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- 'Lord of the Flies' has often been called an allegory or a
- fable. That is it is a story with two levels of meaning.
- On one level it is a simple adventure story. On another it
- conveys a moral message and the characters and items in the
- story take on a special symbolic meaning.
-
- These notes explain the main symbols in the novel and also
- cover briefly Golding's use of imagery.
-
- Each of the characters or groups of characters in the story
- can be seen as symbols.
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- Ralph represents the ordinary rather simple man of goodwill.
- Jack stands for the exact opposite the savage and destructive
- side of man's nature.
- These two are the opposite sides of a single coin.
-
- Piggy symbolises a straightforward and scientific view of the
- world. This rational outlook tends to ignore the complications
- created by human nature.
-
- Simon clearly stands for the spiritual side of man or
- religion. Golding himself has described Simon as a saint.
-
- Roger represents Man's desire to enforce his will on others by
- physical force or cruelty.
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- Apart from the characters there are many other symbols in the
- novel.
-
- The conch stands for democracy and order. It is used to call
- assemblies and to invite silence for the speaker who holds it.
- Even its shining whiteness is significant as a symbol of
- goodness.
-
- Piggy's glasses represent the world of science or technology.
- They can be used wisely (to help Piggy see or to create a
- cooking fire) or abused (to light the fire to hunt Ralph).
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- The island itself can be seen as a symbol of the whole world
- or of society. Golding describes it as a ship another symbol
- frequently used for a society.
- Significantly when this ship image is first used in Chapter
- One the ship seems to be sailing in reverse - a sign of the
- boys' coming regression to savagery.
- At the end of the book the ship has become nothing but
- burning wreckage.
-
- The Beast - the Lord of the Flies - is a very obvious symbol.
- It represents the dark side of Man's nature the evil that
- exists within each one of us.
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- There are other symbols to be found. You may like to consider
- the symbolic meaning of the following:
-
- Jack's knife
- Fire
- The friendly and unfriendly sides of the island
- Rocks
- Masks
- The Littluns
- Castle Rock
-
- Common sense and a little thought about their place in the
- novel should help you to solve the significance of these and
- any others you may find.
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- IMAGERY
- A good novelist uses language like a poet creating strong
- pictures or 'images' in our minds by the use of metaphors or
- similes.
- I will point out a few examples of Golding's imagery but a
- close reading of the novel will reveal many more.
-
- As a first example look at the clever way the author uses
- animal imagery to describe the destructive fire in Chapter 2.
- At first the fire is small and quick like a squirrel.
- Then the squirrel leapt on the wings of the wind and clung to
- another standing tree eating downwards.
- As the fire grows in strength it becomes a jaguar.
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- Later Golding uses animal images again to stress the savagery
- of Jack and his tribe and to convey the violence of Simon's
- death
- .. the tearing of teeth and claws.
-
- A contrast to this is the beautiful passage at the end of
- Chapter Nine where Simon's body is carried out to sea.
- Here Golding uses colour (especially silver) to give a sense
- of mystery and beauty to Simon's passing.
- Compare the way he describes Piggy's death later - there is no
- beauty there - just plain almost brutal description.
-
- One other passage deserves special mention - in Chapter Eight
- Jack and his tribe kill a large sow.
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- At this point Golding wants to show the state of savagery the
- boys have reached.
- He expertly describes the kind of sexual excitement of the
- tribe as they hunt the pig - a female - and kill her.
-
- Without explicitly stating it Golding presents this episode
- as a kind of rape with the boys sinking 'fulfilled' onto the
- body of the pig after they kill her.
- The reader is shocked by the thought of young children
- carrying out such an act - a shock that achievs Golding's
- aim.
-
- Study other passages of description in the novel and you will
- find other examples of imagery. Golding is a master craftsman
- at work.
-