Savagery In Lord Of The Flies Essay

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the symbols of good and evil through the Lord of the Flies and Simon. In order to convey the underlying message, that the fear of the unknown brings out the evil in humans. William Golding's fictional piece, evil is symbolized through the lord of the flies because he represents the loss of civilization and innocence. This quote shows that the character Lord of the Flies gets into the boy's thoughts, “There isn’t anyone to help you, only me. and I’m the beast fancy to think you can hunt and kill. You knew, didn’t you? I'm part of you. Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why these things are the way they are?” (Golding chapter 8). This quote proves, that the Lord of the Flies are trying to get into the boy’s heads and they are slowly becoming less civilized.

Lord of the Flies is the name given to the inner beast, to which only

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the appearance of the beast to represent the boy's inner savagery that is being battled and embraced by the characters of Ralph and Jack. Through the beast, Golding suggests that fear is a powerful tool that can be used as a weapon to control others and can even eventually consume the minds of sane individuals.

A beast in man’s eyes can be many different things, this remains true in William Golding’s Lord of the flies. Golding’s novel takes place with a group of schoolboys on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. Without the guidance of grown-ups, the boys imaginations and fears run wild. So in Lord of the flies, what does the “beast” really represent? The representation of the so-called “beast” is ever changing throughout the novel.

As authors create their stories, they use a variety of symbols to give depth to their writing. The use of religious symbols are one of the methods Golding uses uses to attain this. In Lord of the Flies, Golding repeatedly uses biblical allusions of the island, the beast, and Simon to correspond with the boy’s actions of temptation in sin, and the hope for rescue from the island.

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us,.” said William Golding, Lord of the Flies. When a symbol is examined, many conclusions can be drawn by relating the symbol to society and real life. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, even though the beast does represent something one can hurt or kill, as a symbol it represents a larger concept or idea because it brings out the beast-like personalities of the boys on the island, illustrates Jack’s dominant personality, and portrays the personalities inside all of us which humans can never defeat.

Throughout the novel Lord Of The Flies, the boys on the island are continuously faced with numerous fears. Subsequently there is nothing on the island which they fear more than the beast. The beast is not a tangible object that can be killed or destroyed by conventional means, but an idea symbolizing the primal savage instincts within all people. Its Golding’s intention to illustrate the innate evil inside man through his view of human nature, the actions of the Jack and his tribe, and the relationship between the beast and the school boys.

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.

"There isn't anyone to help you. Only me. And I'm the Beast . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I'm part of you?" (Golding, 143) Symbolism is used to represent something of a deeper meaning. This quote represents the beast, which is one of the many symbols along with the conch shell and war paint presented in the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. This essay will explore the different symbols utilized to give William Golding’s novel a deeper meaning.

Symbolism is prominent throughout the book, Lord of the Flies. William Golding’s stated purpose is “the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system” (238). In the book, Golding demonstrates that when put into an environment without civilization, many will turn to evil. The nature within the individual, whether evil or otherwise, determines the nature of the society in which he lives. Light and dark is the most significant symbol that Golding uses to develop his purpose. He uses light and dark to represent good and evil, and civilization and savagery, and shows the stages of the descent from civilization into savagery.

In scholarly studies, symbolism and imagery apply to enhance a reader’s knowledge of theme development. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the general theme is the conflict between human inclination towards savagery and the rules of civilization. The purpose of symbolism and imagery is essential to the theme development of civilization versus savagery. Three symbols used to illustrate the theme of civilization versus savagery throughout the story are the conch shell, the conflict between Jack and Ralph and the hunter’s painted faces.

Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding shows his views of the inherent evil of humans. He shows how humans can be in such a savage state, practically mimicking the way of life of their prehistoric ancestors. He exemplifies this with acts of carnage carried on by the young stranded children. It all started with a slight urge to hunt down a pig and then continued on to murdering another human being. Golding shows his views best at the end of the book with the boys being rescued by a Navy crew, which would go on to war it self.

Lord of the Flies, an allegorical novel by William Golding, holds truths about mankind’s true nature of existence. The novel explores the savagery in all men that lies dormant, yet when society’s rules cease to exist, the boy’s innocence perishes along with it. The boys attempt to band together and mock the society that they came from, but not understanding the complexity of the situation, results in their society falling into ruins. On the island the boys are returned to man’s primitive nature, without rules or discipline, and they slowly drift into anarchy. Without proper guidance, the boys resort to cloaking their innocence with body paint to survive. With the body paint coating their skin, the boys bury their old personas within and allow themselves to commit acts that society would frown upon. When Jack’s tribe uses the facade of body paint to dissociate themselves from civilization’s morals, they denote that hiding one’s true identity liberates them from the constraints of society.

Lord of the Flies: William Golding has said that his novel Lord of the Flies was symbolic from the beginning until the end when the boys are rescued. During the course of the novel these symbols are constantly changing, giving us a new interpretation of the island society.

“Maybe ... maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us”(William Golding). In the novel Lord of The Flies, William Golding exhibits the symbolism and representation of the beast. The beast represents the norm of society and how most citizens are conceived to evil. As the novel progresses, the reader's perspective of the beast transforms from a possibly harmful animal into to a representation of human civilization and how humans are ignorant and oblivious when it becomes survival of the fittest. The concept of the beast changes significantly during the novel from first the beast on land, then to the beast in the air and finally to the beast within the kids themselves.