who turns out to be another important symbol) join Ralph in exploration of the island which itself turns out to be a microcosm representing the world. In the early stages of the book the island is a paradise, as was the world, but due to mans intervention it becomes destroyed by the end of the book, like it almost was at the end of the war.
Join now!


Chapter two, 'Fire on the Mountain', shows the development of the boys and symbols, as Piggy's glasses become one; representing the social order on the island. They are used to light the fire on the mountain which becomes out of control, as they do later in the book. As the social status of the island gets worse half of Piggy's glasses are broken and once civilisation and democracy are forgotten to anarchy and dictatorship the other side is broken, showing everything on the island to be in ruins. In chapter two the mountain becomes a symbol for truth ...

This is a preview of the whole essay