Chapter 4 of the story Lord Of the Flies begins to show the beginnings of the older boys cruelty to the “littluns”. “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law.” This quote symbolizes the beginning of the savagery that takes over on the island. In this chapter, the boys are still beginning their civilization on the island, and the instinct of civilization has the edge over the instinct of savagery. There are signs that indicate that the older boys are taking the power over the younger boys by using physical force and violence to give them a sense of “superiority” over the others. In this quote, Roger wants to torment the little boy, but he is held back by the part of the quote, “ was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law.” This will soon be forgotten and the instinct of savagery will dominate the island.
In chapter 5 of the novel Lord Of the Flies, Simon speaks at the meeting in which the boys are questioning about the beast. “ What I mean is…Maybe it’s only us… The littleuns are questioning Simon about the beast, and saying that he may emerge from the water at night. They argue if the beast actually exists. The boys don’t believe in the beast. Simon’s statement, which says that the boys themselves are the beast, this symbolizes that the beast acts as a component of human nature. The beast is also related to the central theme of the novel, which is the evil of humans.
The parachute man in chapter 6 of the novel symbolizes the end of adult supervision of the boys. "There was a sudden bright explosion and corkscrew trail across the sky; then darkness again and stars. There was a speck above the island, a figure dropping swiftly beneath a parachute, a figure that hung with dangling limbs." The parachute man in dead and the beast is prospering from it. The adult world is over. The childish behavior is leading to chaos among everyone.
The barbaric behavior that has been on the verge of taking over the island throughout the novel finally takes over in chapter 7. When Ralph failed to capture and kill the pig, Jack and his hunters couldn’t resist and pretended to kill a pig. They used Robert as the sow. Golding then explains the motives of the minds of the boys, "The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering." The symbol of evil human nature has taken over the island and even Ralph.
In chapter 8, Simon speaks to the beast. “ There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the beast…Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill…you knew didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s a no go? Why things are the way they are?” These words, which are spoken by the beast, are central to the novel’s theme of human evil. The words that the beast speaks make him sound like the devil. In this chapter, the beast symbolizes a biblical demon. Lord Of The Flies translates into Beelzebub. If you know anything about religion, this is a demon.
Chapter 9 of the novel Lord Of The Flies symbolizes the chaos that the beast has caused the boys. When the parachute man dies last chapter, it was the end of adult supervision for the boys. In this chapter, when Simon found the body surrounded by flies, it symbolized the beginning of the beast taking over the island. “The flies had found the figure too. The life-like movement would scare them off for a moment so that they made a dark cloud round the head, Then as the blue material of the parachute collapsed the corpulent figure would bow forward, and the flies settle once more.” When the flies found the creature and began to eat him, this was as if the civilization as they knew it was over and the beast was in power. When Golding said that the flies would settle once more, he meant that the chaos that they beast was causing was going to be there to stay. Shortly after this happens, Piggy felt a pain in his head. This is caused because the beast is growing in power and control of their society. This is impairing Piggy’s logic and reasoning.
In chapter 10 of the novel Lord of the Flies, the symbol of evil human nature stands higher than it has throughout the entire novel. After Simon’s death, the boys threw one of their dancing parties. They were having a party because they had killed the beast. Ralph and Piggy were concerned about their futures because of what Jack had done. Jack had attacked them and stole Piggy’s glasses. The reason why Jack stole Piggy’s glasses is because he knew that Piggy couldn’t do anything without them. This would be the end of the adult world of Logic. If Piggy didn’t have his glasses he wouldn’t be able to light the fire. The fire symbolizes the last chance of the boys being rescued. This means that Jack has made it so Ralph and Piggy cant escape and he can kill them. The symbol of evil human nature comes into play many times in this chapter. Golding says, “ he was chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses. Jack has power over everything on the island. He wants to kill Ralph and Piggy desperately by making stabbing motions with his spear. It’s all over for the adult world of logic and in with the evil of a human being.
In chapter 11, the most important symbol of the story is destroyed. Jack kills Piggy and then he smashes the conch. The symbol of law and order on the island that once dominated “ceased to exist”. Jack wanted everything for himself, to run his own society, and to have all the power. “ The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” Jack has destroyed all of the beliefs, order, and laws of the old world. The world that Ralph had built has been destroyed as the conch shell was smashed. The killing of Piggy symbolizes the final loss of logic and reasoning obtained in the old world.
The final chapter of the story concludes the symbol that all men are inherently evil. Golding explains, "Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy." In this way, though the boys are rescued, the novel has anything but a happy ending. Indeed Golding’s dark vision of man has come true throughout the novel.
The symbol of the reasoning that has been destroyed comes back to haunt Ralph in Chapter 12. When Samneric told the others where Ralph was hiding, they betrayed him. This devastates Ralph, who can’t reason any longer. Golding explains his feelings, "There was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly for debate nor dignity of the conch." Jack has destroyed Ralph. Ralph loses his sanity and he can’t fight back against anyone. Piggy was gone and the conch was gone. These two things were the main reason why Ralph survived. They also represented the most realistic things of the old adult world. The last chapter contains irony between two of the symbols talked about in this essay. It suggests that civilization and savagery are more closely connected than I thought. The conclusion of the book didn’t really make sense. If the author really wanted to destroy all symbols of the “old” world, he would’ve had Ralph die. Ralph symbolizes the perfect human. He believes in a perfect world. If he were to die the perfect world that he tried to make would’ve been destroyed. This would have made for a better ending of the book.
