What are you doing out here all alone? Arent you afraid ofme? asks a pigs head on a stick, covered in flies. But its more that,its an entity, which is hidden within the depths of the book,concealed for the reader to discover. The book Lord of the Flies byWilliam Golding contains symbolism all throughout the text, eachsymbol to be interpreted in its own way. The main symbol in Lord of the Flies is quite obviously, the Lordof the Flies, which as aforementioned, is a pigs head on a stick,covered in flies. The symbol represents the evil within the boys thatreside on the island. Each one corrupt in his own, fearing whatresides within them.
Jack with his macho attitude, while he is aleader, has actually took part in killing someone, but then again, sohas every boy there. This evil could also be interpreted as a loss ofinnocence, in which the boys spiral from helpless little tykes tovoracious savages, living only to kill. Another symbol, is just the flies residing upon the sows head. They seem to represent people that cling to evil, as though it wouldtheir only chance of survival.
An example of that would be a cannibal,whose own desires have led him to feast upon flesh, and then, evenwhen he knows that what he has done is wrong, he continues to do ituntil his disgusting gorging has ended with his capture andpunishment. Oddly enough, the flies are feeding on rotting flesh aswell. Simon, the boy murdered by his peers, can be viewed as aChrist figure. While some may say it is Ralph, Simon seems more likea savior. He comes down from the mountain, bearing news of theboys salvation from the beast that torments him and he is persecutedby them, each one taking part in the frenzy of his death. He alsoseems to be knowledgeable about things the boys cant comprehend.
He is always off in his own little world, pondering something thatmost boys wouldnt even consider thinking about. Yet another symbol in Lord of the Flies would the conch, whichRalph clings to so dearly. All of the boys see that as the upholding oforder, until Jack claims it not so. With the shattering of the conch,Ralph seems to plummet into a slight depression, wherein he hasnothing to remind of the upright and strict ways of his home.
Withoutit he is nearly lost in a sea of his thoughts, buses as an example. The reader could also view Piggys glasses as a symbol ofsocieties unspoken rules. They bring fire, what started the rise ofcivilization as well as power, which in turn brings authority anddiscipline. Piggy though, seems unfit to hold that position of power,so the glasses are always used by those who deserve the power tolight the fire.
Only when Jack, the power-grubbing boy, is gone, doesPiggy use his glasses to light the fire. This is also when Ralph is in anunfit leader attitude, he is moping about losing his followers. PerhapsPiggy was just trying to feel like he was needed, when in all reality,he was of no practical use to anyone at all. Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an excellent novel filledwith tons of symbolism. The reader truly gets an experience fromdeciphering each one, in his or her own way.Words/ Pages : 558 / 24
