William Golding once said, “The writer probably knows what he meant when he wrote a book, but he should immediately forget what he meant when he's written it.” One of the best-known works novels that William Golding wrote is the Lord of the Flies which was written in 1954. The book not only provides an insight in human nature but also represents something in our community. Most parts of the book explain some of today's issues like the violence, laws, pride, greed, fear and religious power. Children learned how to survive, protect and control themselves in the island. But then, most characters became an evil in their society even to their peers. All the symbols that Golding uses throughout the novel gives lots of meaning in life today that will helps people to understand each. Symbols are very important in the Lord of the Flies because they represent a lot of good/bad things to the characters and help them learn how to control their own society. With the help of the symbols on the book, the boys learned how to survive by themselves without parents and they learned how to work together using each of their intelligence to survive.
Intelligence creates excellent ideas. I claim that in Lord of the Flies, the fire symbolize the hope for the boys to be rescued. For example, Ralph keeps reminding the group of kids that if they will keep the fire on going, it will help to get rescued. This shows that the fire is not just a flame but can be their savior. Making a fire is the only thing they can do to have a signal to get rescued. Ralph’s intelligence shows great aspect for all of them and it helps them a lot. For example, when Jack and his tribe burn the forest, one officer saw the flames and smoke in the island. This shows that the smoke saved the boys lives. They didn’t realize that when they burn the forest, a big fire will show and a big chance to get save is waiting for them. They never believe Ralph before at the beginning that the fire was the only thing that can help them. Eventually, Ralph was right at first that the fire wasn’t just helpful for their cooking but also helpful to save their lives.
A simple nonliving thing can order the society. I claim that nearly at the beginning of Lord of the Flies, the conch represents the order at the beginning of the book which gives the boys a freedom to speak in their society. For example, Ralph once said, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak and he can hold it when he’s speaking.”(p.33) This shows that whoever holds the conch has the right to speak without interjection or disrespect while he was speaking. The conch order in their society and it shows a big achievement for the boys because all of them agreed on giving respect to the person who would speak. For example, Ralph blew the conch when they had an assembly and all the boys stay on quiet and give attention at him. This shows that the conch controls the boys’ attention. It reminds the boys that when someone blows the conch or holding it, they all have to respect that person so they won’t be interrupted. However, the conch’s power in their society helps the boys remembered that it is a good way to give respect to the people that is older than them.
People can’t control their fears which allow them to commit a crime. I claim that in Lord of the Flies, the beast create the fear and the inner feelings of the boys which starts the violent in the island. For example, Jack used the beast to keep his power which he promise and rallies to kill the beast to stop the fear of the boys. This shows that Jack became an evil leader on his tribe that lead them to kill which some of the boys fear them and fearing the beast that they all think it comes out in the dark. This beast or snake thing is only their imagination and this start most of them turned more evil to their peers. For example, nearly close at the end of the book, Jack and his tribe killed Simon when he was trying to get out in the dark because they recognized him as the beast but they knew it was Simon. This shows that killing Simon became a cheered event but not a murder. This also shows that Simon was murdered and was harshly killed by Jack’s evil group and that the beast isn’t something to be hunted or killed. All the boys really feared the beast story even though it was only their imagination that the beast is real. They fear their own imagination and because of this, the base of human nature is evil.
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding put a lot of symbols on his novel. This means he was trying to prove to people that all the things around us have an important message in life today. I realize that the book was helpful for me to understand how things I’ve seen in my community that were also mentioned on the book are very important in life now. Fire, shell, snake and an island are all the symbols that William Golding mentioned in his novel that helped me understand how and why they are helpful before and until today. I could imagine that if I got stuck on the island with the boys, I would learn more things, not just how to control a society, but also how to survive using my own ideas. The author was trying to leave a message to people that things around us can be seen by our eyes, felt by our touch, smell by our nose and hear by our ears but importantly, they are very helpful in our community. Hope is the only thing that the boys have in the book. Ralph and Jack became enemies but I know that deep inside them, all they hope is to get rescued and be home with their families.
