Lord Of The Flies

Critical Analysis:

"The Lord of the Flies," by William Golding is a tale of a group of British boys that were left stranded on an island after a plane crash on their way home. Throughout the novel, many themes are present; most of which is the inherent evil of man when civility seems to disappear. Symbolism is also one of the main themes expressed in the novel, for example, the head of the sow, and the conch. Golding uses symbolism to illustrate the power struggle that is clearly seen between Ralph and Jack, as well as other events on the island.

In "The Lord of The Flies", the theme of good and evil played an apparent role in the kids’ life on the island. Skylar Burris said that, "Golding himself has said the cause is nothing more than the inherent evil of man; no matter how well-intentioned he is, and no matter how reasonable a government he erects, man will never be able to permanently contain the beast within." From the time that the boys land on the island, the struggle of who was going to be chief began; thus, the first signs of the boys' inherent evil. After a unanimous vote, Ralph is elected Chief, and Jack is envious of his position. Throughout the novel, Jack fights for the role as chief by convincing the rest of the boys to join his tribe rather than to stay with Ralph. While Jack and Ralph are exploring the island, they encounter a piglet, which Jack supposedly attempts to kill. So Jack does not ruin in reputation, he corrects the situation by saying, "I was just waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him," and later gaining the courage to kill the baby pig. This event shows that, along with evil, man can also be capable of being good and kind, and has the choice and free will to choose which one he will become. Another example of the boy's inherent evil is the brutal murder of the sow. Without even thinking of the sow's newborns, Jack commands his tribe to attack it. The boys hurled themselves at her, and “the air was full of sweat and noise and blood and terror." This shows how much Jack has changed during the short time that they have been on the island and how fast he lost all of civility. On the other hand, Ralph and Piggy represent intelligence, reason, and a government. They try to abstain from resorting back to their original instincts and try to use reason to attempt to convince the other boys to do the same. Piggy says, "I agree with Ralph. We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things."

Symbolism is a main theme in Golding’s novel "The Lord of the Flies." The way he uses symbolism helps the reader draw clear paths to the true meaning of the novel. There are two key symbols that Golding uses to guide the story, the conch shell and the head of the sow. The conch takes a majestic role, representing good, while the head is an evil display. A large amount of the story is spent on Ralph and Jack's struggle for power. Both Ralph and Jack use these symbols to keep the struggle strong. Without symbols, "The Lord of the Flies" would probably be a whole different story. The conch was a symbol of leadership. When the kids saw Ralph blowing it, it reminded them of adults directing them with megaphones. Where as, the head on a stick was nothing less than a representation of pure evil. Jack used it to show everyone that he was in charge and not afraid to kill. Jack did not let anything get in his way. Paul Slayton said that "the sexual symbolism of the killing of the sow has also raised some puritanical brows. This violent scene is described in terms which might well be used to describe a rape."

There are many ways Golding shows good and evil throughout the novel. When the boys first landed on the island, there was instantly a noticeable power struggle with Ralph and Jack, two of the eldest boys on the island. Golding uses the two boys as representations of good and evil, Ralph being the good guy and Jack being the bad