I learned in my English class that authors share their messages with their readers with
the help of certain symbols. I think William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” is one of those
types of books. I think there are three important symbols in the book: Piggy’s glasses,
the beast, and the Lord of the Flies.
It seems to me that Piggy is this intellectually gifted boy because he possesses
knowledge about different scientific facts nobody remembers or even knows about. I
noticed that his glasses are used to start the fires that keep the boys safe. This
probably represents the power of science and the intellect. Anyway, then the glasses
are stolen and the power is transmitted to Jack, but he doesn’t take care of them,
showing that he doesn’t respect what they actually symbolize.
I noticed that another symbol of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” is the “beast” all
the boys are afraid of. This imaginary “beast,” as revealed by Simon, is nothing but the
“beast” they’ve all become. The unleashed “beasts” inside them leave no place for
civilized human relations. So what happens is that they become a primitive tribe. Well,
they are not actually afraid of the beast, but of themselves. I realized that by
succumbing to their primitive instincts, they’re super afraid of the consequences that
will follow.
Okay, so, the last but not the least symbol in “Lord of the Flies” is the object the novel
is named for. The “Lord of the Flies” is nothing but the head of a wild pig which
becomes an offering for the “beast.” I looked it up and the Lord of the Flies is actual a
reference to Satan. When he forces Simon to see the truth about who the beast really
is, it showed me that the true devil is man.
So I hope I showed you that all of the symbols listed above are crucial for the message
delivered in William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies.” It’s really cool that the symbols reveal
that the destruction of society and civilization can be fatal.