Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis Essay How would you survive an island full of rambunctious boys? Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding is an allegorical novella. The story takes place during World War II, when a group of schoolboys are being evacuated from England. They crash on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and have to fight for their lives in a new and strange environment. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, find a conch and use it to gather the other children in an attempt to form order. The elect Ralph as the leader and they work together as a civilization, at least at first. Unfortunately, some of the elected hunters would rather have fun, hunt, and play savage. This leads to a feud between the boys. Eventually,
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The signal fire that they attempt to maintain represents rescue. They need the fire in order to be rescued and this causes many of the key conflicts in the book “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.” (51). Another example that goes along with the fire is Piggy’s glasses. Without Piggy’s glasses, they cannot make a fire. This makes the glasses an artifact of attraction that the boys are willing to kill for. One of the major symbols in Lord of the Flies, is the conch. Ralph and Piggy find the conch at the beginning of the book and use it to gather the other children. After that they use the conch to call meetings and it allows the beholder to speak. These meetings symbolise the civilization the boys have formed. As the boys turn to savagery their civilization crumbles, just like the conch. Not just items are used as symbols in Lord of the Flies. Many people represent different things. For instance, Piggy represents the voice of reason. While Ralph is worried about Jack, and Jack worried about hunting, Piggy is worried about survival. He knows what to do in order to be rescued, but is ignored and needs Ralph to relay his ideas. Unfortunately his reason is drowned out by Jacks persistent effort to hunt, dance and have fun. When Piggy dies, it is the breaking point. All reason is thrown out the window and mayhem …show more content…
Many times William Golding uses irony to build tension and entice the reader. An example of dramatic irony would be the dead pilot on top of the mountain. The reader knows that he is just a dead pilot, but the boys believe him to be the so called “beastie”. This causes fear and disorder among the boys and is what sets in motion their divide. Another example of irony is their rescue. Jack, having grown tired of Ralph’s rules and hopes for rescue, rebels and forms his own tribe, “We’ll hunt. I’m going to be chief.” (191). They are wild and savage, dancing, eating, and chanting throughout the day. With no one left to help them, Ralph and Piggy go to Jack in hopes to reason with him. Unfortunately, he is too far gone, he kills Piggy and the conch shatters. This represents the end of civilization with Piggy's death and the conchs destruction. Luckily, Ralph manages to run away and hide in the forest. The next day Jack starts a hunt for Ralph. Trying to flush him out, he starts a fire. The fire spreads out of control and ignites the entire island, catching the eye of a passing navy ship. The ship sends a boat out to investigate and they land just in time to save Ralph in a classic deus ex
The signal fire that they attempt to maintain represents rescue. They need the fire in order to be rescued and this causes many of the key conflicts in the book “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.” (51). Another example that goes along with the fire is Piggy’s glasses. Without Piggy’s glasses, they cannot make a fire. This makes the glasses an artifact of attraction that the boys are willing to kill for. One of the major symbols in Lord of the Flies, is the conch. Ralph and Piggy find the conch at the beginning of the book and use it to gather the other children. After that they use the conch to call meetings and it allows the beholder to speak. These meetings symbolise the civilization the boys have formed. As the boys turn to savagery their civilization crumbles, just like the conch. Not just items are used as symbols in Lord of the Flies. Many people represent different things. For instance, Piggy represents the voice of reason. While Ralph is worried about Jack, and Jack worried about hunting, Piggy is worried about survival. He knows what to do in order to be rescued, but is ignored and needs Ralph to relay his ideas. Unfortunately his reason is drowned out by Jacks persistent effort to hunt, dance and have fun. When Piggy dies, it is the breaking point. All reason is thrown out the window and mayhem …show more content…
Many times William Golding uses irony to build tension and entice the reader. An example of dramatic irony would be the dead pilot on top of the mountain. The reader knows that he is just a dead pilot, but the boys believe him to be the so called “beastie”. This causes fear and disorder among the boys and is what sets in motion their divide. Another example of irony is their rescue. Jack, having grown tired of Ralph’s rules and hopes for rescue, rebels and forms his own tribe, “We’ll hunt. I’m going to be chief.” (191). They are wild and savage, dancing, eating, and chanting throughout the day. With no one left to help them, Ralph and Piggy go to Jack in hopes to reason with him. Unfortunately, he is too far gone, he kills Piggy and the conch shatters. This represents the end of civilization with Piggy's death and the conchs destruction. Luckily, Ralph manages to run away and hide in the forest. The next day Jack starts a hunt for Ralph. Trying to flush him out, he starts a fire. The fire spreads out of control and ignites the entire island, catching the eye of a passing navy ship. The ship sends a boat out to investigate and they land just in time to save Ralph in a classic deus ex