Many children dream of a place where they can run wild and not have any adult supervision, but few consider the consequences like their inner evil coming out and their humanity changing. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, symbolism is a key part in communicating the theme of The Inhumanity/Inherent Evil of Man through the conch, the fire, and the Lord of the Flies. The fires symbolism of evil can be shown by the boys going wild at the sight of it and starting their wild chant, often hurting people. The lord of the flies holds symbolic power because it represents the boy's inner evil, and that they are the real “beasts.” The conch is seen through the boy's destruction of the island and each other throughout the book. Throughout …show more content…
The boys often dance around it, chanting, and becoming animals. After chanting the boys are inhuman and let their inner evil out, nearly killing people. After a chant, Robert is the poor victim to one of these inhumane crazes. The text demonstrates the inhumanity in this quote, “The circle moved in and round. Robert squealed in mock terror and then real pain. ‘Ow! Stop it! You’re hurting!’ The butt end of a spear fell on his back as he blundered among them.” (Golding 129) This example shows how it all starts off as a game and they make sure not to hurt him, for it is merely a simulation of the actual killing. Quickly as the boys Inherent Evil comes out, things escalate and they go into a craze from the fire and chanting. Robert yells at them to stop, but no one does and he is absolutely terrified. The boys cannot control themselves and turn into beasts as they nearly kill their friend. This later happens again when they kill a pig and have a feast. All of the boys start dancing around the fire and chanting’ “Kill the beast, slit her throat, spill her blood.” and everyone goes into a frenzy. Simon comes out of the forest to tell the boys crucial news, but they are all ready in a delirium. They circle around Simon as if he was something they were hunting, as if he was the beast. They begin to stab him and poor Simon ends up dying. The boys feel remorse for what they have …show more content…
The actual lord of the flies is a pig head that Jack and his hunters stick on the end of a stick, this later gives them the idea to do it to Ralph too. Simon then starts talking to the beast, the text demonstrates theme in this quote, “‘Fancy thinking the beast was something you could kill!’ said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason it's no go? Why things are the way they are?’” (Golding 164) This quote is a great example of how the lord of the flies symbolizes the theme of Inhumanity/ Inherent Evil of man. The beast explains it cannot be killed and that the boys are ridiculous for thinking so, and the forest “laughs” as in agreeance to the beast. At this point Simon realizes that they are the real beasts and all the evil inside of them. The beast explains things are the way they are because they let their evil consume them and lost their humanity, turning them into beasts. The boys all have to know that they are truly the evil ones, since they hallucinate up what the lord of the flies is saying. Once the island is in turmoil, Jack has his tribe sharpen their spears at both ends therefore they can do exactly what they did to the boar's head to Ralph, symbolizing the beast no
This encounter with the “beast” was not a fight against a physical being, it was a manifestation of the boys’ savagery. As time passes and tension amongst the boys rises, the inner evil and savagery becomes more evident through the murders of Simon and Piggy. The true “beast”
At first, the boys believe that the beast is an animal on the island after seeing a snake-like figure in the jungle. However, when Simon meets the “Lord of the Flies”, he realizes that the beast is, in fact, roaming the island but not in the form the boys imagine. Simon, a young boy in Ralph’s tribe, wanders off discovering a pig’s head on a stake and starts to hallucinate that the head is talking to him. “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter,” (143).
(153) The boys don’t think or scream when they see the “beast” emerge from the jungle. They all grab their sticks and start attacking Simon, and they even realize that it is Simon but they keep killing him because fear has
To elaborate on motif, there is a chant that keeps repeating among the group of little boys “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 152). In this excerpt from the book the boys chant leads up to Simon a side characters death.
In the Roman Empire, England, France, and the Middle East, ever since people have been around, there has always been conflict and fighting. A common theme in war is inhumanity. For example, in World War I mustard gas would produce terrible blisters on soldiers who were exposed to it. Empathy for those suffering young men was not present in those causing the pain.
The Lord of the Flies is full of allusions that make it an allegory to the Bible. William Golding alluded to the Bible through the characters and their actions throughout the book. The story begins with innocent boys left on an island by themselves. These same boys, due to many of the events that occured on the island, slowly evolved into savages. Because of the way in which the children turn into savages, they could be compared to the fallen angels.
When Simon first encounters the Lord of the Flies, he realizes that it is a manifestation of the boys' fear and savagery. He thinks to himself, "Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you?" (Chapter 8).
Once they kill Simon it explains deeply about how they kill him and how cruel and brutal it was. They kill him by biting and clawing and acting like savages. Simon says that it's themselves that is the beast and it shows in the part of the story how they act savage and
The boys have an unjustified fear of the “beast”. In chapter nine specifically, Simon wakes up and realizes that the beast is actually just a dead man who had crashed on the island after his plane exploded. Simon goes to tell the others. They are in the middle of a feast and are filled with excitement and end up killing Simon. This is a turning point in the novel.
Everyone will face evil at some point in their lives, but the way the evil is embraced or deflected will differ among every man. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbolism is used to communicate the theme of Understanding the Inhumanity/Inherent Evil of Man as represented through the double ended spear, the fire, and the Lord of the Flies. The spear represents the evil inside of humankind and the perception that killing and hurting each other out of anger is acceptable. Fire symbolizes the evil act of stealing to achieve a human wants. Lastly, the Lord of the Flies symbolizes the Inherent Evil of Man through demonstrating that a boy understood that the evil is within them instead of around them, and is not something that could be killed
Left behind by others, Simon is left all alone in the glade with the pig head. When he makes a remark aloud, the Lord of the Flies (the pig head) responds with, “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast…. Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!...
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, there are many symbolic concepts within the novel such as the beast, and the pigs head. Golding uses these concepts to portray to the reader his idea that when humans are left without rules or organisation they will break from a civilised manner and become savages allowing evil to over take them. One of the most important symbols used to help the reader understand Golding's idea is the beast. Many of the boys believe their is a beast on the island and become fearful.
The collective fear of the unknown leads to the untimely and accidental death of Simon. The distress present in the boys causes their impulsive action, of Simon’s horrific murder. Fear of “the beast” an imaginary creature causes the boys to act irrational, and provokes survival instincts as a result of life threatening terror. The fear of the boys in this moment is epitomized when they chant, “Kill the beast!, Cut his throat, Spill his blood!” (168).
(Golding, 77). Although the boys laugh at Simon’s idea, his belief conforms Golding’s idea that inner evil exists. The boys develop into the beast when they kill Simon. Simon was desperate to explain the unidentified creature on the mountain but the boys weren’t in the mood for listening to him. With his brutal murder by the other boys, chaos takes over civilized order on the island.
Out of this scene one can see that he sees himself as an outsider and wants to be liked by the other boys. When he finds out that the beast actually was a dead man with a parachute he wants to tell the others but is killed by them during an ecstatic dance. He is the first one to get killed and the only boy who remains innocent.