Symbolism and Government Influence in William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies
Humanity is inherently sinful, structured society and government are expected to suppress the dark side of human nature through the imposition of rules, and morals. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding explores how easily morality can be thrown aside when a person is separated from the constructs of society. The topics that will be explored in this paper are symbolism, the formation of government and its effect on human nature, and the influence World War II had on William Golding’s beliefs and writing.
Analyzing Three important symbols Three of the more prevalent symbolic ideas in The Lord of the Flies are the island, the beast, and the lord of the flies itself. …show more content…
This government is sparked quite unceremoniously, with Jack blatantly declaring himself chief, “‘Shut up,’said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.’ ‘A chief! A chief!’ ‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance, ‘because I 'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.’”(18) only to be brought to a more reasonable conclusion by Ralph, who is then voted in as …show more content…
The boys can often be seen referencing their experiences with war. “Ralph danced out into the hot air of the beach and then returned as a fighter-plane, with wings swept back, and machine-gunned Piggy. ‘Sche-aa-ow!’ He dived in the sand at Piggy’s feet and lay there laughing. ‘Piggy!’ Piggy grinned reluctantly, pleased despite himself at even this much recognition.”(6) Later on Ralph even states that his Father is a commander in the Navy, and that he will be the one to rescue them. William Golding’s personal experience in World War II had a profound and lasting impact on the way he views the evil in humanity, and thus how he wrote was greatly affected. While Golding’s message on war is not made explicit in the way he wrote The Lord of the Flies, he clearly believes that war is in human nature. The allegorical style he adopts puts major significance on the characters and objects imbued with symbolic significance especially, and uses these ideas to foreshadow the novels main plot. Many of the books main characters and events even seem to correspond to real people and events in World War II. Jack’s similarities to Adolf Hitler seem to stand out most. Both Jack’s character and Hitler used means of intimidation, fear, and violent actions in an attempt to achieve and maintain power. Jack also used violence to force cooperation to his rules, and it goes without
Humanity is inherently sinful, structured society and government are expected to suppress the dark side of human nature through the imposition of rules, and morals. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding explores how easily morality can be thrown aside when a person is separated from the constructs of society. The topics that will be explored in this paper are symbolism, the formation of government and its effect on human nature, and the influence World War II had on William Golding’s beliefs and writing.
Analyzing Three important symbols Three of the more prevalent symbolic ideas in The Lord of the Flies are the island, the beast, and the lord of the flies itself. …show more content…
This government is sparked quite unceremoniously, with Jack blatantly declaring himself chief, “‘Shut up,’said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. ‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.’ ‘A chief! A chief!’ ‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance, ‘because I 'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.’”(18) only to be brought to a more reasonable conclusion by Ralph, who is then voted in as …show more content…
The boys can often be seen referencing their experiences with war. “Ralph danced out into the hot air of the beach and then returned as a fighter-plane, with wings swept back, and machine-gunned Piggy. ‘Sche-aa-ow!’ He dived in the sand at Piggy’s feet and lay there laughing. ‘Piggy!’ Piggy grinned reluctantly, pleased despite himself at even this much recognition.”(6) Later on Ralph even states that his Father is a commander in the Navy, and that he will be the one to rescue them. William Golding’s personal experience in World War II had a profound and lasting impact on the way he views the evil in humanity, and thus how he wrote was greatly affected. While Golding’s message on war is not made explicit in the way he wrote The Lord of the Flies, he clearly believes that war is in human nature. The allegorical style he adopts puts major significance on the characters and objects imbued with symbolic significance especially, and uses these ideas to foreshadow the novels main plot. Many of the books main characters and events even seem to correspond to real people and events in World War II. Jack’s similarities to Adolf Hitler seem to stand out most. Both Jack’s character and Hitler used means of intimidation, fear, and violent actions in an attempt to achieve and maintain power. Jack also used violence to force cooperation to his rules, and it goes without