Symbolism in Lord of the Flies

1
Symbolism in Lord of the Flies
2
Goldings Use of Symbolism

• Symbolism is the frequent use of words, places,
  characters, or objects that mean something beyond
  what they are on a literal level (Wheeler).
• William Golding uses so much symbolism in Lord of
  the Flies that many critics agree that it is an
  allegory- a writing that has a double meaning
  (Wheeler).

3
Title- Lord of the Flies

• Before even opening the novel, the readers of
  Goldings work are face to face with a symbolthe
  title.
• Lord of the Flies is a name applied to the
  Biblical demon Beelzebub thus symbolizing evil
  (Rosenfield, p.174).

4
Lord of the Flies

• In the novel, the Lord of the Flies is the name
  is given to the pigs head that the hunters put on
  a stick sharpened at both ends. This head is
  for the beast. Its a gift (Golding, 140).

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5
Conch Shell

• The conch shell, which is used to call the
  children to assemblies, serves as a symbol of
  order and authority (Cox, 170).

• For the children in the story, the conch shell is
  an important object. Rosenfield points out that
  the conch must be held by a child before that
  child can speak at councils (173).

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6
Conch Shell (cont.)

• C.B. Cox points out that the conch is more than
  just a symbol of order (170). From the
  beginning of the novel, Golding describes the
  conch with much precision and detail. When the
  conch is broken, the reader feels that sadness
  which comes when any object of exquisite beauty
  is broken. The symbolic meaning, that this is
  the end of the beauty of justice and order on
  the island (Cox 170-71).

7
Signal Fire

• At their second council meeting, Ralph tells the
  rest of the boys, We can help them to find usWe
  must make a fire (Golding, 37). The boys agree
  because they want to be rescued.

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8
Signal Fire (cont.)

• Paulette Michel-Michot states The fire which
  must be kept burning is the symbol of their hope
  for rescue, of their attachment to civilization,
  for it will reveal their presence on the island
  to the outside world (Michel-Michot, pg. 176).

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9
Parachutist

• Cox describes the dead parachutist as a symbol
  of adult evil (171). When the boys kill Simon
  as he attempts to tell them the truth about the
  beast, they show the adult evil as part of
  themselves (Cox, 171).
• Frank Kermode calls the dead parachutist an ugly
  emblem of war and decay that broods over the
  paradise and provide the only objective
  equivalent for the beasts the boys imagine.
  (Kermode, 226).

10
Characters

• Golding also uses symbolism in the various
  characters of the story. According to
  Michel-Michot, he makes them work out archetypal
  pattern of human society or of different
  conflicting tendencies within the individual
  (176).
• We can find symbolic meaning in the four main
  characters of Lord of the Flies Ralph, Jack,
  Piggy, and Simon.

11
Ralph

• Ralph and Jack are two polarizing figures in
  the novel (Michel-Michot).
• Ralph is a symbol of democracy because he sought
  ways to maintain parliamentary procedures, to
  respect freedom of speech, to rule through
  persuasion, with the consent of the governed
  (Spitz, 173).

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12
Jack

• Spitz calls Jack authorian man and compares him
  to the dictators Hitler and Mussolini (173).
• Spitz also discusses Jacks appearance calling
  him a Satanic figure with his red hair and black
  cape (173).

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13
Piggy

• David Spitz compares Piggy to Socrates, the
  voice of reason (173). One example of his sense
  of reason is shown when the boys first fire gets
  out of control. Piggy tells the others, The
  first thing we ought to have made was shelters on
  the beach How can you expect to be rescued if
  you dont put first things first and act proper
  (Golding, 44).
• When Piggy is killed, with his death all sense,
  all reason is gone the ultimate madness sets in
  (Spitz, 173).

14
Simon

• In Lord of the Flies, Simon signifies the
  Christ-figure, the voice of revelation (Spitz,
  172).
• In an interview with James Keating, William
  Golding states Simon is a saint (Keating, 219).

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Examples of Simon as Christ-like

• There are several events involving Simon that
  portray him as a Christ-like or Biblical figure
• The first event occurs when Simon feeds the
  littluns described in the following passage
• Then, amid the roar of bees in the afternoon
  sunlight,
• Simon found for them the fruit they could not
  reach,
• pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage,
  passed them
• back down to endless outstretched hands
  (Golding, 55).

16
Simon (cont.)

• This passage unmistakably evokes the Biblical
  accounts of Christ amid the bread-hungry masses
  (Spangler, 233). Like Jesus, Simon provides his
  followers, in his case the littluns, with plenty
  of food to satisfy their hunger.

17
Simon (cont.)

• When he discovers that the beast is the dead
  parachutist, like Moses, then, he comes down
  from the mountain bearing the truth (Spitz,
  172). Also, like Moses, he is not listened to.
• Secondly, his death symbolizes the Crucifixion of
  Jesus. Like Jesus, Simon was trying to tell the
  others the truth. For this, he was slain.

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A Walk Through William Goldings Lord of the Flies
19
Goldings Inspiration

• Bruce Lambert states Sir William recalled that
  as a teacher he once allowed a class of boys
  complete freedom in a debate, but he had to
  intervene as mayhem broke out. That incident and
  his own war experience inspired Lord of the
  Flies (Lambert, 317).

20
Setting

• A group of English boys are deserted on an island
  when their plane is attacked during the World War
  II.

21
Setting (cont.)

• The island shore was fledged with palm trees.
  Behind the palm trees was the darkness of the
  forest and the space where their plane crashed.
  About a mile from the shore, the white surf
  flinked on a coral reef, and beyond that the open
  sea was dark blue. Between the ocean and the
  palm trees was the beach apparently endless.
  (Golding, 8)

22
Symbols

• Goldings novel is full of symbolism, or objects
  that mean something beyond what they are on a
  literal level (Wheeler).
• Some of the symbols Golding uses in his novel
  include The title, the conch shell, the signal
  fire, the parachutist, and the main characters in
  the novel.

23
Symbols (cont.)

• The title Lord of the Flies translates to mean
  Beelzebubthe name given to the devil.
• The parachutist arrives on the island after the
  boys ask for a sign from the adult world.
  Therefore, the parachutist symbolizes adult evil
  and is a reminder of war.

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Symbols (cont.)

• The purpose of the signal fire is to help the
  children get rescued. Therefore, the fire
  symbolizes their hope to be rescued.
• The conch shell symbolizes order and authority.
  When the conch is blown in the novel, all the
  boys listen.

25
Characters

• Goldings four main characters are Ralph, Piggy,
  Jack, and Simon.
• Each of these characters plays an important role
  in the novel.

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26
Ralph

• Ralph is introduced to us first as the
  fair-haired boy (Golding, 5).
• As the story progresses, Ralph emerges as a
  leader. It is he who find that conch and
  arranges that when there is a meeting he who hold
  the conch shall speak (Forester, 228).

27
Piggy

• Piggy is introduced to the reader as being short,
  fat, and wearing thick spectacles (Golding, 5).
  
• Piggys glasses play an important role in the
  novel- they are used to start the fire.
• As the novel progresses, we learn that Piggy is
  the brains of the party (Forester, 228). When
  Piggy and Ralph found the conch, it was Piggy
  that said, We can use this to call the others.
  Have a meeting (Golding, 15). This way of
  thinking exemplifies Piggys intelligence.

28
Jack

• Jack is introduced as being tall, thin, and
  bony (Golding 17). He has red hair, and is
  wearing a black hat and cloak. His face was
  crumpled and freckled, and ugly without
  silliness (Golding, 17).
• When all the boys gather to have a meeting and
  are discussing the idea of a chief, Jack states
  with arrogance, I ought to be chiefbecause Im
  chapter chorister and head boy (Golding, 20).

29
Simon

• Simon is introduced to the reader as the choir
  boy who had fainted (Golding, 20). Then,
  Golding describes him as a skinny, vivid little
  boy, withstraight hair that hung down, black and
  coarse (Golding, 22).
• In the novel, Simon plays the role of the
  Christ-like figure. In an interview, Golding
  himself calls Simon a saint (Kermode, 219).

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Works Cited

• Cox, C.B. A review of Lord of the Flies.
  Critical Quarterly 2.2 (Summer 1960) 112-17.
  Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz.
  Vol. 58. Detroit Gale, 1990. 170-72.
• Flickr. Yahoo! Inc. 16 July 2008.
  http//www.flickr.com/
• Forester, E. M. Introduction. Lord of the
  Flies Casebook Edition. Ed. James R. Baker
  Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr. New York Penguin Group,
  1988.
• Golding, William. Lord of the Flies Casebook
  Edition. New York Penguin Group, 1988.
• Kermode, Frank. The Meaning of It All. Lord of
  the Flies Casebook Edition. Ed. James R. Baker
  Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr. New York Penguin Group,
  1988.
• Lambert, Bruce. Obituary. New York Times (June
  20, 1993) p.38. Contemporary Literary Criticism.
  Ed. James P. Draper. Vol. 81. Detroit Gale,
  1994. 316-17. .

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Works Cited (cont.)

• Michel-Michot, Paulette. The Myth of Innocence.
  Revue des langues vivantes 28.4 (1962) 510-20.
  Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz.
  Vol. 58. Detroit Gale, 1990. 175-77
• Rosenfield, Claire. Men of Smaller Growth A
  Psychological Analysis of William Goldings Lord
  of the Flies. Literature and Psychology 11.4
  (Fall 1961) 93-101. Contemporary Literary
  Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz. Vol. 58. Detroit
  Gale, 1990. 172-75.
• Spangler, Donald R. Simon. Lord of the Flies
  Casebook Edition. Ed. James R. Baker Arthur P.
  Ziegler, Jr. New York Penguin Group, 1988.
• Spitz, David. Power And Authority An
  Interpretation of Goldings Lord of the Flies.
  The Antioch Review 30.1 (Spring 1970) 21-33.
  Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Sharon R.
  Gunton. Vol. 17. Detroit Gale, 1981. 172-73.
• Wheeler, Dr. Kip. "Literary Vocabulary." Dr.
  Wheeler's Hompage . 06 June 2008. Carson-Newman
  College. 12 July 2008 lthttp//web.cn.edu/kwheeler/
  lit_terms.htmlgt.