Symbolism

•Symbolizes law and order of the adult world – democracy.•Represents the authority the boys are so used to obeying.•When Jack destroys it, anarchy takes over because any hope of strong, central leadership has been abandoned.

The Conch Shell

•The smoke of the signal fire symbolizes the best hope of the boys being rescued.•To Piggy and Ralph, the fire represents the moral influence of their old life in England.

The Signal Fire

•The beast is seen as a real object on the island which frightens the boys. In reality the beast is only their own internal fear. •It is located in the soul and mind of the boys, leading them to the natural chaos of a society with no adults. •The beast personifies the fear that every human being on earth feels.

THE “BEASTIE”

•It illustrates the line of aggression which becomes more and more dominant in the course of events. •So it is a symbol of Jack’s leadership. The pig-runs and the dances around the fire show the upcoming madness which leads to slaying of innocents in the boys’ mystic rituals. •The first killing of a pig also is a foreshadow of Piggy’s death. His nickname Piggy contains the syllable “pig”. He is killed by the hunters like a pig.

The Pig

•Symbolizes the power of evil and the evilness in the boys (and in humanity).•The head is called “Lord of the Flies” which is a translation of the word Beelzebub (name of the devil in the Bible). •The Lord of the Flies is connected with the symbol of the pig (or rather, the head of a pig). It is the prince of the devils and a symbolic dramatization of human evil.

The Lord of the flies

•They symbolize the voice of reason and logic among the boys. A symbol of intelligence and education. •Notice how Piggy defends his glasses even more than the conch. Piggy uses his glasses to find solutions to the boys’ problems.

PIGGY’S SPECS

•The island symbolizes “isolation” and serves as the perfect backdrop for the frailties of human nature which eventually surface.

The Island

•The face paint is the excuse many of the boys use for living as hunting savages, instead of civilized English citizens. •It serves as a mask that allows the boys to become someone they are not. •The paint symbolizes the smoke screen the beast uses to infiltrate the boys’ souls.

Face paint

•The dead body flying in the parachute symbolizes the end of adult supervision.•Simon has a special connection with the parachute man when he climbs the mountain to determine if the parachute man is still alive.•Simon realizes that the man is dead, and the beast is still alive.

The parachute man

•The scar is where the plane crashed; it symbolizes destruction.•Time spent on the island also leaves a scar.•The boys destroy themselves and others leaving internal scars.

The scar

•This character represents the law-abiding hardworking citizen who works for the good of the group and has faith that everything will turn out all right in the end if the proper rules are obeyed by everyone.

ralph

•This character represents the destructive forces in society: ruthless and evil, he plays on the fears of the group to gain power over them. Rather than help society, he wants to dominate it.

jack

•The character stands for the intellectual who tries to solve problems with logic and reason. Because he is considered “different” by the others, they pay little attention to him and he is ineffective despite his intelligence.

piggy

•This character represents the mystic, spiritual leader or philosopher who functions on a higher plane than the rest of society. He simply “knows” things – but is unable to communicate his knowledge to the others.

simon

•They are the last to remain loyal to Ralph and they represent the tug-of-war within us to remain good.

Sam and eric

•“Littluns” ~ The younger kids. •Represent the common folk, who easily follow the lead of others into savagery when there is no enforced structure in society.

“LITTLUNS”