Symbols In The Lord Of Flies
Lord of the flies is a page turner which was authored in 1954 by an award-winning English author called William Golding. Like all great writers, the author has incorporated strong symbolism that is meant to reveal his thoughts on evil and the nature of humans and humanity in general. This symbolism is hidden under a story which is focused on boys who after an airplane crash have been left stranded on an island which has not been inhabited for a long time. The boys attempt to form a type of self-governance but that fails and ends up with disastrous results.
The beast
The beast is a symbol that has been used in the book to represent the savage nature of human beings. The instinct to survive is brought out in the book. Almost all the boys marooned on the island do not realize the nature of the beast. Only Simon does. He makes the discovery that they all fear the beast because it exists in all of them. As time passes, and the savagery of the boy’s increases, so does their belief in the beast. The boys’ actions are what brings the beast to the fore. The boys only turn into beasts when they kill Simon. By unleashing the ultimate savagery, they also release and become the beast. The beast, in this case, savage nature, is a threat to everyone on the island but only Simon sees it. At first it is the unifier among them all but in the end, it divides them all. Jack who is one of the boys that was stranded is the first one who harnesses the power of the beast through manipulation to gain control of his friends. This illustrates manipulators who prey on peoples’ insecurities to gain power.
The conch
The conch is another powerful tool of symbolism which has been used to represent civilization and liberties. It is first found by Ralph and Piggy and is used as a tool of expressing themselves. They use it as a right to speak. Only Jack is seen as a threat to the conch. He ultimately preys on their insecurities and savage human nature to become their leader. Piggy