Lord of the Flies

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 10th grade February 2008

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The book, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a book full of symbolism. The biggest symbol is the entire island itself. This island and everything connected with this island is a symbol of the world in which we live today. The characters are symbolic of certain groups of people in our society, their actions are comparable to the actions of people in society, and the destructive, physical changes are similar to the changes of this earth.

Each character on the island is equivalent to different groups of people on earth. Ralph and Jack represent the leaders of this world. Ralph leads because he wants everyone to work together, representing presidents, kings, all good leaders whereas Jack leads to gain power, thus representing emperors, tyrants and a dictatorship. "Ralph looked at [Jack], eager to offer something." (Page 24) This shows how Ralph wants to be fair and generous, and he is willing to let other people be leaders as well.

" '[Jack's] going to beat Wilfred.' 'What for?' 'I don't know. He didn't say. He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up.' " (Page 176) Jack beat up a kid, Wilfred, without a valid reason, because he had done something Jack did not like. Other comparisons are Simon, who represents heroes and philanthropists because he wanted to always help others, and Piggy, who represents the scientists and advisers for his ideas and the advice, which he gives to Ralph. Roger represents the criminals and sadists because he abuses and wants to kill others and does not feel any remorse for what he does. These groups of people are evident in life and in most stories. Most people in life can be compared to one of these characters on the island world.

Not only are the characters...