Symbolism in Lord of The Flies: The Dark Realities of Human Nature

William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, is a big deal in English literature. It's not just another story; it's an allegory that really makes you think. The setting? A deserted island where a bunch of young boys try to get by without any adults around. Spoiler alert: things get wild and chaotic pretty fast. Golding uses all sorts of symbols to dig into the dark stuff that's buried inside human nature. In this essay, we'll check out these symbols and see what they say about power, civilization, and how things can go south when impulses run wild.

The Conch Shell: Order vs. Chaos

The conch shell is probably one of the most obvious symbols in the book. At first, it stands for order and democracy on the island. The boys use it to call meetings and set some ground rules. It's like their way of trying to keep things civilized even without adults around. But as you might guess, this doesn't last forever. As the story moves along, the conch loses its power just like their order starts crumbling away. When Roger smashes it, it's game over for whatever civilization they had left.

The Beast: Fear of What's Inside

Next up is the "beast." This one's all about the savage side that's lurking inside everyone. At first, the kids are scared of some vague thing they call the beast—just a shadowy fear of what they don't know. But as time goes on, this fear gets more real and intense, reflecting their growing inner darkness. Simon's eerie chat with the "Lord of the Flies," which is actually a pig’s head on a stick, shows us that this beast isn’t out there somewhere but right inside them.

The Signal Fire: Hope Flickers Out

Let's talk about the signal fire now—a symbol for hope and getting rescued back to civilization. Early on, keeping that fire going is priority number one for these kids because it's their ticket off the island. Yet as their primal instincts take over, they kind of stop caring about it so much and let it die down sometimes. That fading fire is like their connection with civilization burning out too.

The "Beastie": Facing Inner Demons

Then there's this idea of a "beastie" floating around—it shows their collective fear and how they're dodging facing what's really wrong inside themselves. It starts as some imagined creature but grows bigger as their fear does too. By focusing on an outside threat like that imaginary beastie instead of looking inward at their own darkness, they miss what's really going on.

So through all these symbols—the conch shell breaking apart order; the beast showing our inner savagery; that flickering signal fire; even that made-up beastie—Golding paints quite a picture about human nature stripped from society's constraints! His take? Well maybe he's saying evil’s kind got deep roots within mankind itself!

Lord of The Flies serves up quite haunting reminders about how fragile civilization can be while hinting at potential darkness within us all!

References

• Golding, W., & Epstein, E.L. (1983). Lord Of The Flies. Penguin Group USA.
• Kinkead-Weekes M., & Gregor I.(1967) A Critical History Of Lord Of The Flies. Faber And Faber Ltd.
• Baker J.R.(1965) “Humanity Lost And Regained: Observations On Recent Fiction,” Essays In Criticism XV(3),pp250–65
• Babb H.S.(1970) “The Novels Of William Golding,” Ohio University Press.
• Dickson L.P(2000) 'Reading Between Lines: Developing Symbolic Literacy With Classics Like LOTF,' New England Reading Association Journal V36(1), pp28–33