Faith Cash
Artist Statement
Sight or No Sight
The book Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding, the book is
about a group of boys that were in a plane crash. This book was more than just an
adventure story about the survival on an island. It was a story to show Golding’s
point of view on human nature. The meaning of the title of the book itself should
show what he believes, it refers back to the inner-evil; Lord of the Flies actually is
Beelzebub in Greek which is a name for the devil. William Golding believes that
without civilization people will turn into animals, evil, and savage. William
Golding showed his view on human nature by using symbols. I chose Piggy’s
glasses as my symbol to use in my artwork; his glasses represent civilization,
reason, knowledge. I also included one broken lens which represents the breaking
of civilization, knowledge, and reason. I showed this in my artwork by showing a
non-civilized world through the broken lens, and a civilized world through the nonbroken lens.
Golding chose to use symbolism to express his point of view on human
nature because it was an interesting way to show his point; also because it was a
great way to get the readers interested and into the book, and to get the reader
thinking; when the reader gets thinking the story stays with the reader for longer.
Piggy’s glasses represent knowledge, reason, and civilization. In chapter ten of the
novel Golding write, “He was chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions
with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s b broken glasses” (168). In
chapter ten Jack and his hunters went and stole Piggy’s glasses and caused a fight.
Piggy and the group that ended up staying with Ralph thought they would be
coming for the conch because the conch stood for law and order but instead they
stole Piggy’s glasses so they would be able to have a fire. After the glasses were
stolen any civilization that Ralph and Piggy were hoping for was now lost. In the
quote when it says that Jack was now chief Golding wanted us to understand that
the evil of people won without the civilization to fight and hold the evil in so now
evil is the ruler and the leader. Jack and his hunters wanted Piggy’s glasses for the
fire to cook the food. This quote shows that people without civilization become evil
when it says that Jack made stabbing motions shows that he is now a savage. In my
artwork I show this artwork by a before and after picture showing that before the
glasses were stolen they were innocent and civilized and after they turned into who
Golding believes we all are, evil, savage, and untamed.
William Golding used many objects as symbols but unless the reader
actually reads the story and thinks about the book and what it actually means I don’t
think that many people would their meaning if they don’t read the story and think
about the symbols. In chapter four of Lord of the Flies Golding wrote, “Ralph made
a step forward and Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled
on the rocks. Piggy cried out in terror” (71). in chapter four of the novel Jack and
the hunters let the fire go out so Ralph and Piggy were talking to Jack about it, Jack
doesn’t care for Piggy so he starts picking on him and when Piggy continues with
what he was saying Jack knocks off his glasses. I think that Jack is always so mean
to Piggy because Piggy is someone who everyone picked on even before the crash
and two because I think that Jack realized that Piggy was trying to keep the group
and everything on the island good and as civilized as possible. Piggy got really
scared and upset when his glasses broke because he realized that this was the
beginning of the loss of civilization. Another thing that was brought to my attention
was that Golding used a rock as a symbol of breaking of civilization, so I don’t
think that it was a coincidence that Golding used a rock to break the glasses and the
also kill Piggy. When the glasses broke a little bit more of civilization was lost. I
show this through the view of the broken lens; a clear lens when people still has
“sight” of the right thing to do and through the broken lens after people lost “sight”
of the right and found the wrong, also known as the beast inside of us. My art is
connected to this quote because it was when the glasses broke and was the start of
the loss of civilization.
Golding believes that everyone is evil on the inside.in chapter twelve
Golding wrote, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man’s heart,
the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy” (202). This quote is
located in the end of the book when they are being rescued; Golding was trying to
show that since Ralph got a little taste of civilization he started to realize that after
everything he seen and done he couldn’t go back to the young hearted boy he was
before the crash and the island, that was the end of innocence in Ralph’s eyes.
Golding has Ralph crying for the darkness of a man’s heart because he is trying to
show the reader that even Ralph now knows that the first nature of a human is evil,
and similar to an animals nature; also he was crying because he had realized that
even he had darkness in his heart. In the quote William Golding write that Ralph
was weeping for the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy; Golding
made it sound like Ralph was crying for the death of Piggy. But I think that he was
crying for the loss of the only thing that kept things going good, which was
civilization, which Piggy symbolized. I think that this shows that Golding’s point is
very strong and serious. I think that it shows that Golding is correct that people’s
first nature is to be an animal, evil, and to be the “beast” we now understand is only
the evil in us. I think that William Golding is correct because after I read the book
and started to think I realized that the only thing keeping us from becoming
animals, turning to our inner-evil is if we have laws and rules with are the things
that make up a civilized world. If we had our civilization taken away we would all
turn to our inner evil self.
My symbol is Piggy’s broken glasses, this shows William Golding’s point
very well because after Piggy’s glasses broke civilization broke because the symbol
for civilization was Piggy’s glasses so when the glasses break all the things that was
symbolized with them broke as well. I have made one lens of the glasses broken so
it shows Golding’s view is correct that after the civilization was taken the boys
became evil. I also have one lens that isn’t broken and that shows a civilized world.
My painting is a before and after look the shows how life was for the boys before
civilization was taken then after it was taken.