In The Novel Lord of the Flies the author William Golding uses objects and characters to develop his themes. Three symbols from the novel are the conch, Piggy's glasses, and the Lord of the Flies. Each item represents a theme from the novel. The conch stands for a symbol of authority and unity, the glasses stand for a symbol of survival and power, and the Lord of the Flies represents the evil that lives in men.
In the beginning of the novel a boy named Ralph finds a conch, which is a type of shell. The conch represents the theme of unity and authority; the boys unite as a group behind it trying to build a society to survive in. Ralph uses it as a horn to signal who ever is on the island with them. The other boys who are also stranded on the island find there way to where the signal is being created.
Pigeon Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the FliesThey know they are lost and must work together to survive their situation. They decide on a leader and Ralph is nominated because "he is the one with the horn thingy"ÃÂ. Ralph uses the power of the conch for the good of the group. He calls meetings to discuss issues of importance and calms the group if it is getting out of control. If the conch had never been discovered and the first meeting never called, many more lives could have been lost in the savagery of the boys.
Piggy is one of the boys stranded on the island that wears glasses and is one of the first to meet Ralph. His glasses can be used to make fire and in turn are seen as fire. The glasses represent the themes of power and survival because who ever have the fire has the power to survive. The fire is also used as a signal, if a plane or ship were to see a smoke signal the boys would be saved. The survival of Ralph's society was almost completely dependent on Piggy's glasses. When Jack steals the glasses he cripples Ralph's society and gains all the power Ralph had left.
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
Re-Covered Books: The Lord of the Flies