Significance of the Island - Lord of the Flies
In the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses a plethora of symbols to express his
concerns about human nature; the island is, perhaps, the most important one.
The island is a remote location, far away from civilisation. This enables Golding to
express the sheer destruction the boys inflicted on each other and their surroundings.
As a desolate location, Golding is able to explore the innate evil of man by expressing
it in its true form, without the materialistic temptations that could have severely
affected their behaviour.
It is not just the remoteness of the island that is so significant, but the lack of human
inhabitants. One of the most vital themes throughout the novel, is that there were "no
grown ups". Although Piggy found this idea displeasing - "the fat boy looked
startled" - characters like Jack used this deficiency as a means of winning the support
of the littleuns and hence creating a vicious army, capable of killing. That the boys
even considered taking advantage of their situation, suggests that even those who
seem innocent, are capable of being self-destructive, and hence they are able to
commit such repulsive acts.
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Golding successfully uses language in the opening of the novel, to express the
immediate effect the boys have on the island. The island is so vividly described as
having a "mountain lake, blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple " yet was
immediately affected by the boys' arrival; this arrival is marked by the "long scar
smashed into the jungle". Golding uses the scar as a metaphor for what the boys are
going to do to themselves. The initial state of the island - so pure and beautiful represents the boys as they were when they arrived. The "long scar" represents the
perpetual evil acts the boys were to commit, resulting in their self-destruction.
As well as denoting an idyllic setting, the island holds all the tools the boys need to
sustain themselves, while at the same time it holds the most dangerous tools possible.
In the first chapter, Ralph and Piggy discover the conch, the symbol representing
democracy. We also discover that the island holds fruit trees, which can be used as a
source of food for the boys. However, the island also contains more sinister beings.
For a start, it contains the red rock that is used to kill Piggy. Red symbolises anger
and hatred; both of these characteristics developed in many of the boys as the novel
progressed. The island also contains pigs. Although the pig could have been a further
source of food, the boys used the pig as a source fun. A final, more theoretical symbol
that is hidden within the island is the beast. Although Simon's epiphany revealed the
beast was just "man-kinds essential illness" the boys feared the beast as a real,
tangible entity.
The idyllic setting of the island is blured by the evil that accompanies it - this is
denoted in the form of a bird with a "witch like cry". Golding uses this simile to
portray his ideas concerning the intrinsic maliciousness of mankind. Akin to the
island, the boys have an innate evil characteristic.
Not only does the island hold many symbols in and of itself, but the island can be
used as a metaphor to describe the innate evil of man-kind. Although the island has a
'lighter side' to it, there are also connotations of a 'darker side'; this is a perfect
metaphor for human-kind. There are good people and bad people. Within both types
of people there is a good side and a darker side. Golding ingeniously uses the island,
along with many other symbols, as a way of depicting the true nature of man.
In Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, the island is a contrivance, used to express
"man-kinds essential illness". The lack of materialistic temptations and the apparent
vividness of the island, along with all its opportunities, should have prevented the
boys from communicating with their animalistic characteristics. However, the fact
they ignored their innate goodness and decided to live an atrocious life, suggests that
"man-kinds essential illness" is incorrigible.