Lord of the Flies Symbolism The Conch Shell

Lord of the Flies Symbolism

The Conch Shell • Symbolizes law and order of the adult world • Piggy tries to protect it • Represents the authority the boys are so used to obeying • When Jack destroys it, anarchy takes over because any hope of strong, central leadership has been abandoned. • The island society collapses in chaos!

Piggy’s Specs • They symbolize the voice of reason and logic among the boys. • Notice how Piggy defends his glasses even more than the conch. • Piggy uses his glasses to find solutions to the boys’ problems. What’s the most important solution the glasses find? . . .

The most important solution… This is the boys’ best chance of getting rescued. **notice how Piggy is constantly cleaning his glasses; this shows his need for clear sightedness.

Why an Island?

The Island • Because an island is isolated from the rest of society, it was purposefully picked to be the landing place of the crashed plane. • The boys have no contact with the outside world. • They must look to one another to solve the problems of their own micro-society. • The island symbolizes “isolation” and serves as the perfect backdrop for the frailties of human nature which eventually surface.

The Scar • The scar is where the plane crashed; it symbolizes destruction. • Time spent on the island also leaves a scar. • The boys destroy themselves and others leaving internal scars.

The Beast • The beast is seen as a real object on the island which frightens the boys. • In reality the beast is only their own internal fear. • It is located in the soul and mind of the boys, leading them to the natural chaos of a society with no adults. *Who is the only boy to understand what the real beast is?

The only boy to recognize the true beast is…. . Simon! *Only Simon recognizes what the real beast is, but he is killed when he tries to tell the boys about it.

The Lord of the Flies • The severed sow’s head that Jack impales on a stake in the forest as an offering to the beast • symbolizes the power of evil and the evilness in the boys (and in humanity)

Face Paint The face paint is the excuse many of the boys use for living as hunting savages, instead of civilized English citizens. It serves as a mask that allows the boys to become someone they are not. The paint symbolizes the smoke screen the beast uses to infiltrate the boys’ souls. **What masks do we wear?

The Signal Fire • The smoke of the signal fire symbolizes the best hope of the boys being rescued. • To Piggy and Ralph, the fire represents the moral influence of their old life in England.

The Parachute Man • The dead body flying in the parachute symbolizes the end of adult supervision. • While the law and order of the adult world is waning, childish chaos is growing under Jack’s control. • Simon has a special connection with the parachute man when he climbs the mountain to determine if the parachute man is still alive. • Simon realizes that the man is dead, and the beast is still alive.

The Boys as a Group • Golding uses the boys to create a microcosm. • Remember: a microcosm is….

The Hunts for Pigs • Each hunt shows yet another step away from civilization and towards savagery. • The hunt also reveals the part of human nature that strives to exert force or power over others.

The Uncontrolled Brush Fires • The brush fires that stem from the first fire that the boys made represent the continual disintegration of civilization on the island.