Lord of the Flies - Short Essay

Lord of the Flies

William Golding presents the Book 'Lord of the Flies' through religious Texts and references. He refers to the Bible, talking about the evilness about the Beast in Lord of the Flies.
William Golding also uses symbolism to show self-preservation and survival.
The first and most obvious symbol shown in the story is the conch shell. The conch shell was first used to summon the surviving children of the plane crash. It became what I believed to be a strong symbol of symbolization. The conch shell was also used govern the boys’ meetings by only allowing the boy holding the conch shell the right to speak. The idea was first presented when Ralph said, “And another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'hands up' like at school." This shows how the conch shell is a symbol of democracy and order to the boys. At first everyone thinks that this is the best method to maintain order but soon they find out how quickly the power of the conch is abused by Ralph and Jack. For example, there are signs of the order slowly collapsing when Simon is trying to speak, Ralph and Jack try to get him to sit down. " 'Sit down' 'Shut up' 'take the Conch! Are the phrases that shows the abuse of the Conch's power.
The Fire is the second most important symbol in the story because it shows and symbolizes the humanity and the hope of the stranded boys. In the early parts of the Book, the fact that the boys maintain the Fire is a sign that they want to be rescued and returned to society.