Symbols and Symbolism in Lord of the Flies :: Lord Flies Essays

Symbolism in Lord of the Flies   In William Goldings Lord of the Flies, the boys who are stranded on the island come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of symbols such as the beast, the pigs head, and even Piggys specs, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from societys rules and taboos, allow their natural capacity for curse to dominate their existence.   One of the most important and most obvious symbols in Lord of the Flies is the object that gives the novel its name, the pigs head. Goldings description of the slaughtered animals head on a spear is very graphic and even frightening. The pigs head is depicted as dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood blackening between the teeth, and the obscene thing is covered with a black blob of flies that tickled under his nostrils (William Golding, Lord of the Flies, New York, Putnam Publishing Group, 1954, p. 137, 138). As a result of this detailed, striking image, the read er becomes aware of the great savage and darkness represented by the Lord of the Flies, and when Simon begins to converse with the seemingly inanimate, d abhorrence-like object, the source of that wickedness is revealed. Even though the conversation may be entirely a hallucination, Simon learns that the beast, which has long since frightened the other boys on the island, is not an external force. In fact, the head of the slain pig tells him, Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and bug out Ö You knew, didnt you? Im part of you? (p. 143). That is to say, the evil, epitomized by the pigs head, that is causing the boys island society to decline is that which is inherently present within man. At the end of this scene, the immense evil represented by this brawny symbol can once again be seen as Simon faints after looking into the wide mouth of the pig and seeing black within, a blackness that spread (p. 144).   Another of the most important symbols used to p resent the theme of the novel is the beast. In the imaginations of many of the boys, the beast is a tangible source of evil on the island. However, in reality, it represents the evil naturally present within everyvirtuoso, which is causing life on the island to deteriorate. Simon begins to realize this even before his encounter with the Lord of the Flies, and during one argument over the existence of a beast, he attempts to share his insight with the others.